Posted on 03/20/2017 10:40:33 PM PDT by advance_copy
The FBI is investigating whether the Trump campaign colluded with a covert Russian operation to interfere with the election, FBI Director James Comey told Congress Monday — and he refuted the president's baseless claim that his predecessor wiretapped his communications.
Comey's confirmation in testimony before the House Intelligence Committee that the Trump campaign was the subject of a U.S. counterintelligence investigation was a revelation that could shadow the Trump presidency.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
All of this bullshit is about Obama. The Deep State’s objective is to shield Obama from scrutiny or due process because he is vulnerable to the mother of all ‘unmaskings’.
Chief Justice Roberts version 2.0...
Clearly the Republicans avoided pressing Coley. There should have been direct questions to unravel the careful choice of wording. Why did Nunes and Gowdy avoid pinning Comey down? They had to know what the press spin would be.
Well, there is the little problem that it is impossible to prove a negative.
OTOH, Comey is parsing words--he is saying that no one wiretapped Trump, not that no one surveilled Trump. And Trump put the word "wiretap" in quotes in his tweet, making it clear that he does not think the surveillance was literally by wiretapping.
Comey has damaged the public image of the FBI beyond repair. “Investigating” the opposition presidential campaign. Ethical people would consider that a bit chilling, but ethical people are not running the lunatic asylum that is Washington D.C..
The entire story about Trump’s supposed collusion with Russians was always a Hillary campaign invention, designed to deflect attention away from her own collusions with Russia. It is nothing more than the Democrats’ old tactic of accusing Republicans of what they themselves are doing.
There was a little story immediately before the election that an investigation into Trump ties with Russia turned up nothing. I have no doubt that the pre-election investigation result was supposed to become an October surprise—except that it turned up nothing. That’s the problem when one bases actions on narrative, not reality. I cannot now find that story again; the on-going persecution of Trump for imagined Russia collusion muddies the search too much.
Those who keep the Russia story going are trying to overturn the results of the election. Make no mistake—if they succeed, they will do their best to make sure there is never another free national election.
One more thing—we’ve seen in the past that the DNC can and does surveille Republicans. Does anyone remember when a couple of DNC operatives “accidentally” stumbled onto and recorded a Newt Gingrich cell phone conversation? As I recall, the news at the time was all about trying to make a scandal about how Newt was discussing how he planned to comply with some law... and not about the serious issue of spying on an American citizen.
FBI Director James Comey told Congress Monday — and he refuted the president’s baseless claim that his predecessor wiretapped his communications.>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Comey may have seen no evidence of it because it was sone without any records being kept by the British,but surely Comey knows the truth of it, Trump Tower was under surveillance.
President Trump was 100% correct.
And the prime indicators?
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#1
23 January 2017*
Robert Hannigan, who has held the post of GCHQ director since 2014, said he was stepping down for family reasons.
He said he was proud of his work but that 20 years in public service roles had “demanded a great deal of my ever patient and understanding family”.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Mr Hannigan had “led the renewal” of national security capabilities to fight terrorism during his time at GCHQ.
Mr Hannigan was director general of defence and intelligence at the Foreign Office before taking over the leadership of GCHQ in 2014.
In a letter to the foreign secretary, he said he was proud of the work he had done and “how many lives have been saved in this country and overseas by the work of GCHQ” but added “now is the right time for a change in direction”.
Mr Hannigan said it was “right” that a new director be in place ready for GCHQ’s 100th anniversary in 2019, but he would stay in the post until a replacement was appointed.
‘Cyber defences’
Sources have told BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera that the resignation was not the result of any concerns over policy in the UK or in the US.
Mr Johnson thanked him for his service, saying he had “set the groundwork for a major transformation of our cyber defences” during his tenure.
There will now be an internal competition within government to identify candidates for the job. Recommendations will then be sent to Mr Johnson and Prime Minister Theresa May for a final decision.
Mr Hannigan was born in Gloucestershire and is a married father-of-two.
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#2
While the hearings are now underway in the House,our leaker in Chief, Obama is all alone for a month without family or wookie, on Bounty Island near Bora Bora, a private island, where it would be impossible for him to be subpoenaed by the House Committee on Intelligence.
Duly noted.
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You bet Trump was wire tapped. No question about it.Yet he won anyway.
Donald Trump is one of the greatest presidents we will ever have by virtue the obstacles he has overcome to achieve office. He has a brave heart dedicated to the People and the Constitution.
Democrats have long been trying to suppress opposition viewpoint. Why not associate it with the phony Russian conspiracies.
Comey is too cute by half. First, it’s rather obvious that Comey is defining the term “wiretapping” very narrowly so that he can truthfully say that the FBI did not engage in that activity. But that’s not how it’s done any longer. These days the NSA can vacuum up all manner of electronic communications and sift thru them very rapidly to find targeted individuals.
Secondly, Comey is stating that there remains an ongoing investigation. This means that he can pick and choose what he wants to say while not allowing himself to be pinned down. So anytime there is a question that he doesn’t want to answer (because the answer wouldn’t ‘fit’ his agenda) he simply says “that matter is part of an ongoing investigation” and that is that. Call it the “Janet Reno” dodge, because that is what she did so effectively in the service of Bill Clinton for 8 shaky years.
No mid-level worker at the FBI or NSA would put his-her career on-the-line doing a warrant-less surveillance of a major political candidate. Not going to happen. A political-appointee just might. So who among the political appointees is most likely to have ordered it? My money is on Brennan, but he couldn’t have done it without help from NSA. So the only other question would be, “Did Clapper know?” Yeah, he knew. But he’s probably got plausible deniability if the questioning gets that far.
Lazy Fake News. Actual quotes:
“With respect to the president’s tweets about alleged wiretapping directed at him by the prior administration, I have no information that supports those tweets and we have looked carefully inside the FBI.”
So, Comey said he has looked inside the FBI, and no other place.
In reading the news, one would think that there was no wire-tap anywhere by anyone. I’m sick and tired of these “news” idiots. It’s all about bash, innuendo, just to create conflict and keep their ratings up.
They are investigating the Trump/Russia connection but not investigating the Trump campaign.
This is absurd on the face of it because the FBI has no jurisdiction in international affairs but only in domestic matters, therefore, the only party they could investigate are American and that would be the Trump campaign.
Add to this the illegal leaking of names published by the sycophants in the MSM and there is prima fascia evidence of surveillance of Trump's team.
Gone are the days when and “investigation” is built from the ground up. There is no need to with today’s technologies. If Trump were guilty of any wrongdoing Comey would know by now after 8 months with the arsenal of modern eavesdropping gadgets at his disposal. The point now is to drag this out by selectively claiming “ ongoing investigation” and parsing words like a lawyer to let the sore fester for as long as he can.
With respect to the president's tweets about alleged wiretapping directed at him by the prior administration, I have no information that supports those tweets and we have looked carefully inside the FBI.
The Department of Justice has asked me to share with you that the answer is the same for the Department of Justice and all its components.
The department has no information that supports those tweets.
COMEY: That's one of those subjects I can't comment on one way or another. Please don't interpret that in any way other than I just can't talk about anything that relates to thePfizerFISA process in an open setting.
FISA COURT AGAIN! THIS WOULD BE THE OCT. 2016 FISA ORDER! (INDIANA CLINTON DONOR!)
SCHIFF: Third, the president stated, I bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October just prior to the election.
Director Comey, you're a good lawyer. Can you make out a great case that president Obama wiretapped Mr. Trump's phones just prior to the election in light of the fact you've said there is no evidence of that?
COMEY: All I can say is what I said before, that we don't have any information that supports those tweets.
SCHIFF: Well, in my view then, you would not be a great, but very unethical lawyer to make up such a case. And finally, the president made the following accusation. How low has president Obama gone to tap my phones during the very sacred election process? This is Nixon-Watergate. Bad or sick guy.
Director Comey, the president has compared Mr. Obama to Nixon and purported wiretap of Trump phones as another Watergate. What was the gravamen of the offense by Nixon and his operatives during Watergate? A lot of people who may be watching may be too young.
SCHIFF: To understand what Watergate was about, what was the gravament of that offense?
COMEY: Well, as I recall it then, I was a kid, but I've studied it quite a bit in school. The gravament of it was an abuse of power including break-ins, unlawful wire taps, obstruction of justice, sort of the cycle of criminal conduct.
SCHIFF: There was a break-in of the democratic headquarters by operatives of the president, was it not?
COMEY: That's my understanding is that's how it began -- the investigation began.
SCHIFF: It also involve the cover up by the president.
COMEY: Yes, as I said.
SCHIFF: Now here, I think you've said there's been no evidence of an illegal wiretap by president Obama, is that right?
COMEY: I've said the FBI and the Department of Justice have no information to support those tweets.
SCHIFF: But there is evidence, is there not, of a break in of the democratic headquarters by a foreign power using cyber means?
COMEY: Yes there was, as the -- as the intelligence community report, the un-class report, said in January, the Russian intelligence services hacked into a number of enterprises in the United States, including the Democratic National Committee.
SCHIFF: And there was an effort by the Russians to cover up their break-in of the Democratic Party headquarters, by using cutouts like WikiLeaks to publish the stolen material, isn't that right?
COMEY: Certainly to cover up their -- that they were the ones releasing it.
SCHIFF: Director Rogers, in an effort to explain why there was no evidence supporting the president's claim that Obama had wiretapped him, the president and his spokesman, Sean Spicer, have suggested that British intelligence through its NSA or GCHQ wiretapped Mr. Trump on President Obama's behalf.
Did you ever request that your counterparts in GCHQ should wiretap Mr. Trump on behalf of President Obama?
ROGERS: No sir, nor would I, that would be expressly against the construct of the Five Eyes agreement that's been in place for decades.
SCHIFF: And the Five Eyes are some of our closest intelligence partners and Britain -- Britain is one of them?
ROGERS: Yes, sir.
SCHIFF: Have you seen any evidence that anyone else in the Obama administration made such a request?
ROGERS: No sir, and again, my view is the same as Director Comey, I've seen nothing on the NSA side that we engaged in any such activity, nor that anyone ever asked us to engage in such activity.
SCHIFF: And if you were to ask the British to spy on America, that would be a violation of U.S. law, would it not?
ROGERS: Yes, sir.
Lazy Fake News. Actual quotes:
“With respect to the president’s tweets about alleged wiretapping directed at him by the prior administration, I have no information that supports those tweets and we have looked carefully inside the FBI.”
How does this “ looking very carefully work”?
“Hey Joe, you know anything?”
” No, I don’t seem to remember anything about that”
“What about you Henry?”
“Nope, not me...and I asked my staff to check around and they all said they didn’t know anything either”
” Well , I guess we don’t know nothing then in case somebody asks”
Perhaps nobody actually ordered the investigation. It just happened.
Obama was skilled at hiring ideologues who knew exactly what to do without being told to do it.
Comey was very lawyerly in his responses. He is the worse director we have ever had.
Just the fact that the Obama administration, with out any credible evidence, was using the resources of the federal government, to find dirt on the candidate Trump and his team, is outrageous.
COMEY: That’s one of those subjects I can’t comment on one way or another. Please don’t interpret that in any way other than I just can’t talk about anything that relates to the FISA process in an open setting.
He was asked about getting a FISA request on Trump. How do you like that answer. On that level, everything has an interpretation. I interpret that answer that there was a FISA request against Trump.
None of them would have done it without the deniable approval of Obama. And Clapper and Brennan were very likely both in on it.
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