Questions On The Russia Collusion Story

 

There are so many unanswered questions about the Russia Collusion story, mostly for the investigators now that we know the Trump campaign was not coordinating its activities with the Russians and the Steele Dossier could not be verified. What is remarkable is how little we would have ever known about the pre-election investigation, the dossier, and even the Clinton email investigation, if Hillary Clinton had won the election. I’d like some answers. And they better get cracking! If it isn’t completely wrapped up by the summer of 2020 and Trump loses the election, this whole matter will disappear like it never happened.

Below are my questions. What are yours?

The questions are broken down into five categories;

The FBI Investigation (July 2016-May 2017)

Obama Administration Surveillance Programs 

Intelligence Community Assessment on Russian Interference (Jan. 2017)

Mueller Investigation (May 2017-March 2019

Clinton Email Investigation (2015-6)

The last is included as part of the Russia collusion story because many of the same players at the FBI and DOJ were involved in both, and without Clinton being cleared in that matter the 2016 election might have played out very differently.

The FBI Investigation

Did the FBI and DOJ really begin their investigation of the Trump campaign and Russian collusion on July 31, 2016? Was there a preliminary investigation already underway? Was the CIA undertaking any relevant activity prior to that date? According to the Mueller Report, it was information obtained from a friendly foreign government in late July 2016 regarding George Papadopolous’ (P) discussion in May 2016 regarding Russia having damaging emails regarding Hillary Clinton that initiated the investigation. The Mueller Report mentions no U.S. government activity prior to that date.

Who is Joseph Mifsud? Mifsud, a professor in London, approached P in March 2016 shortly after it was announced P was a Trump foreign policy advisor. In April, Mifsud told P the Russians had damaging emails regarding H Clinton. It is likely that some intelligence service became aware of this conversation leading to two Australians reaching out to meet with P the following month. If so, how did they become aware? Was Mifsud a Russian intelligence asset? Was he working for American or another Western intelligence service? Was he a freelancer trying to puff up his importance? Did the FBI really not learn about P’s information regarding Clinton until late July 2016?

Is it true that two military personnel at the U.S. Embassy in London (Terrance Dudley and George Baker) were with the Defense Intelligence Agency and reached out to P on May 6, 2016? If so, why?

How did P’s meeting with Australian Erika Thompson on May 6, 2016, come about? Was Thompson associated with Australian intelligence? Why did she introduce P to Alexander Downer? Although it is obscured by the language in the Mueller Report it appears it was at this meeting, and not the Downer meeting on May 10, that P mentioned the Clinton emails.

Did Australian diplomat Alexander Downer approach P on behalf of an intelligence service? At their May 10, 2016 meeting did P mention the Clinton emails?

Why was Bill Priestap, senior FBI official and Peter Strozk’s boss, in London at the same time as P’s meetings with Thompson and Downer?

Under what circumstances did the Obama DOJ admit Natalia Veselnitskaya into the U.S.? Was she under surveillance while in the U.S.? Veselnitskaya, who met with Trump Jr and Kushner at the Trump Towers, was banned from the U.S. and needed special approval from DOJ to enter.

Was any government agency or individual aware of the Trump Towers meeting of June 2016 before it occurred?

Did, as has been widely reported, Glenn Simpson meet with Veselnitskaya on the same day as the Trump Towers meeting, both before and after the meeting? If so, what was the purpose of the meeting? Were Simpson and Fusion GPS retained by Veselnitskaya to lobby on behalf of a Putin connected oligarch?

What communications regarding the alleged Trump campaign/Russia connection did Glenn Simpson, Nellie Ohr, or anyone else associated with Fusion GPS have with DOJ or the FBI prior to the 2016 election? Nellie Ohr is the wife of senior DOJ official Bruce Ohr; a Russian expert she was hired by Fusion GPS.

What is the accurate date on which Nellie Ohr obtained a ham radio license? Is there anything relevant about the date, or the use of the ham radio?

Did Stefan Halper reach out to P and Carter Page on behalf of an American intelligence service?

What information, other than the Steele Dossier, was used to obtain the FISA warrant on Carter Page?

What did the FBI know about the source of funding for the Steele Dossier and when did it learn it?

What type of verification did the FBI and DOJ have regarding the allegations in the Steele Dossier at the time it applied for the FISA warrant, and upon each of the three subsequent applications for its renewal?

What was the role of current FBI GC Dana Boente in the approval of the Page FISA Warrants?

There are reports that the FISA Court denied three FISA applications related to the Russia investigation during 2016. Is this correct and, if so, on whom were they sought and why were they denied?

On November 17, 2016, NSA Director Mike Rogers went to see President-elect Trump at Trump Towers, without informing DNI Clapper. On November 18 it was announced the Trump Transition Team was moving its operations from the Towers to New Jersey. Were these events connected? What was the substance of the Rogers discussion with Trump?

Who leaked to the media the contents of Michael Flynn’s call with Ambassador Kislyak? This leak was of classified information and illegal.

Is it true that, at some point between January 6 and January 10, 2017, DCI Clapper leaked to the media that President-elect Trump had been briefed on the Steele Dossier, a leak which triggered widespread media reporting on the dossier?

Is it correct that the FBI agents who interviewed Michael Flynn believe he was not lying? Why was there a three-week interval between their interview and their 302 memos? Were there any prior drafts of the memo? FBI agents do not record interviews, instead summarizing them later in what is called a 302 memo.

At their dinner meeting on January 26, 2017 why did Comey try to dissuade President Trump from asking the FBI to investigate the allegations made in the Steele Dossier?

Obama Administration Surveillance Programs

Were the FBI and NSA using access to the Section 702 database in order to illegally obtain information on domestic political opponents of the Obama Administration from 2012 until early 2016? If so, who were the contractors who had access to the information, who were the targets, and how was the information used? Several conservative publications have speculated, or even asserted, there was a linkage between the documented Section 702 abuses (85% of certain searches done improperly at NSA, and FBI contractors having improper access to data on Americans, as confirmed by a 2017 FISA Court ruling) and whether the purpose of at least some of the illegal data collection was for use against political opponents and also linked to the alleged widespread “unmasking” by Obama administration officials. To date, I have seen no credible documents establishing this linkage but it is important to find out the answers to these questions.

Did “unmasking” of communications regarding political opponents of the Obama Administration occur in 2016? Usually, when confidential intelligence reports are circulated within the government, the identity of any U.S. citizens inadvertently picked up while surveillance of non-Americans was occurring would be redacted. It has been widely reported that in the last year of the Obama Administration there was a high volume of requests for unmasking the identity of Americans.

Was Samantha Power telling the truth when she said she did not make unmasking requests that are shown as being under her name in official records? If so, who did? According to documents, former UN Ambassador Power made more than 200 requests for unmasking but she denied making such requests in Congressional testimony.

What did Strozk’s August 2016 text stating “the White House is running this” refer to?

What was the purpose of President Obama’s January 2017 directive widening the scope of those who could see intelligence information?

Why did NSA Susan Rice write a memo to herself at 1215pm on January 20, 2017, regarding a Jan 5, 2017 meeting involving President Obama, Rice, and the Intelligence Community about the Russia investigation, the focus of which was to tell the IC to operate “by the book”?

In March 2017 then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes stated that after reviewing intelligence reports:

1.) …”On numerous occasions the [Obama] intelligence community incidentally collected information about U.S. citizens involved in the Trump transition.”

2.) “Details about U.S. persons associated with the incoming administration; details with little or no apparent foreign intelligence value were widely disseminated in intelligence community reporting.”

3.) “Third, I have confirmed that additional names of Trump transition members were unmasked.”

4.) “Fourth and finally, I want to be clear; none of this surveillance was related to Russia, or the investigation of Russian activities.

Are these assertions correct?

Intelligence Community Assessment on Russian Interference (January 2017)

Did President Obama’s desire to obtain Russian support for the Iran nuclear deal and his Syrian policy affect his reaction, or lack thereof, to Russian efforts to influence Americans, efforts reported publicly in a lengthy article in the New York Times in June 2015?

The January 2017 Intelligence Assessment states that at a specific point the Russians switched supporting Trump to damaging the anticipated Clinton presidency. When did that occur and why did they make that assessment?

Why were the FBI and CIA conclusions made with high confidence while the NSA with only moderate confidence?

In selecting the analysts for the assessment was the normal process followed? There are reports DNI Clapper did not follow the normal process.

The January 2017 Intelligence Assessment states that Russia’s 2016 effort to impact the election was a continuation of a pattern from the Soviet Union and since the establishment of Russia in 1991. What are the details of those earlier efforts? What evidence does the FBI, CIA, and NSA have regarding Russian attempts to influence the 2008 and 2012 elections?

The Mueller Investigation

What did Andrew Weissman know about the source of funding for the Steele Dossier and when did he learn it? It has been reported that Weissman was part of a DOJ briefing on the dossier in the fall of 2016, months before Mueller was appointed Special Counsel.

Same question for Robert Mueller about what he knew about the dossier and when.

The day before Rosenstein announced he would be appointing a Special Counsel and that it would be Mueller, he brought Mueller to the White House to meet with Trump. Is it true that the President was told Mueller was a potential candidate as FBI Director? If so, was the President told that Congress would have to pass special legislation to allow the appointment? Was there any discussion of Russia or the Comey firing at the meeting? When did Rosenstein decide to appoint Special Counsel and decide it would be Mueller? Did Rosenstein and Mueller have any discussions, directly or indirectly, regarding that decision prior to the meeting with the President? Is it true that, as described in McCabe’s recent book, Mueller left his cell phone in the President’s office and had to return later to retrieve it? If so, did the device record anything while it was left in the office?

Did Rosenstein ever consider recusing himself from the investigation since he was a potential fact witness in any obstruction case involving the President?

Why did Rosenstein not consider Mueller’s long and close relationship with Comey as grounds for not appointing him as Special Counsel?

Why did Mueller appoint Weissman as his chief deputy in light of his Democratic partisanship and ethical record in such a politically charged investigation?

What efforts were made to try to validate the Steele Dossier?

Why did the Mueller Report not directly address the accuracy of the allegations in the Steele Dossier or even mention it in Volume I of its report? Did Mueller conclude that the dossier was not relevant to Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election?

What did Peter Strozk mean in his May 2017 text to Lisa Page, regarding whether he should take Mueller’s offer of a job when he wrote, “there’s no big there there”?

Was James Comey interviewed by the Mueller investigation? If so, was the interview recorded and/or transcribed?

Same questions regarding Stefan Halper, Christopher Steeler (and his contractors), Glenn Simpson, Peter Strozek, Andrew McCabe, Carter Page, Brennan, Clapper, FBI GC Baker, Nellie, and Bruce Ohr.

An inquiry into every document requested from DOJ, the FBI, or the Special Counsel since January 20, 2017 until the submission of the Special Counsel report to include when the request was made; when it was fully responded to, if it was partially responded to what was omitted, what was the legal basis for any failure to fully respond, and who was responsible for making such determination.

Did anyone on the Mueller team tip off CNN regarding the raid on Roger Stone’s house?

Why did Mueller not seek a renewal of the FISA Warrant on Carter Page when it expired in September 2017?

Did Mueller seek other FISA warrants during his investigation? If so, on whom, and were they approved or denied?

Clinton Email Investigation

After President Obama stated on national TV that Hillary Clinton had not committed a crime, did DOJ consider appointing a Special Counsel to conduct the investigation? Did any DOJ or FBI official make, or discuss such a recommendation, or the appropriateness of the President’s remarks regarding an ongoing investigation?

Did DOJ ever consider bringing charges against Hillary Clinton or anyone associated with her for the destruction of emails?

Why were potential fact witnesses like Cheryl Mills allowed to sit in on interviews of other fact witnesses?

Why were the four references to Hillary Clinton’s “grossly negligent” handling of emails in Director Comey’s draft of his statement on the conclusion of the email investigation deleted in the final version and why was the phrase “extremely careless” substituted for “grossly negligent”? Did Comey receive any instructions or guidance from DOJ that “grossly negligent” was not sufficient to justify charges?

Why, if the statute under which Clinton was being investigated did not require intent in order to violate, did Comey interpret it as requiring intent? Did he receive any guidance from DOJ in support of that conclusion?

Is it correct, as reported, that when AG Lynch announced she would not make the decision on the Clinton investigation she already knew Comey would not recommend charges?

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There are 14 comments.

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  1. Sweezle Inactive
    Sweezle
    @Sweezle

    I would be happy if Comey, McCabe, Strzok were at least charged & given a harsher sentence than General Flynn. And let them suffer financial ruin too.

    Even if no one in the Obama camp is charged I know they weaponized the DOJ. And I would like to see Brennan and Clapper receive some harsh sanctions for perjury.

     

    • #1
  2. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    Gumby Mark (R-Meth Lab of Demo…:Did DOJ ever consider bringing charges against Hillary Clinton or anyone associated with her for the destruction of emails?

     

    On the contrary, were there not rewards of immunity provided for staff members who destroyed records that had been subpoenaed?

    • #2
  3. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    Maybe I missed it. Did you ask a question about the alleged Russian or Wikileaks hacking of the DNC database regarding why there was no official investigation of a criminal act that might have been espionage?

    • #3
  4. Gumby Mark (R-Meth Lab of Demo… Coolidge
    Gumby Mark (R-Meth Lab of Demo…
    @GumbyMark

    Bob Thompson (View Comment):
    Maybe I missed it. Did you ask a question about the alleged Russian or Wikileaks hacking of the DNC database regarding why there was no official investigation of a criminal act that might have been espionage?

    That’s a good one!  Missed it.

    • #4
  5. DonG Coolidge
    DonG
    @DonG

    Heck of list.  Barr and Mad Lindsey Graham have their work cut out for them.

    A few more from me:
    * what products did Stephan Halper produce while getting paid by Obama? How was the contract awarded?
    * DNC emails appear to be an inside job.  What forensics did FBI do?
    * Podesta email phishing scam seems weak for a Russian spy, can it be proven conclusively?
    * Is the GRU so incompetent, that they can be traced to buying Facebook ads?
    * Why is Russia buying Facebook ads, when they have a 24×7 news stream into the US (RT), a zillion lobbyists in DC, and lots of newspaper people that are sympathetic to their cause?
    * why did Mueller destroy the phones of Page and Strzok?
    * and for old time’s sake, how about revisiting the Clinton + Russia + Mueller escapade UraniumOne.

    • #5
  6. Columbo Inactive
    Columbo
    @Columbo

    Did Ben Rhodes concoct this whole “collusion story line” as the solution to the fact that White Hat hero Admiral Mike Rogers shut down their illegal NSA/FBI surveillance program (‘secret research project’) on March 9, 2016 and forced them to use the FISA court from then on in order to continue their illegal spying?

    After all, Ben Rhodes job description included master “story maker” … Ben Rhodes Pushed False Narrative. And it is clear that the false narrative to push to the FISA court included choreography, prepping and lies by the chosen spokesperson Susan Rice (who later wrote the CYA email/memo to herself) ….

    Does Ben appear guilty here? When have you heard … “I didn’t know about it until I read it in the papers, like all of you” and “they will find nothing” … before? Another familiar go-to “false narrative” from the story maker.

    https://pjmedia.com/trending/former-obama-advisor-investigating-origins-of-russia-probe-waste-of-time-they-will-find-nothing/

    “They will find nothing that suggests there was any political or White House involvement in any of that. Literally, I learned about the FBI investigation of Trump as a private citizen in the frickin’ Washington Post. So, you have to understand, we actually abided by the longstanding practice of the White House not getting involved in that kind of stuff,” he added.

    • #6
  7. unsk2 Member
    unsk2
    @

    lots of good questions.  Just a few more for now:

    • What kind of spying did the Mueller gang do on the Trump White House, what was the criminal predicate for it, and were others involved outside the Mueller team privileged with the information gleaned from this surveillance?

    • Who was responsible for the press leaks of confidential information during the Counter Intelligence probe and the Mueller Special Counsel?

    • What happened to the Weiner laptop? What information was on it and why was Loretta Lynch allowed to squelch the investigation of  it?

    • Hillary’s email’s were known by the CIA  to have been  hacked by the Red Chinese in the early part of the Obama Administration, but nothing was ever done to mitigate this situation. Why?

    • Who were the four “outside FBI contractors” and why were they allowed access to the FBI/FISA 702/NSA database?

    • With both Hillary and Joe Biden were both known to cash in on numerous foreign deals leveraging their official Obama Administration positions, why are these deals  not investigated and did they compromise our  foreign policy and national security?

    • MI-6 and the May Government in Britain, as well as Australian and Ukranian officials among others were used to spy on the Trump campaign. Who sanctioned these operations, how extensive were they, what laws were broken and did they compromise national security?

     

    • #7
  8. Fake John/Jane Galt Coolidge
    Fake John/Jane Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    Sadly history is going to record that Trump was a Russian stooge that used their power to destroy the first duly elected female president.

    The rest is just static.

    • #8
  9. Goldwaterwoman Thatcher
    Goldwaterwoman
    @goldwaterwoman

    It’s obvious we have more questions than answers, and I’m beginning to think the real bad guys at the top will never be punished. If any of you doubt that, just take a good hard look at either Brennan or Clapper the next time they are interviewed. Their body language and facial expressions show unmitigated arrogance.  The entire pigsty of Washington D.C. is disgusting.

    • #9
  10. Fake John/Jane Galt Coolidge
    Fake John/Jane Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    Goldwaterwoman (View Comment):
    It’s obvious we have more questions than answers, and I’m beginning to think the real bad guys at the top will never be punished. If any of you doubt that, just take a good hard look at either Brennan or Clapper the next time they are interviewed. Their body language and facial expressions show unmitigated arrogance. The entire pigsty of Washington D.C. is disgusting.

    The top seldom get any sort of punishment.  If anything they will be celebrated and given money, fame, etc.

    • #10
  11. Barfly Member
    Barfly
    @Barfly

    What’s been exposed already is more than enough to establish that the highest ranks of the DoJ and FBI were in on the crime. Lynch is implicated as their superior, never mind her shady behavior. The implication regarding Obama is less clear, so I’d like to know 1) what Obama (and Jarrett) knew and when he knew it.

    The so-called intelligence community obviously has some bad actors, altho’ I’m less clear on the reporting structures. We need to burn Clapper and Brennan, most will agree, but 2) how bad is the rot? How will we ever know?

    I’m getting sick of hearing how all the line agents in this or that department are stellar people. Sure, it’s just the top echelon, riiight. Where was everybody decent when, for example, McCabe and the Boinksey Twins were calculating their moves? 3) Just how did the supposed pure culture of the Fe(de)ral legal apparat let that happen?

    And finally, just what the heck were the Brits doing to us here? 4) Did Theresa May’s national intelligence services cooperate with U.S. plotters?

    • #11
  12. Goldwaterwoman Thatcher
    Goldwaterwoman
    @goldwaterwoman

    Barfly (View Comment):
    And finally, just what the heck were the Brits doing to us here? 4) Did Theresa May’s national intelligence services cooperate with U.S. plotters?

    I’ve wondered the same thing. May has had a frosty relationship  with Trump.

    • #12
  13. TBA Coolidge
    TBA
    @RobtGilsdorf

    “Who is responsible for letting this get so far?”

    “Why can’t we put those responsible in jail?”

    • #13
  14. I Walton Member
    I Walton
    @IWalton

    It all goes away if a Democrat wins the white house.  Election fraud is the biggest threat we face.  Are Republicans prepared?

    • #14
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