I bet there are some bung holes getting tight right about now.
Each also is dealing with an elephant that’s not just in the room but sitting uncomfortably in their laps. Christopher Steele’s dossier is clearly a Russian intelligence operation (“active measure” in IC-speak) that took advantage of a cooperative outreach by the Hillary Clinton campaign.
If these IC leaders didn’t recognize it as such, then it truly was amateur hour at the top. The more troubling scenario would be if each made a conscious decision to ignore the obvious Russian interference attempt and, instead, wring political value out of the dossier.
The American people shouldn’t feel badly if all this seems confusing. Even experienced counterintelligence investigators are scratching their heads. The former FBI general counsel to Comey, James Baker, added to the confusion last week with some lawyer language — that the FBI “took the dossier seriously, but not necessarily literally.” Say what?
IG Horowitz likely will take note of that statement as he finalizes his review of possible abuses by Comey and his team of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) process. It seems doubtful that a FISA court judge would have granted an electronic surveillance order had he been told the FBI believed Page was acting as an agent of Russia — but not literally so.
https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/444802-ag-barr-puts-former-intel-bosses-on-notice
Replies
Benghazi!
Moved to Montana, gonna be a dental floss tycoon.
Thanks, Obama.
Russia! Collusion!
I think the Russians planted this story about them planting the other story. Reverse psychology and all that.
“If it is what you say it is, I love it.”
Those are quotation marks In case you misplaced your reading glasses.
It does seem like there really was Russian collusion. And the DNC even paid 10 million for it.
I thought we gave all the money to Iran for suicide vests?
You do realize that the Clinton campaign never released this dosier right?
Not too mention that the investigation was started not because of the dosier, but by the comments and behavior of people associated with the campaign.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/30/us/politics/how-fbi-russia-investigation-began-george-papadopoulos.html
Mike do you ever sleep at night or do you just keep patrolling the perimeter?
Jim
While the Dossier might be BS, the fact is Trump has acted As If Putieputt has something on him. And that led people to give the Dossier story some credence. If Trump wasn't acting so weird the story would have been ignored.
FBI
Counterintelligence
Investigation
Let those words sink in for a while.
I"m sure I'm wrong. I mean, for two years you same folks bought the Russian conspiracy hook line and sinker. All the while I told you it was a made up BS investigation with fake intelligence (provided by none other than <<< RUSSIA >>> and paid for by the opposing party. So yea, I'm sure I'm wrong again...
If we are so wrong, why not release the full report? If we are so wrong, why not release the tax records? Why not let McCahn testify? Why would 800 prosecutors say he would be charged with a crime if he were not in the White House?
BTW the report does show that the Trump campaign was interested in Russian assistance, and that the Russians were engaged in a campaign to get Trump elected.
If the full report had a hand written note from God clearing Trump, it wouldn’t matter. I’ve seen enough from this party over the last two years to know that there is nothing too low. I learned that from watching Kavenaugh’s daughters being rushed out of his hearing (likely his greatest lifetime achievement) as they tried to paint him as a serial ****. Despite an overwhelming evidence to the contrary, despite high school years books, despite dozens of female character witnesses, still they went after the guy. I’d fight the DNC at every turn if I were Trump too. His life and legacy is at stake and they are hell bent on destroying them. Fake intel to start a spying operation on the opposing party,,, no problem. Now it’s Barr’s turn in the Barrel. I’m sure he’ll be painted as the anti-christ in the following days and weeks now that the intel on the genesis of this witch hunt have been declassified.
The people are ready to move on and for their elected officials to govern. Nancy has a city full of human feces to clean up and he highest income inequality in the whole nation to do something about. They have become the party of the elite. Someday those poor people are going to realize that this all just a smoke screen to keep their attention far away from the reality of their poo filled streets.
Let's face it, you will buy any load of crap this administration feeds you.
There are significant separation of powers questions with regard to a presidential advisor being forced to testify to Congress regarding conversations with the President. If the President cannot have private conversations with his advisors, that would put a chilling effect on the information the President could receive.
McGahn was an advisor, not a Cabinet official.
Presidents have been turning down such requests for 50 years, and well they should.
Nadler claims this time is different because McGahn answered Mueller's questions. But there is no separation of powers question here. Mueller was part of the Executive branch.
Cesspool politics are so difficult to judge.
MikeA, you really should read something other than what you have been, you'll discover that there has been quite a few indictments, convictions associated with the investigation you say is fake. If IQ45 did no wrong, or his campaign did no wrong, why are there so many convictions for lying to congress?
http://time.com/5556331/mueller-investigation-indictments-guilty-pleas/
Moved to Montana, gonna be a dental floss tycoon.
Okay guys who lived through the 60’s:
Are we at Nixon level yet? Sure, different styles from the POTUS, but this has to be up there, right?
Except he did testify to Mueller and Trump called him a liar.
BTW Mueller never said there was no collusion. He said it wasn't a thing and he could not find indictable proof the administration conspired. But that was because he would have to prove intent. He never said the President was not guilty of wrong doing only that he could not prove a crime. Is that really the bar we want to set?
As to Obstruction, there was plenty of evidence, he just could not indict a sitting president.
https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-prosecutors-trump-obstruction-20190506-story.html
If the full report had that hand written note, Trump would release it and everyone would be testifying before the Republican Controlled Senate Committee.