What the Media Get Wrong About Manafort Wiretapping

lifezette ^ | 20 Sep 2017 | Brendan Kirby

[bitt]

Warrant came under authority to build counterintelligence operations focused on foreign nations, not criminal cases

CNN on Tuesday loudly trumpeted but then overhyped its big scoop in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation — that the former chairman of President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign was the subject of a wiretap.

News anchors around the clock suggested that the wiretap authorized by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court means that political operative Paul Manafort was probably guilty and speculated that perhaps Trump himself was implicated.

[bitt]

ping

[Tenacious 1]

Wasn’t it CNN that repeatedly called Trump a liar and mocked him after he commented on being “wiretapped” after the NYT reported that his property had been “wiretapped”?

I thought so. Where is the CNN announcement and apology for getting it wrong the first time? (I won’t hold my breath)

[OttawaFreeper]

I stopped by CNN briefly last night and saw a woman there breathlessly making assertions that Manafort and Trump must be guilty of collusion with Russia based on the wiretapping that was done. What mindless bunk and it was peppered with the usual media catchphrases like “Russian collusion” and “hacking”.

[dhs12345]

Hey at least they now admit that there was wiretapping.

[joshua c]

The wiretapping was a while ago if they had anything we would have heard by now.

Mueller is on a fishing expedition. They have bupkiss.

[Liz]

MSM news anchors were happy as clams speculating that the court-authorized FISA wiretap MUST mean that political operative Paul Manafort was probably guilty. The newsboys happily speculated that perhaps Trump, himself, was implicated.

Now that's very interesting. B/c not only is it a no-no to LIE to a FISA court.....it is a felony to WITHHOLD info from the FISA court.

<><>Did Obama's request for a FISA warrant stipulate that Obama and Susan Rice wire-tapped Trump Tower......while Trump was a candidate?

<><> Did Obama's request for a FISA warrant stipulate that Obama's CIA director Brennan used phony foreign intel as a pretext for a multi-agency investigation into candidate Trump?

<><> Did the request for a FISA warrant stipulate that phony foreign intel led the FBI to probe a computer server connected to candidate Trump residing and conducting business in Trump Tower?

<><> Did the request for a FISA warrant stipulate that foreign intel gave cover to Susan Rice's sifting/unmasking operations?

==============================================

I didn't think so.

[daler]

Imagine, if you will, if it came out that the Bush administration wiretapped the Obama campaign in 2008.

It doesn't take much "imagining."

[Alberta's Child]

But McCarthy said the purpose of a FISA warrant is not to build a criminal prosecution but to conduct a counterintelligence or counterterrorism operation. The reason for conducting surveillance on an American citizen in such an operation is to find out more about the activities of a foreign power or terrorist organization.

I've seen some comments from lawyers who point out that collecting information in this manner actually makes it harder to pursue criminal charges against the U.S. citizen because the evidence gathered may be thrown out in court on the grounds that there was never a real probably cause to collect it.

This is probably why the FBI agents raided Manafort's house in the last few weeks. They may be futilely trying to build a criminal case, knowing full well that the evidence they already had in hand will be inadmissible in court.

[Truth29]

Mueller is working his way toward indicting those close to Trump in the hopes of indicting or otherwise bringing down Trump. It doesn’t matter if there is real evidence or not.
With an unlimited budget and staff, Mueller can manufacture whatever evidence he wants and with a DC grand jury, he can indict the proverbial ham sandwich. It was a crucial error to appoint Sessions and to allow Mueller to continue his frame up of the Administration. It may take steps outside the existing legal system to stop this madness.

[SomeCallMeTim]

Ouch

You must be a lawyer... Cause that cuts to the bone.

[Liz]

It’s picturesquely called....”going for the jugular.”

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks so much for your support to this point... I personally apprecaite it...
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[Liz]

The heinous "legacy" of the Obama presidency is writ large.....
so much damage inflicted in the little time the citizenry allotted him.

Obama and his Democrat fellators, ValJar, Susan Rice, and the rest of the knee-padders, turned every federal agency into a political weapon: the FBI, the IRS, NSA, CIA, even the FISA court.

Obama and his factotums weaponized and corrupted everything for their insatiable thirst for power, for their despicable "progressive" ideology, their obsession w/ a permanent Democrat majority, and for their twisted political ambitions.

[Liz]

Americans are starting to get a clearer picture of how sinister the Obama-Rice Police State really is (its still functioning via OFA)-——and the genesis of the Democrats’ “win at any cost” odious misinformation campaign is suddenly clearer.

BACKSTORY Through the last half of 2016, the Obama administration was desperately searching for evidence of some link between the Trump presidential campaign and Russia.

<><> They went to great lengths, falsifying requests, twice seeking, then finally obtaining, a court-ordered FISA, that allowed them to spy on at least one Trump associate.

<><> In addition, we now know that Susan “The Sifter” Rice had an operation wherein raw NSA intelligence was sifted through for names of Trump associates, in hopes of uncovering dirt of some sort.*

<><> These efforts came up dry. The Obama administration found no compromising information about Trump or any of his associates.

Not surprisingly, ever since the Trump Inauguration, the Democratic Party, especially its NY/DC press wing, has relentlessly pushed the Trump/Russia story. But that hasn’t stopped Democrat factotums in the press from talking about little else for the last three months.

This is the kicker-—— all along, the Democrats have known that their spying produced nothing.

This whole Obama/Rice/Comey/Mueller/Democrat spy apparat is almost unbelievably sordid. The relevant Congressional committees should investigate thoroughly, and criminal prosecutions should follow where laws have been broken.

It’s high time the Obama Police State and its spying apparat be investigated.

ACTION NOW-—CONTACT CONGRESS: Capitol Switchboard 1-866-220-0044

Call President Trump: Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414

[Liz]

Scary to think what the left is capable of....... to get and keep political power.

(as FReeper Stingray51 insightfully posted) “The only way to save Obama’s sorry ***, as well as saving the FBI and the onerous Deep State, was to indict Manafort.

If the faltering lefties could depict Manafort as a major criminal, then all of the Obama/Rice Police State abuses would be ignored.

Mueller’s team apparently realized that very early on...the motivation he needed to rationalize his activities.

The Obama cabal were desperate to have Trump lose, b/c they had deposited mountains of political filth in their travels that needed to be buried by the crooked Clintons. Lucky for us, they nominated crooked Hillary to run against Trump.

[editor-surveyor]

.
Meuller and Comey belong in a cell.

Fortunately Manafort is a strong willed individual, and their malevolence and malfeasance will catch up to them as this circus plays out.

Too bad we have a pussy for an attorney general.

Trump should pardon Sessions for his hidden crimes, so that he can do his job without fear.

.

[Grampa Dave]

Obama and his Democrat fellators, ValJar, Susan Rice, and the rest of the knee-padders, turned every federal agency into a political weapon: the FBI, the IRS, NSA, CIA, even the FISA court.

Obama and his factotums weaponized and corrupted everything for their insatiable thirst for power, for their despicable "progressive" ideology, their obsession w/ a permanent Democrat majority, and for their twisted political ambitions.

[gathersnomoss]

BANG. Spot on. All else is white noise.

[Liz]

Oooooooo........scary.