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I try to restrain my paranoia, but the DC scene is making it difficult. There really needs to be a concerted effort if not to shrink government to at least disperse it. “Critical mass” is just that.
As I said in my main feed post, I don’t want to come across like some conspiracy nut, but that one text about the “insurance policy” bothers me.
Jimmy Carter’s pollster, Pat Cadell, has been saying for some time that he believes we are in a “pre-revolutionary” period. Many have scoffed but I’m starting to believe he’s on to something.
Yeah, the “insurance policy” remark is highly troubling and (very, very) strongly suggests that McCabe, Strzok and Page (and possibly others…more than likely the happy Ohr couple) were, dare I use the word, colluding to do whatever they could to prevent Trump from being elected.
Ohr stay in office.
Concur.
If you’re pulling together a team to prosecute the Salem Witch Trials, isn’t Cotton Mather the first guy you hire?
Gregg Jarrett’s take on all this fishiness:
This is my bet.
This I do not understand. President Trump has complete authority to order the FBI to turn over any documents needed. Jeff Sessions, Trumps AG, also has total authority to do the same. President Trump can walk right over to the FISA court and demand the judge(s) produce the request for warrants and the evidence used to support those requests. In two days we could have all the answers. Why isn’t this being done?
For those of us who use the term ‘paranoia’ outside its medical mental state usage, it can simply mean that we see danger in places others don’t. You’re okay.
Andrew McCarthy agrees with me…maybe he read this thread???
From his article in NRO,
We need to know the answer. President Trump ought to direct his Justice Department and FBI to provide the House Intelligence Committee with the FISA warrant application — any FISA warrant application — in which they relied on information from the Steele dossier in seeking court permission to spy on the Trump campaign. It may well be that they did not rely on the dossier. It is ridiculous, though, that we are still in the dark about this.
Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/454709/steele-dossier-source-fisa-warrant-against-trump-campaign
Well, Andy McCarthy over at NRO suggested last week that Trump may not be ordering the release of the FISA submission because if the Steele dossier was included there may be parts of it that haven’t been discredited and could still be embarrassing to the president, even if they’re not necessarily unlawful. Mr. McCarthy’s piece this morning at NRO is more layered and seems to be backing off of his earlier theory a tad, as it follows the activities of Carter Page who at one time was affiliated with the Trump campaign and suggests that Steele, in his assertions about Page in the dossier, are trumped up…uh…as it were. To quote McCarthy’s article:
In addition to relying on his experience in DOJ and FBI investigations and protocols, Mr. McCarthy may or may not also be getting inside information from friends at the agencies (that, of course, would be a teeny conspiracy theory in itself), which as we’ve all come to learn, have been rather leaky vessels in the past few years (just ask James Comey).
It does become challenging to juggle a plethora of conspiracy theories suffice to say that many of the players involved may have different degrees of pungent fishy stench about them.
McCarthy’s earlier notion that President Trump may not want certain aspects of the dossier or possible corroborating FBI intelligence reports about him made public still doesn’t doesn’t explain away (or absolve) the very troubling texts, emails and behavior of Strzok, Page, McCabe, the Ohrs, Comey, and others that have come to light.
FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe will be in a closed door session with the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday perhaps to explain the discussion he had in the closed door session in his own office at the FBI with agents Strzok and Lisa Page about the ‘insurance policy’. So, we either have to wait for more leaks about what happened in the House Intelligence session and/or see if the IG releases even more damning information about this cast of characters. My guess is that tempers may flare in the closed door session because frustrated Republicans may feel less restrained from venting their outrage at being jerked around by the current senior leadership of the FBI and DOJ.
I wish I knew more about the tactical thinking of Flynn’s lawyers. Evidence is being exposed of unlawfulness on the part of government agents that are foundational to whatever evidence the government possesses of Flynn’s crime. If Flynn were an ordinary (and practiced) criminal he would likely have already had that evidence suppressed and case dismissed. Instead, he has pled guilty and, presumably, is awaiting sentencing.
What leverage does Mueller have on Flynn that, at least for now, deters him from seeking to have his plea withdrawn? And is that leverage itself lawful? And will that leverage induce honest evidence against others being suspected of crimes? This thing is truly FUBAR.
Were McCabe, Page and Strzok conspiring to use the FBI to go after and remove the duly elected POTUS? Is it treason to conspire to overthrow the elected government?
I think the ‘insurance policy’ discussion within our top law enforcement agency should get at least as much official attention as a baker discriminating in refusing to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple.
Have we heard from Peter Strzok’s boss, FBI Counterintelligence head Bill Priestap? If not, why not?
I was wondering who this person is since we’ve heard no mention of him. Seems he would possibly be an important Congressional witness.
Brian, I see a few reasons for Trump not to follow McCarthy’s path about the FISA disclosure. Although I do want to know asap.
Bobby three sticks can choke on this garbage as far as I’m concerned. His selections for his team have been abhorrent.
I think the weaponization by the FBI of the legal provision making it a felony to lie to the FBI is really dangerous for the people at this stage of our political development, given what is being revealed regarding the willing political statements of those agents working actively on cases involving individuals about whom the agents are making political statements.
I am guessing all but #2.
I thought the dossier was already public. This is a simple Google search of Buzzfeed. Are these not the complete dossier?
I think McCarthy’s original thesis was that the FBI may have corroborated some portions of the dossier as being accurate and submitted their findings as supplemental information in the FISA submission to surveil (at the time) current or former members of the Trump campaign. This was his speculation that might be preventing President Trump from ordering the release of the FISA submission.
I’m trying to find out what day Steele met with Ohr? I know that was during 2016 campaign and that Simpson was met after the election by Ohr.
Don’t disagree with any previous reasons, but…
I think there may well be a “keep your powder dry” thing going on, here.