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IG's FISA Probe May Hamper Dems' Impeachment Plans

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  • IG's FISA Probe May Hamper Dems' Impeachment Plans

    IG's FISA Probe May Hamper Dems' Impeachment Plans


    Having beaten the COLLUSION horse to death, I thought it would be good to look at the FISA Probe.

    This thread is NOT an "I hate Trump" thread, so please leave that elsewhere.
    This thread is NOT a rehash of the whole COLLUSION / OBSTRUCTION thing - there are plenty of places to spew forth ignorance on that.

    This is specifically about the FISA requests, and the IG probe (or other investigations) into same.

    As Democrats mull how far to push the impeachment envelope against President Trump after Robert Mueller found no evidence of collusion with Russia in the 2016 election but punted on obstruction of justice charges, another investigation could further blunt their attempts to oust the president from office or damage his re-election chances.

    Amid calls from Trump and his supporters to “investigate the investigators,” Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz has been hard at work over the last year looking into the sources and methods the FBI used to begin surveillance of a one-time Trump campaign adviser based at least in part on discredited information gathered by a former British spy.

    That packet of intelligence, known as the “Steele dossier,” contains salacious and unsubstantiated details about Trump’s alleged romps with Russian prostitutes, along with business and political quid pro quos with Russian officials.

    Attorney General Robert Barr said the inspector general is wrapping up his probe and could release a final report as early as next month.

    Those interviewed by Horowitz and his team over the past year, according to Politico, say he seems intensely focused on undermining the dossier and credibility of Christopher Steele, the former British MI6 agent who produced the document. Steele had served as a confidential source for the FBI since 2010 until a falling out over his leaks to the media about the Trump-Russia probe....
    The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

  • #2
    I posted this in another thread, but it seems more relevant here...

    Originally posted by Mountain Man View Post
    So how did it all start? Pull quote from a much longer analysis:

    ----------

    There is little doubt the FISA-702(16)(17) database system was used by Obama-era officials, from 2012 through April 2016, as a way to spy on their political opposition. Quite simply there is no other intellectually honest explanation for the scale and volume of database abuse that was taking place. [...]

    Everything after March 9th, 2016, was done to cover up the weaponization of the FISA database. Spygate, Russia-Gate, the Steele Dossier, and even the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (drawn from the dossier and signed by the above) were needed to create a cover-story and protect themselves from discovery of this four year weaponization, political surveillance and unlawful spying. Even the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel makes sense; he was FBI Director when this began.

    ----------

    This isn't speculation or conspiracy theorizing but factual reporting based on hard evidence. I suggest folks read the whole thing.

    https://theconservativetreehouse.com...lance-program/
    The rabbit hole is a lot deeper than most people realize.
    Some may call me foolish, and some may call me odd
    But I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of man
    Than a fool in the eyes of God


    From "Fools Gold" by Petra

    Comment


    • #3
      I find it funny that the RCP article says "he seems intensely focused on undermining the dossier and credibility of Christopher Steele"... it's been thoroughly debunked and Steele has been shown to have fabricated it out of thin air. How can you undermine anything that already isn't credible at all?
      That's what
      - She

      Without a clear-cut definition of sin, morality becomes a mere argument over the best way to train animals
      - Manya the Holy Szin (The Quintara Marathon)

      I may not be as old as dirt, but me and dirt are starting to have an awful lot in common
      - Stephen R. Donaldson

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Bill the Cat View Post
        I find it funny that the RCP article says "he seems intensely focused on undermining the dossier and credibility of Christopher Steele"... it's been thoroughly debunked and Steele has been shown to have fabricated it out of thin air. How can you undermine anything that already isn't credible at all?
        That, too!
        The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

        Comment


        • #5
          Then there is James Comey's mysterious unpaid "special government employee" who was given the keys to the NSA database kingdom and little if any oversight.

          Source: The Last Refuge

          In 2018 congressman Jim Jordan made mention of an issue where James Comey had a special employee on assignment ‘off-the-books’. People started asking questions and Fox News Catherine Herridge detailed how Daniel Richman held special access privileges to the FBI, as an outcome of former FBI Director James Comey authorizing his friend as a “Special Government Employee” or SGE.

          [...]

          From the article the benefits included: “Sources familiar with Richman’s status at the FBI told Fox News that he was assigned to “special projects” by Comey, and had a security clearance as well as badge access to the building. Richman’s status was the subject of a Memorandum of Understanding.”

          A few paragraphs later, this: “Richman’s portfolio included the use of encrypted communications by terror suspects.”

          Oh my. Well, well, well… You see what’s being described here. There’s only one way to gain access to “encrypted communications” and that means having access to the FBI and NSA database.

          https://theconservativetreehouse.com...aniel-richman/

          © Copyright Original Source


          The big questions are what was he researching, for what purpose, and who did he pass the information on to?
          Some may call me foolish, and some may call me odd
          But I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of man
          Than a fool in the eyes of God


          From "Fools Gold" by Petra

          Comment


          • #6
            Well, despite President Trump shooting up signal flares and saying, "Find out how this started!" it seems that Congressional Republicans would rather play right into the hands of the Deep State...

            Source: Chaff and Countermeasures – The DC Outrage Traps…

            Yesterday Senators Johnson and Grassley opened the door for the DOJ and FBI to justify the post-election investigation of President Donald Trump, based on a premise of a possible FBI counterintelligence operation ran against the office of the Vice-President, Mike Pence. And lickety-split the outrage voices jumped right to work. Predictable.

            Discussions, conversations and displays of evidence outlining the efforts of the intelligence community, to defend against the potential of a compromised President, are exactly what the previous administration officials want to see. This is the conversation President Obama, Susan Rice, Ben Rhodes and Denis McDonough would be happy to discuss.

            Think of the worst or most shocking possibility you can imagine for what might have taken place. Wiretaps on the White House? Enlisted assistance from staffers? Bugs placed in the cufflinks of Donald Trump? So what? From their position all of these efforts were undertaken because they were dealing with the possibility of a U.S. President who might be under the control of a foreign government. This is the conversation they would enjoy.

            From their ‘[by]-the-book‘ perspective the officials who ran the counterintelligence operation against President Trump have no fear of discussions about what they did in their post-election defense of the constitution (that’s how they will sell it). No fear.

            Discussions of seemingly outrageous activity, via lots of blockbuster revelation, is in their interest. All of their actions easily justified from the standpoint of a possibility the inbound President was compromised. “We were riddled with anxiety”, they say.

            There’s no risk to them in discussing their action, any action, undertaken from the basis of their premise. Recruiting incoming administration people to conduct surveillance and report back to the FBI? Justified under this premise. There is no upper limit.

            The participating officials within the DOJ, FBI or intelligence apparatus simply reference the possibility of President Trump as a Russian asset and every jaw-dropping headline reaches a crescendo only to fizzle into the ether of nothingness when an official says: “Yeah, so what?”

            This is exactly what those officials want to see happen as they tell the story of their unprecedented heroic efforts to ensure all angles of possibility were covered.

            These participating officials would like nothing more than a dozen congressional hearings where they can explain to the viewing public how honorable they were in trying to deal with the possibility of such an unprecedented threat… Oh, how the summer of headlines will be gleefully cheered by the adoring media. You think this conversation worries the participants? Not a smidgen.

            The entire time all of these blockbuster outrages are being debated and analyzed in granular detail, you know what’s not being discussed?… The originating predicate.

            Discussing the consequences, regardless of how ‘shocking‘, or ‘jaw-dropping‘, or ‘unimaginable‘, plays right into the hands of the participating members of the fraud and scheme. These are discoveries they welcome. These are discoveries to be planted. This is where they want the focus. This is Chaff and Countermeasures.

            What they don’t want to discuss is the origination of ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ in July 2016. What they don’t want to discuss is Fusion-GPS and the creation of the Steele Dossier. What they don’t want to discuss is how the fraudulent premise was established.

            What they don’t want to discuss is the exploitation of the NSA database for political surveillance. That’s what they don’t want to discuss… And every time attention starts to head in that direction, they’ll throw out another entirely justifiable headline-grabbing detail of their post election activity.

            https://theconservativetreehouse.com...outrage-traps/

            © Copyright Original Source

            Some may call me foolish, and some may call me odd
            But I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of man
            Than a fool in the eyes of God


            From "Fools Gold" by Petra

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Mountain Man View Post
              Well, despite President Trump shooting up signal flares and saying, "Find out how this started!" it seems that Congressional Republicans would rather play right into the hands of the Deep State...

              Source: Chaff and Countermeasures – The DC Outrage Traps…

              Yesterday Senators Johnson and Grassley opened the door for the DOJ and FBI to justify the post-election investigation of President Donald Trump, based on a premise of a possible FBI counterintelligence operation ran against the office of the Vice-President, Mike Pence. And lickety-split the outrage voices jumped right to work. Predictable.

              Discussions, conversations and displays of evidence outlining the efforts of the intelligence community, to defend against the potential of a compromised President, are exactly what the previous administration officials want to see. This is the conversation President Obama, Susan Rice, Ben Rhodes and Denis McDonough would be happy to discuss.

              Think of the worst or most shocking possibility you can imagine for what might have taken place. Wiretaps on the White House? Enlisted assistance from staffers? Bugs placed in the cufflinks of Donald Trump? So what? From their position all of these efforts were undertaken because they were dealing with the possibility of a U.S. President who might be under the control of a foreign government. This is the conversation they would enjoy.

              From their ‘[by]-the-book‘ perspective the officials who ran the counterintelligence operation against President Trump have no fear of discussions about what they did in their post-election defense of the constitution (that’s how they will sell it). No fear.

              Discussions of seemingly outrageous activity, via lots of blockbuster revelation, is in their interest. All of their actions easily justified from the standpoint of a possibility the inbound President was compromised. “We were riddled with anxiety”, they say.

              There’s no risk to them in discussing their action, any action, undertaken from the basis of their premise. Recruiting incoming administration people to conduct surveillance and report back to the FBI? Justified under this premise. There is no upper limit.

              The participating officials within the DOJ, FBI or intelligence apparatus simply reference the possibility of President Trump as a Russian asset and every jaw-dropping headline reaches a crescendo only to fizzle into the ether of nothingness when an official says: “Yeah, so what?”

              This is exactly what those officials want to see happen as they tell the story of their unprecedented heroic efforts to ensure all angles of possibility were covered.

              These participating officials would like nothing more than a dozen congressional hearings where they can explain to the viewing public how honorable they were in trying to deal with the possibility of such an unprecedented threat… Oh, how the summer of headlines will be gleefully cheered by the adoring media. You think this conversation worries the participants? Not a smidgen.

              The entire time all of these blockbuster outrages are being debated and analyzed in granular detail, you know what’s not being discussed?… The originating predicate.

              Discussing the consequences, regardless of how ‘shocking‘, or ‘jaw-dropping‘, or ‘unimaginable‘, plays right into the hands of the participating members of the fraud and scheme. These are discoveries they welcome. These are discoveries to be planted. This is where they want the focus. This is Chaff and Countermeasures.

              What they don’t want to discuss is the origination of ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ in July 2016. What they don’t want to discuss is Fusion-GPS and the creation of the Steele Dossier. What they don’t want to discuss is how the fraudulent premise was established.

              What they don’t want to discuss is the exploitation of the NSA database for political surveillance. That’s what they don’t want to discuss… And every time attention starts to head in that direction, they’ll throw out another entirely justifiable headline-grabbing detail of their post election activity.

              https://theconservativetreehouse.com...outrage-traps/

              © Copyright Original Source

              Most of the Republican Party, especially the leadership, is part of the "Deep State."

              I'm always still in trouble again

              "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
              "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
              "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Bill the Cat View Post
                I find it funny that the RCP article says "he seems intensely focused on undermining the dossier and credibility of Christopher Steele"... it's been thoroughly debunked and Steele has been shown to have fabricated it out of thin air. How can you undermine anything that already isn't credible at all?
                Isn't that sort of like being in a hole and continuing to dig ... through the magma?
                1Cor 15:34 Come to your senses as you ought and stop sinning; for I say to your shame, there are some who know not God.
                .
                ⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛
                Scripture before Tradition:
                but that won't prevent others from
                taking it upon themselves to deprive you
                of the right to call yourself Christian.

                ⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛⊛

                Comment


                • #9
                  Proving once again that the sundance from the Last Refuge is ahead of the curve...

                  Source: Breitbart

                  John Brennan: Well, I don’t think it’s surprising at all that we continue to hear the sociopathic ramblings of Mr. Trump, claiming that there was this effort to try to prevent him from being elected or to unseat him. And I welcome any type of continued investigation in terms of what we did during that period of time while we were in government. I testified in front of Congress. Absolutely I would do it again. People have called for me to do. Rand Paul and others, they make these very specious allegations that have no basis in truth. But they put it into the bloodstream and then, unfortunately, certain networks will propagate that.

                  https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2...rump-campaign/

                  © Copyright Original Source


                  He's waving the shiny object that will people from asking the BIG question, "How did it start?"
                  Some may call me foolish, and some may call me odd
                  But I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of man
                  Than a fool in the eyes of God


                  From "Fools Gold" by Petra

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I remember back when JimL and Tassman first posted about the Steele Dossier. It was so patently fake and ridiculous. "Golden Showers?"

                    I can't see any legitimate way the FBI could have believed such nonsense, nor then go and try to use that as a basis for a FISA warrant.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                      I remember back when JimL and Tassman first posted about the Steele Dossier. It was so patently fake and ridiculous. "Golden Showers?"

                      I can't see any legitimate way the FBI could have believed such nonsense, nor then go and try to use that as a basis for a FISA warrant.
                      I work with a video editor who uses what he calls the "hairy arm" technique to keep clients happy. It's when you leave a really obvious "mistake" in the finished video -- such as someone's hairy arm encroaching into a shot -- so that the client will jump on it, pat themselves on the back for catching something the professionals missed, and then they're less likely to nitpick the less obvious and inconsequential stuff.

                      I wonder if that's what the "golden showers" stuff was all about in the Steele dossier? Give people something really salacious to focus on so they're less likely to take a closer look?
                      Some may call me foolish, and some may call me odd
                      But I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of man
                      Than a fool in the eyes of God


                      From "Fools Gold" by Petra

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Bill the Cat View Post
                        I find it funny that the RCP article says "he seems intensely focused on undermining the dossier and credibility of Christopher Steele"... it's been thoroughly debunked and Steele has been shown to have fabricated it out of thin air. How can you undermine anything that already isn't credible at all?
                        That simply is not true. The dossier itself has been shown to be valid on most of the data found therein for which evidence exists. While that can't be used to say the other elements are 'true', it also can't be claimed that its content is 'made up'.


                        Jim
                        My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. James 2:1

                        If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not  bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless James 1:26

                        This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; James 1:19

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                          I remember back when JimL and Tassman first posted about the Steele Dossier. It was so patently fake and ridiculous. "Golden Showers?"

                          I can't see any legitimate way the FBI could have believed such nonsense, nor then go and try to use that as a basis for a FISA warrant.
                          What evidence do you have the dossier is 'fake'. What elements contained within it have been shown to be false by the evidence itself. From my reading so far, the elements in the dossier for which evidence exists have been shown to be factual.

                          Jim
                          My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. James 2:1

                          If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not  bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless James 1:26

                          This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; James 1:19

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by oxmixmudd View Post
                            What evidence do you have the dossier is 'fake'. What elements contained within it have been shown to be false by the evidence itself. From my reading so far, the elements in the dossier for which evidence exists have been shown to be factual.

                            Jim
                            Some parts of the dossier have been verified, but very little, and it's all inconsequential stuff that has nothing to do with Trump, his associates, or his campaign.
                            Some may call me foolish, and some may call me odd
                            But I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of man
                            Than a fool in the eyes of God


                            From "Fools Gold" by Petra

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by oxmixmudd View Post
                              What evidence do you have the dossier is 'fake'. What elements contained within it have been shown to be false by the evidence itself. From my reading so far, the elements in the dossier for which evidence exists have been shown to be factual.

                              Jim
                              If they were factual then Trump would be in jail Jim. I can't think of any elements that rang true. I haven't read the thing in over 2 years. I do recall reading it and thinking it read like National Enquirer article or something and either the person writing it was liar or he was an idiot that believed stuff fed to him by Russian spies.

                              Comment

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