Devin Nunes says Strzok-Page ‘insurance policy’ referred to obtaining FISA warrant for Trump campaign's emails

U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., claimed that an “insurance policy” mentioned in an August 2016 text between disgraced former FBI employees Peter Strzok and Lisa Page referred to their ability to obtain a FISA warrant.

"We believe that 'insurance policy' is not just about investigating the Trump campaign," said Nunes, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, during an appearance on Fox News' "Hannity" on Tuesday night. “We believe it's to ensure that they were able to get the FISA warrant on Carter Page so they could go in and look at the emails in the campaign.”

President Trump and Republicans say that the warrant shows the corruption of the FBI and the Department of Justice under President Obama, with then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein signing off on the warrant, and that the surveillance was illegal as it was using unverified information to justify spying on a U.S. citizen.

Portions of the FISA application have been released to the public and show that the infamous and unverified Steele Dossier was a major component of the 2016 surveillance warrant. The dossier, which was opposition research funded by the DNC and Hillary Clinton campaign, contains salacious allegations against Trump. It was also a major component used to justify subsequent renewals.

 

New probe of the FBI: Long overdue or Trump's payback?

The first investigation, relentlessly promoted by Democrats and the media, was, of course, the Mueller probe. While the report contained some damaging information about the actions of the Trump team, the bottom line was beyond dispute: no criminal charges recommended.

The new probe, long pushed by Donald Trump, Republicans and the conservative media, aims at investigating the investigators.

Trump told reporters yesterday that the Mueller probe was "the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the people of this country" and "I am so proud of our attorney general that he is looking into it," while adding that he didn't know about the decision in advance.

Asked whether he has full confidence in Chris Wray, the president said, "Well, I didn't understand his answer" on illegal surveillance. "I thought it was a ridiculous answer."

 

Brennan...Comey...

You got some 'splainin' to do

 

DeSantis: ‘I’m not allowed to name’ the two counties FBI says were hacked by Russians

Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/po...-politics/article230384944.html#storylink=cpy

 

Ex-FBI lawyer: Officials were 'quite worried' Comey appeared to be blackmailing Trump with dossier

Former FBI general counsel James Baker said this week that he and other officials were "quite worried" that former FBI Director James Comey appeared to be blackmailing then President-elect Trump during a 2017 meeting regarding salacious allegations found in the Steele dossier.

The former top FBI lawyer explained why he clashed with Comey over whether to tell Trump that he wasn't the subject of the Russia investigation. According to Baker, he argued that the then President-elect's activities "fell into the category" of being a subject and he didn't think it was "accurate" to say otherwise. By contrast, Comey repeatedly told Trump that the president was not under investigation before his dismissal in May 2017.

Nonetheless, Baker said he supported any investigation that is looking into the origins of the Russia probe.

“I welcome scrutiny,” Baker said. “I plan to fully cooperate with the department to help them figure out what happened. Because I believe what happened was lawful, at least based on every piece of information that I have.”

 

State Department official cited Steele in emails with Ohr after flagging credibility issues to FBI, docs reveal

Shortly after the 2016 presidential election, then-Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kathleen Kavalec and Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr discussed new allegations concerning the Trump campaign's Russia connections that were sourced to British ex-spy Christopher Steele, according to documents made public Wednesday.

The previous month, in October 2016, Kavalec had met with Steele and documented his political motivations in writing -- particularly that Steele's client was "keen" to see his anti-Trump materials "come to light" prior to the election. Kavelec forwarded her written notes, in which she also pointed out that some of Steele's claims were apparently false, to a senior FBI executive.

Despite Kavalec's concerns, the FBI used Steele's information to obtain a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant targeting former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page just weeks later. The warrant application did not clearly state that the dossier's creation was funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

"This is very interesting -- I may have heard about him from Tom Firestone as well, but I can't recall for certain," Ohr continued. "We will take another look at this. Thanks again, and I look forward to seeing everyone at the next meeting."

In a follow-up email, Kevalec said she was "re-looking" at her notes from her October 2016 meeting with Steele, whose anti-Trump views are now widely known.

“I see Chris [Steele] said [Simon] Kukes has [sic] some connection to Serge Millian," Kevalec wrote to Ohr. Millian is a Russian businessman and a purported source for the Steele dossier.

But the FBI had already relied on much of Steele’s work to pursue a FISA warrant against Page in October 2016. And emails previously uncovered by Judicial Watch revealed that Ohr remained in regular contact with Steele even after he was fired by the FBI as a source -- effectively providing Steele a back channel to reach the FBI and Justice Department.

 

And since we know Mueller never went near his BFFs..

 

"He did it!" "No, HE did it!"


COMEY AND BRENNAN APPEAR AT ODDS OVER WHO PUSHED TO INCLUDE DOSSIER IN INTEL REPORT


5/15/19

• A dispute is emerging between former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan over who pushed to include information from the Steele dossier in an intelligence community assessment of Russian meddling.
• Comey sent an email to FBI staff in December 2016 indicating that Brennan wanted to include dossier information, Fox News reported.
• A former CIA official is disputing that claim, telling Fox News that it was Comey who wanted to cite the unverified Steele information.

A potential rift is emerging between James Comey and John Brennan over who pushed to include information from the unverified Steele dossier in an intelligence community assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Comey, a former FBI director, sent an email to subordinates in late 2016 indicating Brennan, a former CIA director, wanted to include materials from the dossier in the intelligence community assessment, known as the ICA, Fox News reported.

A former CIA official speaking on Brennan’s behalf is disputing the assertion. The former official told Fox that Brennan and James Clapper, a former director of national intelligence, opposed Comey’s push to include Steele dossier information in the ICA.

The dispute pits two former intelligence community officials against each other at a time when the Justice Department is investigating how government agencies like the FBI and CIA handled the dossier, which former British spy Christopher Steele authored and the Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee funded.

Republicans have accused the FBI of relying too heavily on the dossier in the investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government. The special counsel’s report all but debunked Steele’s core allegation of a “well-developed conspiracy” between the Trump team and Kremlin.

Comey referred to the dossier in the email as “the crown material,” according to Fox’s source. Comey confirmed in a Dec. 17, 2018 closed-door congressional interview that FBI analysts used to the term as a reference to Steele’s report.

The email appears to be same one that former South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy referred to in an interview Monday on Fox News as well as during Comey’s congressional interview.

Gowdy, a Fox News contributor who was chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said Monday that emails from Comey and Brennan from December 2016 might be of interest to investigators probing the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation.

Fox News followed up on Gowdy’s claims Tuesday night by reporting on Comey’s email.

Comey, Brennan, Clapper and then-National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers visited Trump Tower on Jan. 6, 2017 to brief then-President-elect Donald Trump on Russia’s activities.

Earlier that day, Clapper’s office had released the ICA, which asserted the Russian government was behind hacks of Democrats during the campaign.

Comey told lawmakers in his Dec. 17 interview that information from the Steele dossier was included in an appendix to the ICA. After the main briefing, Comey met with Trump one-on-one to tell him about a bombshell claim made in the dossier: that the Russian government had video of Trump with prostitutes in Moscow.

Comey claims he told Trump the information was unverified and that he did not necessarily believe it was true. Trump denied the allegation during the Comey meeting and in days after the dossier was published.

Comey also told lawmakers on Dec. 17 that he recalled a discussion with Brennan about whether parts of the dossier should be included in the body of the ICA or in an appendix. When asked by Gowdy in that interview about his email to staff members, Comey said it was “possible” he sent an email but that he did not specifically recall. Gowdy then referred to the email, asking about the “crown material” reference and telling Comey that he had used the word “unverified” to describe the dossier.

Comey and Gowdy did not discuss in the interview whether Comey told FBI staff that Brennan wanted the dossier cited in the ICA.

Comey also testified that it was Clapper who made the final decision that the FBI chief would have the one-on-one briefing with Trump.

“But I don’t remember General Clapper talking about reporting from the Steele reports in that first session. I could be wrong, but I don’t remember it. I remember it clearly in the written document that was left but not in his oral presentation,” Comey testified.

The former CIA official who spoke to Fox News said it was Comey who wanted to rely on the Steele dossier. The anonymous former official said that Brennan and Clapper opposed Comey’s suggestion because Steele’s report “was in no way” used to develop the intelligence community assessment.

“The intelligence analysts didn’t include it when they were doing their work because it wasn’t corroborated intelligence, therefore it wasn’t used and it wasn’t included. Brennan and Clapper prevented it from being added into the official assessment. James Comey then decided on his own to brief Trump about the document,” the former official said.

Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul recently claimed on Twitter that he had received information identifying Brennan as the person who wanted to include the dossier in the ICA.

“A high-level source tells me it was Brennan who insisted that the unverified and fake Steele dossier be included in the Intelligence Report,” Paul tweeted on March 27.

Brennan responded in an interview on MSNBC on April 26, calling Paul’s remarks “very specious allegations … that have no basis in truth.”

“Comey has a better argument than Brennan, based on what I’ve seen,” Gowdy said in another interview Tuesday.

-------------------

One thing is clear. They can't both be right.

 

Just to point out the obvious. Many if not most of the things in the dossier proved true. And Christopher Steele had been a valued and trusted source for the FBI for years.

Ex-FBI General Counsel Jim Baker: No Spying on Trump’s Political Strategies; ‘Focus was on Russia’

*Baker also pointed out another thing that should be obvious even to PR hacks. The FBI has been watching and investigating Russia since before World War II. That is what the FBI does. And it was watching Russia and investigating their interference in our election that led them to members of the Trump campaign. And that is doing nothing more than doing their job.

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/ex-fbi-...mps-political-strategies-focus-was-on-russia/

 

Federal Prosecutors Suggest Robert Mueller’s Grand Jury Is Still Hard at Work

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profil...mpted-scotus-challenge-of-muellers-authority/

 

On June 14, 2016, a cybersecurity firm that had conducted in-house analysis for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) posted an announcement that Russian government hackers had infiltrated the DNC' s computer and obtained access to documents.19 On July 22, 2016, the day before the Democratic National Convention, WikiLeaks posted thousands of hacked DNC documents revealing sensitive internal deliberations.20 Soon thereafter, Hillary Clinton's campaign manager publicly contended that Russia had hacked the DNC emails and arranged their release in order to help candidate Trump.21 On July 26, 2016, the New York Times reported that U.S. " intelligence agencies ha[d] told the White House they now have ' high confidence' that the Russian government was behind the theft of emails and documents from the Democratic National Committee."22 Within the Trum Cam ai n, aides reacted with enthusiasm to reports of the hacks.23 discussed with Campaign officials that WikiLeaks would release the hacked material. Some witnesses said that Trump himself discussed the possibility of upcoming releases .... Michael Cohen, then-executive vice resident of the Trum Or anization and s ecial counsel to Trum , recalled hearin Cohen recalled that Trump responded, " oh good, alright,"

https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-con...-04.18.2019-Word-Searchable.-Reduced-Size.pdf

 

In the days that followed WikiLeaks's July 22, 2016 release of hacked DNC emails, the Trump Campaign publicly rejected suggestions that Russia was seeking to aid candidate Trump. On July 26, 2016, Trump tweeted that it was " [c]razy" to suggest that Russia was " dealing with Trump"32 and that "[f]or the record," he had "ZERO investments in Russia."33 In a press conference the next day, July 27, 2016, Trump characterized "this whole thing with Russia" as " a total deflection" and stated that it was "farfetched" and "ridiculous."34 Trump said that the assertion that Russia had hacked the emails was unproven, but stated that it would give him "no pause" if Russia had Clinton's emails.35 Trump added, " Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press."36 Trump also said that "there's nothing that I can think of that I'd rather do than have Russia friendly as opposed to the way they are right now," and in response to a question about whether he would recognize Crimea as Russian territory and consider lifting sanctions, Trump replied, "We'll be looking at that. Yeah, we'll be looking."37

During the press conference, Trump repeated "I have nothing to do with Russia" five times.38 He stated that "the closest [he] came to Russia" was that Russians may have purchased a home or condos from him.39 He said that after he held the Miss Universe pageant in Moscow in 2013 he had be.en interested in working with Russian companies that "wanted to put a lot of money into developments in Russia" but " it never worked out."40 He explained, " [t]rankly, I didn't want to do it for a couple of different reasons. But we had a major developer ... that wanted to develop property in Moscow and other places. But we decided not to do it."41 The Trump Organization, however, had been pursuing a building project in Moscow-the Trump Tower Moscow project-from approximately September 2015 through June 2016, and the candidate was regularly updated on developments, including possible trips by Michael Cohen to Moscow to promote the deal and by Trump himself to finalize it.42

Cohen recalled speaking with Trump after the press conference about Trump' s denial of any business dealings in Russia, which Cohen regarded as untrue.4 3 Trump told Cohen that Trump Tower Moscow was not a deal yet and said, "Why mention it if it is not a deal?"44 According to Cohen, at around this time, in response to Trump's disavowal of connections to Russia, campaign advisors had developed a "party line" that Trump had no business with Russia and no connections to Russia.45

https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-con...-04.18.2019-Word-Searchable.-Reduced-Size.pdf

 

Jimmy...lets no sow more discord....

 

There was spying in the presidential election — and it was from Trump: Ex-FBI deputy

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/05/th...election-and-it-was-from-trump-ex-fbi-deputy/

 

Lindsey Graham claims the only ones against releasing Russia probe details 'are worried about being exposed'

President Trump has authorized Attorney General Bill Barr to declassify all materials related to the Russia investigation, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is giving his full support.

Graham said that while Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation was "not a witch hunt" like Trump has claimed, he wants to know exactly how and why it began, and expressed suspicion for those who do not support Trump's decision to release the relevant documents.

"The people who are worried about this are worried about being exposed for taking the law in their own hands," Graham said on "Fox News Sunday."

Graham was referring to the process the FBI used in applying for a FISA warrant to monitor former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. Republicans have claimed that the FBI improperly relied on and misrepresented information from Christopher Steele's unverified Russia dossier. Democrats have downplayed the role the dossier may have played in the process.

President Trump gave Barr the authority to declassify the relevant material in a memo Thursday night. A statement from White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said the president "directed the intelligence community to quickly and fully cooperate with the attorney general’s investigation into surveillance activities during the 2016 presidential election."

 

Be careful what you wish for.

 

Relax grasshopper...

You think Trump would have declassified it if it had incriminated him?

We're not worried about how the left is going to spin it, we already know they're gonna do that.