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Government Corruption

McCabe memos show how disgraced FBI leader kept Trump-Russia collusion hoax alive in 2017

2025-04-25

Another long one with lots of details at the link.

[JustTheNews] Newly-declassified Crossfire Hurricane records reveal the key role that Andrew McCabe played in perpetuating the Russiagate hoax. There are still people who believe it.

Newly-declassified memos written by disgraced FBI official Andrew McCabe shine new light on how he kept the Trump-Russia collusion hoax investigation alive during a critical period in the first half of 2017 before he got it handed off to a special counsel.

The eight memos penned by McCabe, most of which had never been released until earlier this month, span his discussions and meetings (including with President Donald Trump) held from January 24, 2017 to May 21, 2017 — a critical time period ranging from just before the FBI sprung an interview on retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn to just after Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel. The memos were more fully declassified through efforts by Trump and FBI Director Kash Patel earlier this month.

McCabe was a stalwart ally of since-fired FBI Director James Comey, coordinated closely with since-fired FBI special agent Peter Strzok on the launch and the conduct of the flawed and politicized Crossfire Hurricane investigation, and relied heavily upon disgraced FBI lawyer Lisa Page as his close confidante.

Pushed the Steele dossier

McCabe and Comey had pushed in December 2016 to include British ex-spy Christopher Steele's debunked dossier in the body of the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment on alleged Russian meddling, but they were thwarted by the NSA and CIA. The dossier was eventually included in an annex to the assessment.

By early 2017, McCabe and the FBI knew that the Steele dossier was baseless. The FBI had offered Steele an “incentive” in October 2016 of up to $1 million if he could prove the allegations in his discredited anti-Trump dossier, but the former MI6 agent was unable to back up his claims. An FBI spreadsheet from December 2016 showed nothing of any substance from the dossier could be verified. The FBI had unearthed nothing derogatory on Flynn. And an early 2017 interview of Steele’s main source — Igor Danchenko — undercut the dossier’s collusion claims.

Yet despite the huge setbacks for Crossfire Hurricane, McCabe’s newly-declassified memos show how McCabe facilitated the FBI’s targeting of Flynn, met with Vice President Mike Pence and other White House officials about the Flynn allegations, refused to publicly shoot down false media stories on collusion, opened a collusion investigation into Trump himself after Comey was fired, kept the Trump-Russia investigation alive and escalated it as the acting FBI director, helped successfully push for a special counsel to take the reins, and more.

McCabe did not respond to a request for comment sent to him by Just the News through his LinkedIn.

January 24, 2017 — Mike Flynn’s call with McCabe

McCabe created his first memo related to a discussion he had with Flynn just before he was interviewed by FBI agents on January 24, 2017. Versions of the memo were previously released with various redactions in 2019 and 2020, but the version released this month has the fewest redactions yet.

The FBI had been plotting how to potentially prosecute Flynn related to his December 2016 call with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, including potentially under the Logan Act.

McCabe said that “I told LTG Flynn that I had a sensitive matter to discuss. I explained that in light of the significant media coverage and public discussion about his recent contacts with Russian representatives, that Director Comey and I felt that we needed to have two of our agents sit down with the General and hear from him the details of those conversations. LTG Flynn asked if I was referring to his contacts with the Russian Ambassador to the United States, and indicated that I was.”

McCabe said in his memo that Flynn explained that he had been trying to "build relationships" with the Russians, and that he had calls in which he "exchanged condolences." McCabe said Flynn then stated that McCabe probably knew what was said in these calls because "you listen to everything they say."

McCabe said of his talk with Flynn that “I reiterated that in light of everything that has been said about these contacts, the important thing now was for us to hear directly from him what he said and how he felt about the conversations.”

Comey later admitted in 2018 that he took advantage of the chaos in the early days of Trump’s administration when he sent FBI special agents Peter Strzok and Joseph Pientka to talk to Flynn.

“I sent them,” Comey said to MSNBC anchor Nicolle Wallace, prompting laughter in the audience. “Something I probably wouldn’t have done or maybe gotten away with in … a more organized administration. In the George W. Bush administration, for example, or the Obama administration.”

“In both of those administrations, there was process, and so, if the FBI wanted to send agents into the White House itself to interview a senior official, you would work through the White House counsel, and there’d be discussions and approvals and who would be there, and I thought, it’s early enough — let’s just send a couple guys over,” Comey added.

STRZOK OVERJOYED THAT FLYNN CASE NOT CLOSED
The Justice Department’s motion to dismiss the Flynn case in May 2020 stated that Strzok learned in early January 2017 that the Flynn case had not been closed despite the lack of evidence for keeping it open, and relayed the “serendipitously good” news to McCabe's special assistant Lisa Page, with whom Strzok was having an affair. Strzok remarked that “our utter incompetence actually helps us.” Strzok then instructed FBI agents to “keep it open for now” at the behest of “the 7th Floor” of the bureau.

The DOJ said that “the FBI kept open its counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn based solely on his calls with Kislyak — the only new information to arise since the FBI’s determination to close the case.” McCabe did not tell Flynn that he was being interviewed by the FBI as part of an investigation targeting the Trump campaign.

McCabe said in his memo that “LTG Flynn questioned how so much information had been made public and asked if we thought it had been leaked” and “I replied that we were quite concerned about what we perceived as significant leaks and that we were in the process of completing a referral to the Department of Justice requesting authority to initiate a leak investigation.” McCabe said that “I further indicated that these cases were hard to prove but that we thought the significance of this situation demanded a thorough review.”

Link

-Short Attention Span Theater-

Dem senator's El Salvador trip might violate law liberals used as pretext for Michael Flynn probe: critics

2025-04-20

[FoxNews] The Logan Act of 1799 prohibits unauthorized foreign negotiations

Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s, D-Md., sudden trip to El Salvador to try to free deportee Kilmar Abrego Garcia is getting the attention of critics who believe the Maryland Democrat may have violated a 1799 law prohibiting unauthorized diplomacy.

The Logan Act – named for former Pennsylvania Sen. George Logan – stipulates a fine and/or imprisonment for Americans corresponding with foreign officials "with intent to influence the[ir] measures … in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States."

Logan met with French diplomat Charles de Talleyrand after Paris rebuffed President John Adams, and he attempted to entreat him – in part via a letter from Vice President Thomas Jefferson – to end the Franco-American hostilities of the so-called "Quasi War."

In that way, several prominent conservatives questioned whether Van Hollen’s actions similarly violated the law.

"Why hasn’t this U.S. senator been arrested for violation of the Logan Act? It’s illegal to conduct your own foreign policy," longtime Republican consultant Roger Stone tweeted.

WMAL host Vince Coglianese read the Logan Act statute aloud and asked his audience whether Van Hollen had done what the code outlined.

"Is Chris Van Hollen violating the Logan Act?" Coglianese said. "Because this is what they accused General [Michael] Flynn of doing … the incoming national security advisor … who was merely having conversations with foreign diplomats [after] people had chosen President Donald Trump."

Democrats previously seized on the Logan Act when Flynn contacted Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak prior to Trump being sworn in the first time, which ultimately led to an FBI probe and tanked his public-service career.

Notes from former FBI agent Peter Strzok read, "VP: Logan Act" and suggested then-Vice President Joe Biden floated using it against Flynn, while then-FBI director Jim Comey said the Kislyak correspondence appeared "legit."

Link

Government Corruption

Convicted FBI lawyer spared from prison by Boasberg far more involved in Russia probe than known

2025-04-18

Long and detailed. A taste:

[JustTheNews] The judge who has emerged as a top foe of Trump's deportation efforts previously let a well-known Trump-Russia collusion hoax proponent off the hook. But newly-declassified Crossfire Hurricane records show the FBI's Kevin Clinesmith was deeply involved in in the bogus Russiagate saga.

Convicted FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith — whom Judge James Boasberg gave a slap on the wrist for his crimes years before becoming a public foe of President Donald Trump’s deportation policies — was more deeply involved in the deeply flawed Crossfire Hurricane investigation than previously known.

Clinesmith, who worked on both the FBI’s Hillary Clinton email investigation and on the Trump-Russia collusion inquiry, pleaded guilty to falsifying a document during the bureau’s efforts to renew FISA authority to wiretap Carter Page, who was an adviser to Trump's 2016 campaign.

Newly-declassified details about Clinesmith’s involvement include a wide swath of information about his role in the case. He was a key go-to for former FBI lawyer Lisa Page and fired FBI special agent Peter Strzok throughout the debunked collusion saga and a main driver in obtaining a FISA warrant against Page based on the infamous Steele dossier.

Clinesmith also granted his seal of approval on a document describing the FBI’s pretextual briefing of then-candidate Trump, was deeply involved in the investigation into retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, played a role in going after former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, and more. He also helped the FBI push its “Cross Wind” investigation, which Just the News can confirm related to the targeting of security expert Walid Phares, which resulted in no accusations of wrongdoing and no charges.

KNEE-DEEP IN THE MUD
Clinesmith confessed in August 2020 that he had manipulated a CIA email in 2017 to state that Carter Page was “not a source” for the CIA when that agency had actually told the bureau on multiple occasions that Page was in fact an “operational contact” for the CIA.

Boasberg, the federal judge who is blocking Trump’s efforts to deport Venezuelan gang members, also played a key and controversial role in the aftermath of the Trump-Russia collusion saga as the leader of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The judge, nominated to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by then-President Barack Obama in 2011, is currently engaged in an all-out legal battle with the Trump Justice Department.

But in his role as the head of the FISA Court he made a number of divisive decisions, including a slap on the wrist for a member of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane team, the appointment of officials who had defended the FBI’s actions during the Russiagate saga, the renewal of the FBI’s FISA powers, and more.

BOASBERG DEFENDS CLINESMITH
Boasberg ruled this week that “probable cause exists” to hold Trump administration officials in criminal contempt after they violated his orders by continuing deportation flights. But his ruling follows the Supreme Court holding that Boasberg's court was in an improper venue for the case altogether.

Boasberg, in his role as a federal judge, denied the Justice Department’s efforts to seek up to six months behind bars for Clinesmith, who pleaded guilty in Special Counsel John Durham’s Trump-Russia investigation — instead giving Clinesmith a year of probation, 400 hours of community service, and no fine.

The remaining subheds:

Collaboration on the Carter Page FISA
Clinesmith altered docs, hid information from FISA court
Sign off on doc detailing pretextual briefing of Trump
Clinesmith Targets Flynn
Leaks and unmasking
"Out to get Trump"
Steele Dossier dissemination
Clinesmith and Papadopoulos
Strzok establishes a pattern of untruths
“Cross Wind”
Clinesmith: "Viva le resistance"
Comey arranges leaks to media
The Crossfire docs a profitable venture

Link

Home Front: Politix

Bill Barr Inadvertently Makes the Case for Kash Patel As FBI Director While Left-Wingers Go Into Shock

2024-12-02

[RedState] Reactions have come fast and hard following Kash Patel's nomination to lead the FBI. Donald Trump made the selection amid years of corruption and abuse within the nation's top law enforcement agency, citing Patel's role in uncovering the Russian collusion hoax.

To be sure, though, his resume extends much further, having held numerous high-level positions in the Pentagon, DOJ, and NSC. Anyone claiming he's not "qualified" is simply not telling the truth.

Still, some are trying to make that case by sharing a quote from Bill Barr's 2022 tell-all book in which he trashed Patel as having "virtually no experience that would qualify him to serve at the highest level of the world’s preeminent law enforcement agency." At the time, Barr was referring to the possibility of Patel becoming deputy director at the FBI.

I categorically opposed making Patel deputy FBI director. I told Mark Meadows it would happen "over my dead body." In the first place, all the leadership positions in the bureau, except the director, have always been FBI agents. They've all gone through the same agent training and have had broad experience in the field and at headquarters. Someone with no background as an agent would never be able to command the respect necessary to run the day-to-day operations of the bureau. Furthermore, Patel had virtually no experience that would qualify him to serve at the highest level of the world’s preeminent law enforcement agency.

If I could only write one more sentence for this article, it would be this: I can't think of a better endorsement for Patel to serve as FBI director than that.

Fortunately, I can write a few more, and I've got just a few things to say. First, the idea that the FBI should perpetually staff itself is exactly how it became a corrupt agency more intent on protecting "the shield" and damaging its political enemies than serving the American people. The bureau is not a fourth branch of government, free from the confines of the accountability of voters.

Trump was not elected to keep the status quo rolling, and those using Barr's 2022 quote to try to attack Patel's nomination should realize they are irrelevant. No one cares about "norms" when those norms have produced the targeting of Christians, the arrest of pro-lifers for expressing free speech, and the surveilling of parents at school board meetings. Never mind the litany of FBI figures such as Andrew McCabe and Peter Strzok, who have been exposed as corrupt partisans who abused their power to try to take down Trump.

To put it frankly, the FBI has forfeited any right to claim sovereignty and "independence." Too much has transpired, and if any of the rank-and-file have a problem with the coming reforms, they are welcome to quit.

Further, the fact that so many left-wingers are freaking out only serves as more evidence that Patel is the right man for the job.

No, we aren't heading for a "constitutional crisis" because the FBI is not a constitutional agency. It is a bloated, corrupt bureaucracy under the direct leadership of the president and one in desperate need of a house cleaning. It is not in question whether the bureau has abused its power to go after the political enemies of the left. That demands a reckoning, and a reckoning is coming whether the Beltway elites like it or not.

Link

Government Corruption

DOJ settles with former FBI officials over release of anti-Trump texts

2024-07-28

[FoxNews] Strzok celebrated the settlement as a victory for the rights of government employees

The Department of Justice has settled with two former FBI officials over violation of privacy rights.

Former counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page filed suit against the Justice Department over the release of their text message conversations expressing contempt for former President Donald Trump.

According to court documents reviewed by the Associated Press, Strzok settled his case for $1.2 million, while Page received $800,000.

In 2019, Strzok argued in a court filing in Washington, D.C., federal district court that his politically charged anti-Trump messages were protected by the First Amendment even though he sent them on bureau-issued phones while playing leading roles in the probes into both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

Strzok, once the FBI's head of counterintelligence, said he was entitled to "develop a full factual record through discovery," and that it would be premature to dismiss the case at this early stage. He went on to argue that the DOJ's position would "leave thousands of career federal government employees without protections from discipline over the content of their political speech."

"This outcome is a critical step forward in addressing the government’s unfair and highly politicized treatment of Pete," said lawyer Aitan Goelam, who is representing Strzok.

Goelam continued, "As important as it is for him, it also vindicates the privacy interests of all government employees. We will continue to litigate Pete’s constitutional claims to ensure that, in the future, public servants are protected from adverse employment actions motivated by partisan politics."

Page also filed suit against the FBI and Department of Justice, alleging the government's publication of her salacious text messages with Strzok constituted a breach of the Federal Privacy Act.

"While I have been vindicated by this result, my fervent hope remains that our institutions of justice will never again play politics with the lives of their employees," Page said in a statement.

Page's complaint also sought reimbursement for "the cost of childcare during and transportation to multiple investigative reviews and appearances before Congress," the "cost of paying a data-privacy service to protect her personal information" and attorney's fees.

Link

Government Corruption

DOJ reaches settlement with ex-FBI 'lovebirds' caught in anti-Trump text scandal

2024-05-31

[FOXNEWS] Former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page have settled with the Justice Department over alleged privacy rights violations after the release of their disparaging text messages leveraged by former President Trump to challenge the Russia investigation during his presidency.

The settlement is still pending finalization and approval from a judge.

A tentative agreement was filed Tuesday resolving Page's 5-year-old lawsuit against the FBI for releasing text messages with Strzok — with whom she had an affair — that were critical of the former president. Strzok's lawsuit seeking back pay and reinstatement remains unsettled.

Page sought $1,000 in compensation following the leak of her text messages to the media. Additional details about the settlement were not immediately available.

In 2019, Strzok argued in a court filing in Washington, D.C., federal district court that his politically charged anti-Trump messages were protected by the First Amendment even though he sent them on bureau-issued phones while playing leading roles in the probes into both Crooked Hillary Clinton
<q>Crooked Hillary</q> Clinton

...former first lady, former secretary of state, former presidential candidate, Conqueror of Benghazi, Heroine of Tuzla, formerly described by her supporters as the smartest woman in the world, usually described by the rest of us as The Thing That Wouldn't Go Away. Politix is not one of her talents, but it's something she keeps trying to do...
and Donald Trump
...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons......
Strzok, once the FBI's head of counterintelligence, said he was entitled to "develop a full factual record through discovery," and that it would be premature to dismiss the case at this early stage. He went on to argue that the DOJ's position would "leave thousands of career federal ~~babus~~ government employees without protections from discipline over the content of their political speech."

Page also filed suit against the FBI and Department of Justice, alleging the government's publication of her salacious text messages with Strzok constituted a breach of the Federal Privacy Act.

Page's complaint also sought reimbursement for "the cost of childcare during and transportation to multiple investigative reviews and appearances before Congress," the "cost of paying a data-privacy service to protect her personal information" and attorney's fees.

Link

Government Corruption

HPSCI report concluded Russian government wanted Hillary Clinton, not Donald Trump, to win 2016 election and that CIA Director John Brennan had manipulated 2017 "Intelligence Community Assessment," or ICA,

2024-02-19

[Townhall] This week has been hellacious. And there was more damning evidence released regarding the Russian collusion hoax, where Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, and Alex Gutentag unearthed new details showing how this scheme was hatched long before disgraced FBI officials Peter Strzok, James Comey, and Andrew McCabe greenlit the counterintelligence probe that was once considered the starting point for this corrupt wild goose chase. The CIA already had over two dozen Trump associates pegged for surveillance illegally, and they roped in the intelligence services of our top allies to help.

Now, we have a former White House staffer who alleges he read the intelligence report compiled by House investigators, which shredded the core of the Russian narrative. This individual also divulged two possible locations for this report since there’s now a treasure hunt to find these incriminating documents that the spook community has tried to keep buried. The trio wrote about how the CIA cooked the books for the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) to pivot away from what the evidence was concluding, which was that Moscow wanted Hillary Clinton to win the 2016 election, not Donald Trump (via Public) [emphasis mine]:

Around 10 a.m. on a Saturday in August 2018, someone made the extraordinary decision to show a White House staff member a top-secret report written by investigators working for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), which is universally pronounced as “hip C.”

The still-secret, never-released HPSCI report concluded that the Russian government wanted Hillary Clinton, not Donald Trump, to win the 2016 election and that then-CIA Director John Brennan had manipulated a January 2017 “Intelligence Community Assessment,” or ICA, which had come to the opposite conclusion.

[…] The former White House staffer did not want to say who brought him into the HPSCI SCIF to read the report. They did so secretly. There is no record of him reading the report.

“About one-quarter of HPSCI staff are former intelligence officers,” he said.

The authors of the 50-page HPSCI report brought it to him and left it with him to read for the next 90 minutes. Asked to recount the exact title, the man wasn’t sure but then added, “It was something like “Staff Report on the January 6, 2017, Intelligence Community Assessment, ‘Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent U.S. Elections.’”

“It was clearly something they had put a lot of time into,” he explained. “It was refined and polished. There was a main text. There were sidebars. A sidebar would be a parallel discussion or analysis. This wasn’t just an essay. It was a finished product. It was formatted and footnoted with a cover page.”

[…] Pressed further, he said, “They were pleasant, introverted people. Not political hacks. Professionals. Somewhat wonky and nerdy.”

What the HPSCI staff report showed was that the former CIA Director Brennan had manipulated the ICA.

[…] Why was the report never released?

“My understanding was the HPSCI Chairman at the time, Devin Nunes, was waiting for the Trump administration to release FISA warrants against Trump campaign officials before he released this report. They couldn’t get any traction in getting it cleared by the CIA, and given that it was a Republican administration, they thought the Trump administration could get it out.”

Added the man, “I’m sure there’s a copy [of the HPSCI report] at the CIA. In theory, there are still copies in the HPSCI SCIF.”

There’s a binder that airs all the dirty laundry regarding this rogue operation out there, compiled during the Trump administration by House investigators. That file is missing, but it’s keeping the IC up at night. Some sources told this trio of reporters—Gutentag, Taibbi, and Shellenberger—that the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago raid might have been influenced by this document, with federal agents speculating that it might have been stored at the former president’s Florida residence.

The staffer also said this unreleased HPSCI (“hip C”) report did include that the ICA, which was taken as gospel by the CIA, Democrats, and the liberal media, relied heavily on the Steele Dossier, an opposition research project funded by the Clinton campaign and compiled by a former MI6 spook. It was a document that was also brimming with Russian disinformation and bad intelligence. It also said, unsurprisingly, that the intelligence for the CIA’s Trump-Kremlin narrative was weak, and it was forced into the final draft by Brennan despite objections from other CIA officers. The rushed product—the CIA wanted this report released before Obama left office—did not follow department protocols.

Link

Government Corruption

FBI Ignored Alleged Clinton Campaign Election Meddling Plan After CIA Briefed Obama And Biden, Durham Report Says

2023-05-17

[Daily Caller] The FBI didn’t open any inquiry into an alleged Hillary Clinton campaign election interference plan even after the CIA director briefed then-president Barack Obama and other senior administration officials, Special Counsel John Durham’s report noted.

The FBI received Russian intelligence analysis in July 2016 alleging that Clinton’s campaign cooked up a scheme to divert attention away from "her use of a private email server," the Durham report stated.

The alleged scheme, dubbed the "Clinton Plan," showed that the Clinton campaign "had approved a campaign plan to stir up a scandal" against Trump "by tying him to Putin and the Russians’ hacking of the Democratic National Committee," the Durham report reads.

The intelligence community didn’t know the accuracy of the Russian intelligence, but the findings were notable enough for then-CIA Director John Brennan to inform the Obama administration "within days" of learning about it.

Brennan briefed President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Attorney General Loretta Lynch and FBI Director James Comey about the Clinton campaign’s plan, the Durham report says.

The findings also prompted the CIA to send "a formal written referral memorandum" to Comey and "the Deputy Assistant Director of the FBl’s Counterintelligence Division, Peter Strzok, for their consideration and action."

Link

Home Front: Politix

Strzok: MTG, Jim Jordan Inciting Violence in Calling for Defunding the FBI

2023-04-04

Remember him?
[Breitbart] Disgraced former FBI agent Peter Strzok said Monday on MSNBC’s “Deadline” that Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Jim Jordan (R-OH) were inciting “incidents of violence” by “saying we should defund the FBI.”

Anchor Nicolle Wallace said, “How does the country’s law enforcement, New York City and beyond, protect against the animosity, the hatred and the rage? Let me just put one more piece of information out there for our viewers. This is from the Department of Homeland security’s Threat Assessment issued in November. ‘Perceptions of government overreach continue to drive individuals to attempt to commit violence targeting government officials and law enforcement officers. Some domestic violent extremists have expressed grievances based on perceptions that the government is overstepping its constitutional authorities or failing to perform its duties.’ I haven’t read all of Trump’s fund-raising appeals, but I’m sure they are very much in line with that existing grievance.”

Strzok said, “I think that’s absolutely right. New York City is excellent in terms of being able to, when there’s a specific event, to provide a robust, deep sort of protective shield around any potential illegal activity, let alone violent activity. I think when the problem comes in is, when you look at the post-Mar-a-Lago search. As was pointed out, there was an FBI field office in the Midwest that was attacked. Nobody attacked the FBI field office in Miami or the FBI field office in Tampa, and much like New York City can do an extraordinary job locking down and securing the courthouse and the district attorney’s office. That isn’t going to stop somebody in Omaha, Nebraska or up in New Hampshire or El Paso, Texas, who decides that there’s a horrible, just miscarriage of justice by the federal government, particularly when you have people like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Jim Jordan saying we should defund the FBI.”

Link

Government Corruption

When The FBI Attacks Critics As "Conspiracy Theorists", It's Time To Reform The Bureau

2022-12-27

[ZERO] Below is my column in the Hill on the need for a new "Church Committee" to investigate and reform the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after years of scandals involving alleged political bias. In response to criticism over its role in Twitter’s censorship system, the FBI lashed out against critics as "conspiracy theorists" spreading disinformation. However, it still refuses to supply new information on other companies, beyond Twitter, that it has paid to engage in censorship.

"Conspiracy theorists ... feeding the American public misinformation" is a familiar attack line for anyone raising free-speech concerns over the FBI’s role in social media censorship. What is different is that this attack came from the country’s largest law enforcement agency, the FBI — and, since the FBI has made combatting "disinformation" a major focus of its work, the labeling of its critics is particularly menacing.

Fifty years ago, the Watergate scandal provoked a series of events that transformed not only the presidency but federal agencies like the FBI. Americans demanded answers about the involvement of the FBI and other federal agencies in domestic politics. Ultimately, Congress not only investigated the FBI but later impanelled the Church Committee to investigate a host of other abuses by intelligence agencies.

A quick review of recent disclosures and controversies shows ample need for a new Church Committee:

The Russian investigations

The FBI previously was at the center of controversies over documented political bias. Without repeating the long history from the Russian influence scandal, FBI officials like Peter Strzok were fired after emails showed open bias against presidential candidate Donald Trump. The FBI ignored warnings that the so-called Steele dossier, largely funded by the Clinton campaign, was likely used by Russian intelligence to spread disinformation. It continued its investigation despite early refutations of key allegations or discrediting of sources.

Biden family business

The FBI has taken on the character of a Praetorian Guard when the Biden family has found itself in scandals.

For example, there was Hunter Biden’s handgun, acquired by apparently lying on federal forms. In 2018, the gun allegedly was tossed into a trash bin in Wilmington, Del., by Hallie Biden, the widow of Hunter’s deceased brother and with whom Hunter had a relationship at the time. Secret Service agents reportedly appeared at the gun shop with no apparent reason, and Hunter later said the matter would be handled by the FBI. Nothing was done despite the apparent violation of federal law.

Later, the diary of Hunter’s sister, Ashley, went missing. While the alleged theft normally would be handled as a relatively minor local criminal matter, the FBI launched a major investigation that continued for months to pursue those who acquired the diary, which reportedly contains embarrassing entries involving President Biden. Such a massive FBI deployment shocked many of us, but the FBI built a federal case against those who took possession of the diary.

Targeting Republicans and conservatives
Recently the FBI was flagged for targeting two senior House Intelligence Committee staffers in grand jury subpoenas sent to Google. It has been criticized for using the Jan. 6 Capitol riot investigations to target conservative groups and GOP members of Congress, including seizing the phone of one GOP member.

The FBI also has been criticized for targeting pro-life violence while not showing the same vigor toward pro-choice violence.

Hunter’s laptop

While the FBI was eager to continue the Russian investigations with no clear evidence of collusion, it showed the opposite inclination when given Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop. The laptop would seem to be a target-rich environment for criminal investigators, with photos and emails detailing an array of potential crimes involving foreign transactions, guns, drugs and prostitutes. However, reports indicate that FBI officials moved to quash or slow any investigation.

The computer repairman who acquired the laptop, John Paul Mac Isaac, said he struggled to get the FBI to respond and that agents made thinly veiled threats regarding any disclosures of material related to the Biden family; he said one agent told him that "in their experience, nothing ever happens to people that don’t talk about these things."

The ’Twitter Files’
The "Twitter Files" released by Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, show as many as 80 agents targeting social-media posters for censorship on the site. This included alleged briefings that Twitter officials said was the reason they spiked the New York Post’s Hunter Biden laptop story before the 2020 election.

The FBI sent 150 messages on back channels to just one Twitter official to flag accounts. One Twitter executive expressed unease over the FBI’s pressure, declaring: "They are probing & pushing everywhere they can (including by whispering to congressional staff)."

We also have learned that Twitter hired a number of retired FBI agents, including former FBI general counsel James Baker, who was a critical and controversial figure in past bureau scandals over political bias.

Attacking critics

It is not clear what is more chilling — the menacing role played by the FBI in Twitter’s censorship program, or its mendacious response to the disclosure of that role. The FBI has issued a series of "nothing-to-see-here" statements regarding the Twitter Files.

In its latest statement, the FBI insists it did not command Twitter to take any specific action when flagging accounts to be censored. Of course, it didn’t have to threaten the company — because we now have an effective state media by consent rather than coercion. Moreover, an FBI warning tends to concentrate the minds of most people without the need for a specific threat.

Finally, the files show that the FBI paid Twitter millions as part of this censorship system — a windfall favorably reported to Baker before he was fired from Twitter by Musk.

Criticizing the FBI is now ’disinformation’

Responding to the disclosures and criticism, an FBI spokesperson declared: "The men and women of the FBI work every day to protect the American public. It is unfortunate that conspiracy theorists and others are feeding the American public misinformation with the sole purpose of attempting to discredit the agency."

Arguably, "working every day to protect the American public" need not include censoring the public to protect it from errant or misleading ideas.

However, it is the attack on its critics that is most striking. While the FBI denounced critics of an earlier era as communists and "fellow travelers," it now uses the same attack narrative to label its critics as "conspiracy theorists."

After Watergate, there was bipartisan support for reforming the FBI and intelligence agencies. Today, that cacophony of voices has been replaced by crickets, as much of the media imposes another effective blackout on coverage of the Twitter Files. This media silence suggests that the FBI found the "sweet spot" on censorship, supporting the views of the political and media establishment.

As for the rest of us, the FBI now declares us to be part of a disinformation danger which it is committed to stamping out - "conspiracy theorists" misleading the public simply by criticizing the bureau.

Clearly, this is the time for a new Church Committee - and time to reform the FBI.

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-Short Attention Span Theater-

Frank Hawkins - The 10 Most Destructive Americans of My 8 Decades

2022-11-30

Update urgently needed.
[American Thinker - July 2018] America has undergone enormous change during the nearly eight decades of my life. Today, America is a bitterly divided, poorly educated and morally fragile society with so-called mainstream politicians pushing cynical identity politics, socialism and open borders. The president of the United States is threatened with impeachment because the other side doesn’t like him. The once reasonably unbiased American media has evolved into a hysterical left wing mob. How could the stable and reasonably cohesive America of the 1950s have reached this point in just one lifetime? Who are the main culprits? Here’s my list of the 10 most destructive Americans of the last 80 years.

10) Mark Felt — Deputy director of the FBI, aka "Deep Throat" during the Watergate scandal. This was the first public instance of a senior FBI officially directly interfering in America’s political affairs. Forerunner of James Comey, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page and Andrew McCabe.

9) Bill Ayers— Represents the deep and ongoing leftist ideological damage to our education system. An unrepentant American terrorist who evaded punishment, he devoted his career to radicalizing American education and pushing leftist causes. Ghost wrote Obama’s book, "Dreams of My Father."

8) Teddy Kennedy — Most folks remember Teddy as the guy who left Mary Joe Kopechne to die in his car at Chappaquiddick. The real damage came after he avoided punishment for her death and became a major Democrat force in the US Senate, pushing through transformative liberal policies in health care and education. The real damage was the 1965 Hart-Cellar immigration bill he pushed hard for that changed the quota system to increase the flow of third world people without skills into the US and essentially ended large-scale immigration from Europe.

7) Walter Cronkite — Cronkite was a much beloved network anchor who began the politicalization of America’s news media with his infamous broadcast from Vietnam that described the Tet Offensive as a major victory for the Communists and significantly turned the gullible American public against the Vietnam War. In fact, the Tet offensive was a military disaster for the NVA and Viet Cong, later admitted by North Vietnamese military leaders. Decades later Cronkite admitted he got the story wrong. But it was too late. The damage was done.

6) Bill and Hillary Clinton—It’s difficult to separate Team Clinton. Bill’s presidency was largely benign as he was a relative fiscal conservative who rode the remaining benefits of the Reagan era. But his sexual exploits badly stained the Oval Office and negatively affected America’s perception of the presidency. In exchange for financial support, he facilitated the transfer of sensitive military technology to the Chinese. Hillary, a Saul Alinsky acolyte, is one of the most vicious politicians of my lifetime, covering up Bill’s sexual assaults by harassing and insulting the exploited women and peddling influence around the globe in exchange for funds for the corrupt Clinton Foundation. She signed off on the sale of 20% of the US uranium reserve to the Russians after Bill received a $500,000 speaking fee in Moscow and the foundation (which supported the Clinton’s regal lifestyle) received hundreds of millions of dollars from those who benefited from the deal. Between them, they killed any honor that might have existed in the dark halls of DC.

5) Valerie Jarrett - The Rasputin of the Obama administration. A Red Diaper baby, her father, maternal grandfather and father-in-law (Vernon Jarrett who was a close friend and ally of Obama mentor Frank Marshall Davis) were hardcore Communists under investigation by the U.S. government. She has been in Obama’s ear for his entire political career pushing a strong anti-American, Islamist, anti-Israeli, socialist/communist, cling-to-power agenda.

Frank Hawkins video on Vietnam found at this link.

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Home Front: Politix

Rep. Mike Turner Wants Bribe Money

2022-10-22

[DaytonDailyNews] U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton, met with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine along with fellow members of Congress in an unannounced visit Friday.

An English language message on the service’s web site says: “I welcome members of the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress Mike Turner, James Himes and Eric Swalwell in Kyiv.

“Your visit at this time is a bold step that demonstrates strong bicameral and bipartisan support for Ukraine. It confirms that the United States is our strategic partner.”

The message adds: “We discussed the situation on the frontline, Ukraine’s preparation for winter and the need to rebuild the energy infrastructure that was destroyed, the strengthening of sanctions against the aggressor country, and the priority needs of the armed forces. It is important for Ukraine to receive air defense systems in the necessary quantity to create an ‘air shield.’ ”

Turner said his goal was to get an update on the war and its direction. He serves on the House Committee on Armed Services’ Strategic Forces and Tactical Air and Land Forces subcommittees as well as on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Turner is the ranking Republican on Intelligence, and observers see him as the likely chair of that committee if Republicans win a new House majority next month.

The visit came days after Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the top House Republican, told Punchbowl News that if Republicans win a majority in next month’s midterm elections, members would be unwilling to “write a blank check” to Ukraine. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii later said he expects continued U.S. support no matter what the outcome of the election is.

“I actually had this conversation with President Zelensky,” Turner said Friday. “He understands that the goal is not diminishing at all our commitment to Ukraine. It’s ensuring that we’re not wasting dollars.”

He added, “We need to make sure we get them exactly what they need in the most cost-efficient way, so we can defeat (the Russians).”

David Esrati, the Dayton Democrat running against Turner for the 10th District congressional seat in the Nov. 8 general election, said: “I find it fascinating that Mike Turner can go and meet with the president of Ukraine but can’t meet with his constituents. He has refused to have a town hall for 20 years. I hold one daily on You Tube.”

“No matter what his party says, Mike Turner will always vote in the best interest of his defense contractor backers,” Esrati added.

Himes, D-Conn., serves on the National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee. Swalwell, D-Calif., sits on the Intelligence Committee.

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