Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Russiagate from the Snow

Jeff Carlson of the Epoch Times introduces a new player, at least I don't remember hearing her name before. EXCLUSIVE: Testimony by FBI Lawyer Trisha Anderson Reveals Extensive Role in Trump, Clinton Investigations
A key player in the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation of Donald Trump and his 2016 presidential campaign was Trisha Anderson, who, at the time, was the No. 2 lawyer at the agency’s Office of General Counsel.

Despite having no specific experience in counterintelligence before coming to the FBI, Anderson was, in some manner, involved in virtually all of the significant events of the investigation.

Anderson told members of the House Judiciary and Oversight committees in August last year during closed-door testimony that she was one of only about 10 people who had known about the Trump–Russia investigation prior to its official opening.

A transcript of Anderson’s testimony, which was reviewed for this article, reveals that she had read all of the FBI’s FD302 forms detailing information that the author of the Steele dossier, former British spy Christopher Steele, had provided to high-ranking Department of Justice (DOJ) official Bruce Ohr.

Anderson also told lawmakers that she personally signed off on the original application for a warrant to spy on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page without having read it. The FBI relied heavily on the unverified information in the Steele dossier—which was paid for by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee—to obtain the FISA warrant.

Anderson also was part of a small group of FBI personnel who got to read then-FBI Director James Comey’s memos about conversations he had with President Donald Trump.

Besides the investigation into Trump, Anderson also was involved in the FBI’s investigation of Hillary Clinton for sending classified information using a private server.
It was indeed a small cabal dealing with the most explosive issues in politics for a while. Most of this seems like normal lawyering, except for her role in approving the FISA warrant on Carter Page:
Anderson signed off on the original application for a warrant to spy on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page—before the application went to Comey—despite not having read it.

During her testimony, Anderson highlighted the unusual nature of the Page FISA application process and the curious roles of McCabe and then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, who provided approvals of the Page FISA before normal FBI and DOJ approvals had been obtained:

Ms. Anderson: “All necessary approvals, including up through and including the leadership of the FBI and the leadership of the Department, by the time I put that signature on the cover page had already been obtained.”

These early high-level approvals were distinctly outside of the normal FISA process. Anderson and others were supposed to have provided approvals before the FISA was presented to senior FBI and DOJ officials. Anderson appeared to be fully aware of the uniqueness of this particular application process:

Ms. Anderson: “There were individuals, all the way up to the Deputy Director and the Deputy Attorney General on the DOJ side, who had essentially given their approval to the FISA before it got to that step in the process. That part of it was unusual, and so I didn’t consider my review at that point in the process to be substantive in nature.”

Anderson told congressional investigators that with regard to the Page FISA, by signing off she “was simply signaling, yes, this package is ready to go forward.”
So clearly the upper echelons in the FBI/DOJ world wanted that FISA warrant pretty badly so they could proceed with spying on the Trump campaign. They dummied up the evidence, and gave it to their subordinates to justify.

A ton of stuff on Andy McCabe; I'm just throwing it out for you to browse through. I saw him on Colbert last night. What a mendacious prick! McCabe too.
THE NEW REFORM CLUB: Free Speech in Andrew McCabe's America: A Post on Conlawprof

Doug Ross @ Journal: THIS IS A NATIONAL EMERGENCY: Andrew McCabe and His Co-Conspirators Belong in JailA Coup Is Dead. Now For The Counterintelligence Investigations We Really Need - The Lid

Guthrie to McCabe: How can we believe anything you say after you got fired for lying?

McCabe Gets Weird on NPR, Refuses to Answer About Lying Under Oath

Live Blog | February 19, 2019 07:10:52 | PJ MediaMcCabe's shocking claims prove the bloodless coup rolls on | TheHill

Former FBI Officials React to Andrew McCabe’s Soft Coup Admissions… | The Last Refuge

Thoughts on Andrew McCabe’s 60 Minutes Interview - Lawfare

McCabe: Rosenstein Was Counting Votes on 25th Amendment Effort for Trump's Removal | Breitbart

President Trump Tweets Interesting Response to McCabe’s Soft Coup Diatribe… | The Last Refuge

Trump tweets bathroom-themed swipe at Andrew McCabe, 'Leakin' James Comey

McCabe slams Loretta Lynch in new book, says Clinton probe should have gone to special counsel | Fox News

Conspiracy Theorist Spreads Fake News: McCabe Says Maybe Putin Ordered Trump to Fire His Pal James "JC" Comey

McCabe’s Troubles Run Much Deeper Than ‘60 Minutes’ Interview Suggests

McCabe Tries to Play Bystander, Pin It All on Rosenstein
I predict that the criminal case against McCabe for lying to the FBI goes nowhere, because the FBI and DOJ have no appetite for going after their own, and because to take the case to trial would reveal that a whole lot more of them are mendacious pricks, too.

Byron York: Much talk that something is up with Mueller. Too bad nobody knows. With Rosenstein getting out before he gets slapped in handcuffs, the Mueller investigation is almost certainly winding down, but will it end with a whimper or a bang? Magic Eight Ball says unclear.

Michael Cohen plans to give America a peek into Trump Tower, and it's 'chilling,' says lawyer - ABC News. Isn't it time for him to stop lying, and just go to jail for lying?

Former Trump adviser Stone ordered to appear in court over ... being a media whore.

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