"The F.B.I. used an informant to investigate Russia ties to Trump's campaign, not to spy, as Trump claims."
"Oh. That's very different."
"Never mind."
Posted on 05/19/2018 4:32:28 AM PDT by Magnatron
President Trump accused the F.B.I. on Friday, without evidence, of sending a spy to secretly infiltrate his 2016 campaign “for political purposes” even before the bureau had any inkling of the “phony Russia hoax.”
In fact, F.B.I. agents sent an informant to talk to two campaign advisers only after they received evidence that the pair had suspicious contacts linked to Russia during the campaign. The informant, an American academic who teaches in Britain, made contact late that summer with one campaign adviser, George Papadopoulos, according to people familiar with the matter. He also met repeatedly in the ensuing months with the other aide, Carter Page, who was also under F.B.I. scrutiny for his ties to Russia.
The role of the informant is at the heart of the newest battle between top law enforcement officials and Mr. Trump’s congressional allies over the F.B.I.’s most politically charged investigations in decades. The lawmakers, who say they are concerned that federal investigators are abusing their authority, have demanded documents from the Justice Department about the informant.
Law enforcement officials have refused, saying that handing over the documents would imperil both the source’s anonymity and safety. The New York Times has learned the source’s identity but typically does not name informants to preserve their safety.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
The MEDIA are the DEEP STATE.
New York Times Statement About 1932 Pulitzer Prize Awarded To Walter Duranty
"Duranty, one of the most famous correspondents of his day, won the prize for 13 articles written in 1931 analyzing the Soviet Union under Stalin. Times correspondents and others have since largely discredited his coverage."
Ethically, (if one can still use that term when referring to the FBI), the DOJ should have informed Trump of what it was up to. It did not. It was forced to reveal its involvement in the campaign only after it was outed in the media. Thus, this NYTimes article is as specious as any I can recall in my lifetime.
Clarified it even more
Gee... we weren’t spying on you. How could you suggest such a thing? We were just investigating what you were doing without telling you and then privately reporting it to your political opponents, self-servingly leaking harmful parts to the press, using the information to lie to our courts in order to wiretap ALL of your communications and then appointing a special counsel to further investigate you with the end goal being your impeachment in order to overturn an election we initially tried to steal and somehow lost despite all of our cheating and criminally using the powers of the federal government against you.”
Brennan "Needs Very Good Lawyer" Says DiGenova; "He's Going To Be In Front Of A Grand Jury Shortly"
We spied, but please don’t think of it as spying.
Sure it was a presidential candidate, and if we’d do it to him, we’d do ever so much worse to the common man, but don’t think of it that way.
You’re such a great citizen and we have so much respect for you.
These people are jerks, and they insult us to our face.
I have come to despise the ilk that think like this in Washington, D. C. and elsewhere.
C’mon NY TIMES put a name (FirstName_LastName) and quit hiding behind “the informant.”
The FBI press release made it through the NYT UNALTERED.
What the NYT needs to be challenged on is who gave the orders to start the spying on a Republican candidate. It is incredible to suggest it was hatched and executed by a few rogue agents. OK, NYT, prove it - the citizens have a right to see it all.
If it were truly a rogue event, and if BHO had a scintilla of courage and decency, he would be demanding right now a full and complete investigation, and call on his people to fully cooperate. Not only is his personal and his administration’s reputation at risk, but more importantly he would be concerned of the serious damage / corruption to our federal institutions. There is a reason he has not spoken up in this manner.
Play out the clock and hope for a "blue wave" in November.
Flyover country wants an orange jumpsuit in June.
I suspect they did for entirely different reasons. They would want to have information they could use later for blackmail. These corrupt FBI and Justice officials want some measure of control over everyone.
Post #51 — Good catch.
The NYT knows the SHTF when the Inspector General’s report comes out this week. So they are trying like mad to help the DNC by spinning their spying on the Trump campaign as being a good thing. Lotsa luck, Losers.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) warned Republican lawmakers on Friday not to expose the identity of top-secret FBI informant, saying that to do so would be "irresponsible" — and potentially illegal.
"It would be at best irresponsible, and at worst potentially illegal, for members of Congress to use their positions to learn the identity of an FBI source for the purpose of undermining the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in our election," Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement.
"Anyone who is entrusted with our nation’s highest secrets should act with the gravity and seriousness of purpose that knowledge deserves," he added.
Top Intel Dem warns Republicans: Don't try to out FBI source
"Oh. That's very different."
"Never mind."
...Except that there were no Russia ties and no reasonable indication that there might be Russia ties...ya know...that sort of thing...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.