Some Last Minute Russiagate

It's been a while, and I might as get what I've got out before the inauguration of of his fraudulency, China Joe Biden. I suspect further additions will come at a very slow pace.

From early last week, John Solomon at JTN has a long list (40) of declassifications he would like to see in One of Trump's biggest unfulfilled promises: Russia declassification. A couple of days later from Matt Margolis at PJ Media, IT BEGINS: Trump to Declassify 'Foot-High Stack' of Obamagate Documents. Sundance at CTH, President Trump Schedules Extensive Declassification Prior To Departure – Chris Steele Interview Likely Included, and then Senate Judiciary Committee Releases 11 Transcripts From Investigation into DOJ/FBI Misconduct During Crossfire Hurricane.  

1. Handling Agent 1: Interviewed on Tuesday, March 3, 2020 (Transcript)
2. Michael B. Steinbach: Interviewed on Friday, June 12, 2020 (Transcript)
3. Stephen C. Laycock: Interviewed on Monday, June 15, 2020 (Transcript)
4. Dana J. Boente: Interviewed on Monday, June 22, 2020 (Transcript)
5. Bruce Ohr: Interviewed on Tuesday, June 30, 2020 (Transcript)
6. Stuart Evans: Interviewed on Friday, July 31, 2020 (Transcript)
7. Supervisory Special Agent 1: [Joseph Pientka, the name no-one is allowed to repeat] Thursday, August 27, 2020 (Transcript)
8. Jonathan Moffa: Interviewed on Wednesday, September 9, 2020 (Transcript)
9. Deputy Chief, Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, Justice Department: Interviewed on Friday, September 18, 2020 (Transcript)
10. Case Agent 1: Interviewed on Friday, September 25, 2020 (Transcript)
11. Supervisory Intelligence Analyst: Interviewed on Thursday, October 29, 2020

Katie Pavlich at Town Hall, Graham Releases Transcripts from Russia Probe, FISA Abuse Investigation

“As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I have decided to release all transcripts of depositions involving the committee’s oversight of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation. We have released as much material as possible, but some classified material has still been withheld. I appreciate all those who participated in the depositions and their candor. They have charted a path to allow us to reform the system," Graham released in a statement. “I believe that Crossfire Hurricane was one of the most incompetent and corrupt investigations in the history of the FBI and DOJ."

“The FISA court was lied to. Exculpatory information was withheld on those being investigated. The investigators, with some notable exceptions, were incredibly biased and used the powers of law enforcement for political purposes. The subjects of the investigation had their lives turned upside down. It is my hope that counterintelligence investigations will be reined in and this never happens again in America," he continued. “I hope that the media will look closely at what happened and examine these documents, but I am not holding my breath...I will be pursuing reforms of counterintelligence investigations and warrant applications, and hope that my Democratic and Republican colleagues can find common ground on these matters. I also hope and expect that FBI Director Wray will continue the reforms he has started. It is hard to believe that something like Crossfire Hurricane could have happened in America. The bottom line is that going forward we must have more checks and balances when it comes to political investigations. We must have more meaningful sign-offs on warrant applications, and we need to restore the trust to the American people in this system."

So what have we found out that we don't already know? Well, the mystery FBI agent, Joe Pientka, who was Peter Strzok's right hand man in framing Gen. Michael Flynn, among other things, tried to look into the validity of the Steele Dossier, and was shut down by Bill Priestap. Chuck Ross at Da Caller,  FBI Agent Quit Crossfire Hurricane Team After His Effort To Validate Christopher Steele Was Shut Down. Sundance, FBI Supervisory Special Agent Joseph Pientka Testified The Review of Chris Steele was “Turned Off” By FBI Director of Counter Intel Bill Priestap

If the recent Senate transcripts are an indication of SSA Pientka’s side of the stories, it would appear the testimony and truthfulness of Pientka’s statements would be adverse to the interests of EVERYONE who framed the Trump-Russia narrative.

Within his testimony; and if we accept it is likely consistent with internal investigative statements to the IG and others; it appears Pientka realized the activity of the FBI was intentionally taken to hide the truth of how intelligence was weaponized against the Trump administration.

Joseph Pientka wanted to investigate Chris Steele in November of 2016 because he knew something was sketchy. Following the use of Chris Steele to get the FISA warrant on Carter Page -and by extension the Trump administration- Pientka wanted to explore the motives of Steele and the contacts he was using to push his narrative. That’s where FBI Director of Counterintelligence, Bill Priestap, steps in and stops Pientka.

John Solomon at JTN, FBI, State officials aware early on Steele made major mistake in Russia reporting "FBI kept silent about flaws in Steele reporting, one of which widely known." No Russian consulate in Miami.

Sundance has Sunday Talks, Lindsey Graham Attempts to Explain Why He Did Not Subpoena FBI/DOJ Spygate Operatives. He's not convinced. 

Fox, Biden pick for top Pentagon position hyped Steele dossier, Trump-Russia collusion claims

'Steele's Trump-Russia Dossier holds up pretty well,' Kahl tweeted in 2017. I hope some Republican Senators ask some pointed questions, at the very least. And from Sundance, A Severely Compromised Senator Mark Warner is About To Become Chairman of The Senate Intelligence Committee and he explains Warner's role in Russiagate. Yes, elections have consequences. Often bad. Jerry Dunleavy at WaEx, NSA moves forward with installing Michael Ellis as its top lawyer despite Democratic opposition. Embedding a Nunes lawyer in the federal bureaucracy. I'm OK with that.

Da Blaze, Report: Trump considering pardon for Steve Bannon. Fine.

Chuck Ross at Da Caller, US Sanctions Ukrainians Linked To Giuliani Who Were Part Of ‘Russia-Linked Disinformation Network’

The Trump administration on Monday announced sanctions against seven Ukrainians, including several who have met with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, on allegations that they are part of “Russia-linked disinformation network” that tried to influence the 2020 election.

The Treasury Department imposed the sanctions against seven individuals and four media outlets that are linked to Andrii Derkach, a Ukrainian lawmaker previously sanctioned over his ties to Russian intelligence.

At WaPoo, Opinion from Sue Gordon: Trump?s intelligence briefings should stop once he leaves office. Are you sure he wants them?

Russiagate Blowing in the Wind

I'm supposed to be fishing today, but we were delayed on account of the wind. It's supposed to let off by 10 AM though; here's hoping. 

A reminder from NYPo  how Members of Mueller’s team ‘wiped’ phones during Trump probe: DOJ  From the Epoch Times, Wiping Phones and Erasing the Public’s Trust

The 33,000 emails that Hillary had wiped from her home-brew server were entirely private, she said, having to do with yoga classes and her daughter’s wedding. Then why resort to professional data wiping software? Why pretend not to know what it means to “wipe” a computer server? (“You mean with a cloth?”) Why instruct your minions to destroy your smart phones with a hammer?

Nothing happened to Hillary because she occupies a zone of privilege even more exalted than that occupied by Speaker Pelosi.

What about Robert Mueller’s Merry Band of Pranksters and their repristinated phones? What happens to them? Sidney Powell, the indefatigable attorney for Michael Flynn, has charged that their actions constitute “obstruction of justice and destruction of evidence of the worst sort.” That of course is for a court to say.

But the optics, I think we can agree, are not good.

Pretty much evidence of consciousness of guilt. John Sexton at Hot Air Catherine Herridge: Memo Indicates Peter Strzok Approved His Own Draft To Open The Crossfire Hurricane Investigation 

Catherine Herridge obtained an Electronic Communication (EC) via Judicial Watch which announced the launch of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation. The memo was drafted by Trump-hating FBI agent Peter Strzok and also states it was approved by Strzok. Herridge suggests that may be a problem.

“Former senior FBI agent tells @CBSNews that same person drafting + signing off on an ‘EC’ is unusual + may violate the ‘DIOG’ or Domestic Investigations Operations Guide which is the roadmap/rule book for FBI agents. Based on “DIOG, Crossfire Hurricane appears to fall under ‘Sensitive Investigative Matter’ because it involved a political candidate/organization – DIOG states these cases should be brought to attention ‘FBI HQ + other DOJ officials’

According to the IG report, Strzok's immediate boss, Bill Priestap authorized the investigation . . .

That seems straightforward enough but if Priestap approved the investigation why isn’t his name on the EC? Isn’t that what the “approved by” line is there for? Maybe there’s a perfectly reasonable answer to that question based on how the FBI normally does its paperwork, but given the significance of this document it’s worth asking. The document really does make it look as if Strzok approved his own draft.

It’s also worth keeping in mind that both AG Barr and John Durham said last December that they had disagreements with IG Horowitz on exactly this point, i.e whether or not the opening of the investigation was properly predicated:

And from the Dept of About Damned Time, Chuck Ross at Da Caller Reports  GOP Senate Chairman Seeks Subpoena For ‘Spygate’ Professor

Sen. Ron Johnson, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, is seeking authority to subpoena Stefan Halper, the former Cambridge professor who worked as an FBI confidential source during the Trump-Russia probe.

The Senate panel will hold a vote Wednesday regarding subpoenas for 41 witnesses Johnson wants to interview as part of a broad review of the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign and other intelligence-gathering activities regarding Trump associates.

The committee voted along party lines in June to authorize subpoenas to compel testimony from 35 witnesses. Politico published an updated list on Monday of witnesses Johnson’s wants to subpoena.

The list includes Halper and his FBI handling agent, Steven Somma. Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, the top Democrat on the committee, wrote in a letter to Johnson on Monday that he opposes granting the subpoenas.

Republicans have questioned the FBI’s relationship with Halper, who has worked for four Republican administrations.

The FBI tapped Halper to meet with and secretly record three Trump campaign advisers: Carter Page, George Papadopoulos and Sam Clovis.

Sundance at CTH is irate but not surprised as  Blazing Sunlight – Senate Intel Committee Refuses to Give GOP Senators Documents From Russia Investigation…. He's pretty well convince the SSCI was in on it all, and he may well be right.

Also, Ric Grenell Explains “The Big Ugly” – Outsider Trump is an Existential Threat…

 

Remember, if you hate Ric Grenell, it's because you're homophobic.

John Solomon at JTN, State Department reported Burisma paid bribe while Hunter Biden served on board, memos show. Hell, Hunter being on the board was a bribe. 

The National Pulse, EXCLUSIVE: Obama Lawyers Fund ‘Transition Integrity’ Group Which Claims To Be ‘Non-Partisan’, Tied To Hunter Biden

The critical connection comes through President Obama’s former associate White House Counsel, Ian Bassin, who heads the anti-Trump litigation efforts Protect Democracy Project and United to Protect Democracy.

Bassin previously headed the far-left Avaaz network, founded in turn by the leftist MoveOn.org group, as well as the Truman National Security Project, which has featured lead Joe Biden policy advisor Jake Sullivan and Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden on its board.

The revelations destroy the Transition Integrity Project’s central tenet: that it is a non-partisan and independent organization that simply seeks to secure the fair results of the upcoming election.

The group has previously attempted to claim that it “takes no position on how Americans should cast their votes, or on the likely winner of the upcoming election.”

Abuse of non-profits is wide spread, and bipartisan, but it's only bad when Republicans do it. 

Russiagate on a Fine Wednesday Morning

Cooling off today. John Cleer at Red State wants to know Who Told Clinesmith to Do It?. I'm betting on Andy Weissman myself, probably through a layer or two of deniability.

I find it unlikely that Clinesmith committed this forgery of his own accord, and unusual that a junior employee would be tasked by the FBI and Special Counsel with a pivotal role in such a high-level criminal operation: overseeing the applications for search warrants targeting a sitting president, his cabinet and even his family, for made up reasons. Shipwreck contends his assignment, while surprising, “is not atypical in the Bureau where oftentimes the view is that agents/analysts/OGC attorneys are “fungible”. By training and procedures, all are equal to each other.”

This may be a common view at the FBI, but would they apply it while attempting a coup? Mueller hired “one of the most impressive groups ever assembled for a special counsel investigation” and the FBI sent him a young man with one year at the Bureau. I can’t imagine why they’d do this but to use Clinesmith as the “fall guy,” in which he’d be closely watched–if the forgery wasn’t his idea, he probably wouldn’t get away with it.

Weisman is arguing that a forgery can’t be a falsification unless the content of the forged statement is also false; and he has to know this isn’t true. He tweeted last week, rhetorically, that

Clinesmith is charged with adding the words “not a source” to an email about Carter Page, but no where does the charge say that is false, i.e. that Page was a source for the CIA. Without that, how is the addition “materially” false?

It’s “materially” false because he said the liaison wrote it when she didn’t, and in doing caused the FISA application to go forward: A “Materially false statement means any false statement, regardless of its admissibility under the rules of evidence, which could have affected the course or outcome of an official proceeding”. Clinesmith admitted in his plea to doing this on purpose but claims he had no *intention* to mislead, and thought Page was truly not a source but instead some kind of sub-source. This is a funny thing to say, as he plead guilty making a false statement *intentionally*, and there are lawyers who think it constitutes an invalid guilty plea. Clinesmith claims to have thought Page wasn’t technically a source, which is immaterial since its being a forgery is what made the statement false and he admits this was done intentionally. The judge made him clarify (“In other words, you agree you intentionally altered the email to include information that was not originally in the email?”) before pleading, but for many that isn’t good enough.

You can read the Clinesmith plea agreement here.  Chuck Ross at Da Caller, Carter Page Provides Glimpse Of His CIA Links In New Book. Sundance at CTH, Trying to Cut The Gordian Knot – Carter Page Outlines Five FBI Interviews in March of 2017…



Jerry Dunleavy at WaEx, Lindsey Graham to subpoena FBI official he says misled Senate Intelligence Committee on Steele dossier

A top Senate Republican said he plans to subpoena Bill Priestap, a key leader in the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation, after pushback from the former bureau official’s lawyer.

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Maria Bartiromo on Fox News's Sunday Morning Futures that he is escalating his effort to interview the FBI's former head of counterintelligence. The senator said he believes Priestap gave misleading information to the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2018 about the reliability of British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s discredited dossier.

Graham said he expected to interview Priestap last week, but “his lawyer contacted us and put conditions on the interview that are unacceptable.” So, the senator said, “I’m going to subpoena him,” in part, because it was Priestap “who gave the Senate Intel a briefing about the reliability of the subsource in 2018 that basically whitewashed the actual evidence."

From 'shipwreckedcrew' at Red State,  “The Comey Rule” Movie — A Fictional Account of Crossfire Hurricane Based on Comey’s Book “A Higher Loyalty”

I’ve only watched it once, and the IMMEDIATE vibe I got from it was Oliver Stone’s “JFK”. That was Oliver Stone’s personal view of events leading up to the assassination of JFK, largely not in accord with the historical record. But that is a debate for a different day.

I have a suspicion we are going to suffer through the same kind of experience with “The Comey Rule” — which will provide a version of events that have already been lapped by actual facts undermining Comey’s descriptions in his book. There will be scenes that attempt to cast Comey as the upstanding paragon of ethical commitment, but we now know that some topics covered in his book involve versions of events that are incomplete and/or inaccurate.

Speaking of collusion with the Russians, from Eric Felten at RCI, Top Kerry Aide, Key Conduit for Steele Dossier, Once Worked for Russian Oligarch, as Did Its Author

Jonathan Winer, a former top aide to Secretary of State John Kerry who was a key conduit for disseminating the discredited Steele dossier in the U.S. government, worked as a lobbyist for Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska in years preceding the Russiagate affair. This revelation raises new questions about Russian efforts to influence American foreign policy -- far afield from any Kremlin efforts to favor Donald Trump.

Winer’s connection to Deripaska came to light through last week’s release of the fifth and final volume of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 campaign. The Senate report also found that at different times ex-British spy Christopher Steele had worked for the powerful oligarch with ties to President Vladimir Putin, and sent scores of reports from his intelligence firm on to Winer, who admitted to the panel destroying many of them before leaving the State Department. Further, the Senate developed evidence that Glenn Simpson – whose company Fusion GPS contracted with Steele for the dossier – also did work for Deripaska. Simpson denied that, telling senators, “I don’t think I’ve knowingly had any contact with his organization.”

In his initial interview with the Senate committee, Winer claimed never to have met the oligarch. In a second interview Winer revised this answer. He conceded that, beginning in 2003, Deripaska had hired the law firm Alston & Bird, where Winer was a partner. He worked on the Deripaska account but, asserting attorney-client privilege, refused to say what exactly he had done on Deripaska’s behalf. RealClearInvestigations sent questions to Alston & Bird’s spokesman but received no reply.

On the ongoing persecution of Gen. Michael Flynn, Sundance has Flynn Oral Argument Transcript Released – Decision Imminent Due to Justice Griffith Retiring…

Regardless of what decision is reached, the announcement should be anticipated prior to Judge Griffith being replaced by recently confirmed Trump nominee Judge Justin Walker. That means we could see a decision announced this Friday, or by next Friday at the latest.

The judges could remove Judge Sullivan and reassign the case. In that event it’s likely the next judge would simply accept the motion to dismiss. However, the DC circuit could also deliver a ruling that allows Sullivan to retain the final disposition with strong guidance on any subsequent activity.

Given the extra-judicial path of this case essentially anything is possible. That said, the DC appeals court likely doesn’t want this decision being reviewed any further (SCOTUS). It would make sense for the DC panel to seek a face-saving exit for Sullivan that doesn’t put Flynn’s defense in a position to appeal to Supreme Court Justice Roberts for intervention.

Joseph Weber at JTN,  In New York, subpoena delayed on Trump financials, state attorney general wants Eric Trump deposed. Clint Fargeau at Red State, Steve Bannon’s Arrest Shows Why Democrats Have Salivated over Trump’s Tax Returns

The Resistance bureaucrats could use the tax return to pry open all the accounting for the president’s extensive business networks. Any ambiguous accounting decisions–or heaven forbid, serious mistakes–would be cast in the blackest light and used as a pretext for “Impeachment 2.0: We Got You This Time, A**hole.”

Even if the gray accounting turned out to be wholly defensible, it wouldn’t matter. All the public would hear is that THE PRESIDENT IS AN INDICTED MONEY CRIMINAL! Most Americans could not hope to understand the tax and accounting arguments that would arise, so their first impression would be hard to dispel.

An army of Twitter wits (“twits”) and the Hollywood actor brigade (who are experts in everything, but especially tax law) taunted the president when he refused to release his tax returns in 2016: “If you have nothing to hide, just release your returns. What are you afraid of, huh? Huh?”

A minor infraction or ambiguous accounting practice getting blown up into a weapon to cripple his presidency–that’s what Trump was afraid of–I guarantee it. And boy howdy, he was right to be. It’s too early to tell, but I *suspect* that is just what has happened to Bannon.

We’ll see.

As if to demonstrate the seriousness of their efforts,  New York AG Laughs About Suing President Trump (Matt Palumbo at Bongino).