FBI-DOJ Conspiracy Against Flynn Unravels-Newly released FBI documents finally lift veil

FrontPage Magazine ^ | May 1, 2020 | Joseph Klein

[SJackson]

The chilling words contained in the newly released handwritten notes of William Priestap, the assistant director of the FBI Counterintelligence Division at the time of the FBI's January 24, 2017 interview with former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, confirm the worst suspicions of Flynn’s defense team. Flynn’s lead defense attorney Sidney Powell believes with good reason that the retired three-star general was set up for a perjury trap by senior officials at the FBI. The handwritten notes and other released FBI documents provide her with more ammunition for the defense team’s motion to dismiss the case against Flynn. The motion was filed with the presiding U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan. The documents demonstrate the cynical thinking among FBI agents in advance of their meeting with Flynn that occurred at the White House just days after President Trump’s inauguration.

“What’s our goal? Truth/admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?” Priestap asked in his handwritten notes. “We regularly show subjects evidence, with the goal of getting them to admit their wrongdoing,” he  added. “Protect our institution by not playing games.” The issue was whether to show Flynn certain evidence during the meeting that might have helped refresh his recollection. The “evidence” – redacted in the released version of the notes – is believed to have been transcripts of several phone calls between Flynn and then-U.S. Ambassador to Russia Sergei Kislyak in December 2019 while Flynn was part of the Trump transition team as incoming national security adviser. The FBI interrogators chose to withhold the complete transcripts from Flynn, choosing instead to quote selectively if and when they deemed appropriate.

In addition to Priestap’s handwritten notes, the initial batch of released documents included emails from the disgraced former FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok and his lover, former FBI counsel Lisa Page. In one of the e-mails, Page discussed “just casually” slipping in towards the beginning of the interview that it is a crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 to make false statements to a federal agent, rather than mentioning it immediately following a statement which the agents believe to be false. That's called trying to pull a fast one when the interviewee would likely be paying less attention.

“The FBI pre-planned a deliberate attack on Gen. Flynn and willfully chose to ignore mention of Section 1001 in the interview despite full knowledge of that practice,” Sidney Powell said in a statement following Wednesday’s document release. 

Fifteen more documents unsealed on Thursday are even more explosive. They reveal, among other things, a reversal of the decision by counterintelligence agents to close the case against Flynn after Strzok, who initially led the Russian “collusion” investigation, intervened to keep the Flynn case open. In one of the released texts dated January 4, 2017, Strzok referred to “the 7th floor” of FBI headquarters where then-FBI Director James Comey and then-Deputy Director Andrew McCabe had their offices. Presumably, Comey and McCabe were interested in continuing the Flynn probe. Recall that Comey later boasted to MSNBC's Nicole Wallace during a December 2019 forum that it was his decision to send the FBI agents to interview Flynn at the White House four days after President Trump’s inauguration. Comey fully realized, he said, that it was "something we, I probably wouldn't have done or gotten away with in a more organized investigation -- a more organized administration." He said, however, that it was “early enough” in the Trump administration to “just send a couple of guys over.” Comey also admitted that Flynn was not told about the purpose of the interview.

A January 23, 2017 text from Strzok to Page documented that Priestap, the author of the handwritten notes, was uncomfortable in pushing ahead too aggressively with Flynn. The FBI conducted the interview with Flynn the next day anyway. Strzok was one of the agents who questioned Flynn at the White House. There’s more. According to a report by the investigative journalist Sarah Carter, “the text messages reveal that there was an original 302 interview with Flynn that was never turned over to the defense. In those text messages between former FBI lovebirds Attorney Lisa Page and FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok, they discuss the interview that was conducted with Flynn at the White House and allude to the alteration of the document.”

Flynn’s defense lawyer Sidney Powell minced no words. “To be clear, we now know by the production of new text messages between Lisa Page and Peter Strzok that there in fact exists an original 302 document created by SSA 1 from his own notes of the January 24, 2017 ambush interview of Gen Flynn,” said Powell. “Further, we know in fact that SSA 1’s original 302 document went to Stzrok who rewrote it substantially, but tried not to ‘completely re-write it so as to save [redacted] voice’ and then was shared by Stzrok with a ‘pissed off’ Page who revised it substantively yet again, crafting the narrative to charge Gen Flynn with a crime he did not commit.” She added that “the travel of this vital document establishes continuously – and until this day – the original FBI agents, the prosecutors, and FBI management’s determination to withhold exculpatory evidence… not only to try to convict an innocent man, but to hide their own crimes.”

The FBI agents involved in the Flynn persecution were clearly trying to maneuver Flynn into admitting that he violated a 218-year-old statute known as the Logan Act or, in the alternative, getting him to lie about his discussions with the Russian ambassador. The Logan Act prohibits U.S. citizens from communicating with any foreign government or its officers, in the absence of authorization by the U.S. government, “with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States.”

There have been no convictions under the Logan Act and only one indictment way back in 1803 that was not followed up. The FBI agents and their colleagues in the Justice Department dusted off the dead letter law, using it as a pretext to go after Flynn. In any event, communications between a president-elect or members of the transition team in advance of a president-elect’s inauguration with the representatives of foreign governments are not unusual. President-elect Barack Obama himself, for example, had communications with then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and then-Polish President Lech Kaczynski following the 2008 presidential election. From the get-go, the Logan Act was being used by the FBI agents to harass Flynn. As for the charge of lying to the FBI, even the FBI agents who interviewed Flynn had initially concluded that Flynn had not lied. Only later did Special Counsel Mueller’s prosecutors wrest a guilty plea from Flynn, who was facing threats of prosecution against his son as well as financial ruin if he did not cooperate.

The Trump-haters in the FBI and Justice Department abused their powers by willfully targeting Michael Flynn in order to pressure him to turn on President Trump. Judge Sullivan must right this grievous wrong and dismiss the case against Michael Flynn immediately. Then Attorney General William Barr and U.S. Attorney John Durham must vigorously pursue the investigation and prosecution of any FBI and Justice Department senior officials involved in conspiring to destroy a great American patriot.

[semimojo]

Attorney John Durham must vigorously pursue the investigation and prosecution of any FBI and Justice Department senior officials involved in conspiring to destroy a great American patriot.

I'd say Flynn went pretty far in tarnishing his reputation when he lied to Pence and Trump fired him for it.

The FBI didn't do that.

[Jack Black]

It looks like the new dates for everyone to deal with what Powell has already submitted, the twin motions to grant a re-trial and the motion to dismiss - the Judge has given the Prosecutors until May 11 to file a response, and Powell gets a week to file a rebuttal. So, May 18 the dueling orders could be complete.

From the docket:

MINUTE ORDER as to MICHAEL T. FLYNN. Upon consideration of 181 Defendant's Supplement re 162 Defendant's Motion to Dismiss Case for Egregious Government Misconduct and in the Interest of Justice, the government shall file a response to Mr. Flynn's Supplement by no later than May 11, 2020, and Mr. Flynn shall file his reply by no later than May 18, 2020. Signed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on 4/27/2020. (lcegs3)

BUT - there is one big but - neither Flynn's former attorneys nor the Government have completed and certified to the court that they have finally turned over all the materials they are required to turn over. In the case of his former law firm, Covington, this material could provide additional evidence to support defendant Flynns claims of negligent or corrupt representation, which would bolster his request to have his guilty plea withdrawn. So, after all that material is finally delivered, then Sidney will have some time to review it, and the file motions based on it. And there will then be time for the Prosecution to respond to those motions, and the defense to rebut the responses, again. We're talking June at the earliest on that.

And the same basic story applies to the production of evidence from the State, which is being done by a US Attorney for Missouri who was asked to review the prosecution by Barr (as this is the third case of Mueller's to blow up in court recently). So the same 1,2,3,4 combination has to take place with regard to whatever new documents the Government finally turns over:
1. Doc delivery complete
2. Defense review and motion citing them, if desired
3. Response to filing by Prosecution
4. Rebuttal to Response by Defense.

It's pretty clear that the guy Barr installed to look into the Flynn prosecution

is talking to Durham, the guy Barr appointed to look into SpyGate. (Sidney Powell said some of the most recent documents provided to her came stamped by Durham's operation.)

So the Flynn case unraveling and being debunked is a component of Durham's larger debunking of the entire SpyGate/Muh Russia conspiracy that he's been tasked to get to the bottom of.

Assuming Powell finds things in all those papers she's owed still, and this case is still dragging out in June, it might be possible that Durham will finally have indicted someone by the time Flynn is being given his walking papers. It will be very hard for Sullivan to punish Flynn if the people who indicted him are themselves, all indicted on charges of political corruption surrounding their activities which this case is an integral part of.

[1Old Pro]

Thanks, these things take forever.

[Cboldt]

The prosecutors are Mueller’s. Mueller personally signed the “information” charging Flynn with a crime.

Generally speaking, Special Council are a department without oversight.

That said, it is fairly common belief that SC are selected to operate outside the law for political revenge or government whitewash purposes. The job is the opposite of justice.

[Cboldt]

He’s an energetic armchair analyst. He has some incredible insights, have to give him great credit for that, but he occassionaly make HUGE mistakes on certain “legal” principles.

He has some contacts. Sidney Powell posted there before she took on the Flynn case.

[SkyPilot]

The prosecutors are Mueller’s.

And, there were also prosecutors of Flynn that were Asst US Attorneys, who worked directly for DOJ (Barr).

[Cboldt]

I think the whole of Mueller’s team had day jobs, either FBI or DOJ. The prosecuting attorneys were on loan from DOJ.

But the case is Mueller’s, and any malfeasance in the case stops at HIS desk, not that of the DOJ.

[volunbeer]

They need to hold the people who did this accountable with the same vigor they used to destroy people over process crimes.

They need to fix the 1001 charge. If there is no predicate crime there can be no 1001 violation. Period. How can you lie about a material fact in a fraudulent investigation? If I ask you 100 questions that you must recall from memory about a specific event I can find a “crime.” Think about that for a minute.... it’s absurd!

There was NO CRIME. Period. No collusion, no FARA, and no Logan Act. Therefore, there can be no lie because the entire investigation was illegitimate.

They will not fix this crap and ultimately, the blame lies on Trump.

If he does not fix this, the left will destroy him and his family with endless investigations long after he has retired to Florida. Mark my words. These people play for keeps and they are out for blood. They are going to win because the opposition party is too stupid to understand this and apparently too weak to fight back.

The left has most of the media, Hollywood, culture, academia, the courts, DOJ, and the FBI.

We have Judicial Watch and a few congressmen with some stones.

We are losing. We will come out of this pandemic even weaker with many more investigations to follow.

Enough is enough.

[Jack Black]

Sidney Powell posted there before she took on the Flynn case.

She's posted since taking the case too, under her old name. Mostly just saying "thank you to everyone here for your research and support" - not talking about the specifics of the case at all.

She has been doing another round of TV interviews this last week, with the new material being released, and her motion was unsealed so she can go talk about it.

Judge Sullivan issued an order telling her "stop filing motions based on new discovery. Wait until they have said it's complete, then file one motion on all of it". which he said was in the interest of efficiency (and that seems like a legit reason given the 1-2-3-4 steps have been gone through over and over as each new previously withheld bit of exculpatory evidence is put forward.

But it's still quite bizarre. She is in "wait and see" mode, and there is no telling how long the Government will take to find everything and turn it over to her.

June is the earliest. The real date is at least a month after all the exculpatory evidence is finally submitted. Could be July, could be August.

[Ford4000]

No, it lands in Andrew Weissman’s lap. Mueller was obviously his sock puppet and incapable of running anything.

[Jack Black]

You said:

There was NO CRIME. Period. No collusion, no FARA, and no Logan Act. Therefore, there can be no lie because the entire investigation was illegitimate.

They will not fix this crap and ultimately, the blame lies on Trump.

If he does not fix this, the left will destroy him and his family with endless investigations long after he has retired to Florida. Mark my words. These people play for keeps and they are out for blood. They are going to win because the opposition party is too stupid to understand this and apparently too weak to fight back.

The left has most of the media, Hollywood, culture, academia, the courts, DOJ, and the FBI.

We have Judicial Watch and a few congressmen with some stones.

We are losing. We will come out of this pandemic even weaker with many more investigations to follow.

Enough is enough.

Yes! I could not agree more. I've been saying for two years that the only thing that really matters is that Trump indict people, the more and higher up the better.

There needs to be FEAR among them, that they will be indicted and (at minimum) lose pensions, have to spend millions defending themselves, and possibly go to prison for a while.

It's like a boxing match, if you don't put a little fear into your opponent early in the match, that you have a punch that can hurt him, then it's going to be a short ugly affair. Like Tommy Hearns in his long string of KO victories in the 1980s, he took the measure of his opponents and then went to work pummeling them until the went down.

Marvin Haggler ended that early in the first round with a right that got Tommy's attention, and made him try to box Hagler from the outside. It didn't work in the end.

Team Trump hasn't hit the Deep State with one solid punch, and it's round 9. Deep State has no fear of Trump, which is why guys like Brennan are still out there calling him names on TV every day.

The best defense is a good offense.

Failure to convince your opponent that they should fear you allows them to beat you mercelessly until you collapse. That's where the Deep State has had Trump until now.

Still hoping he comes off the ropes firing bombs and puts a stunning upset into the books. But the clock is running down on that.

[EVO X]

You just profiled Lindsay Graham.

And Rino Ryan who sidelined Devin Nunes for 9 months..

[EVO X]

I'd say Flynn went pretty far in tarnishing his reputation when he lied to Pence and Trump fired him for it.

Pence has been walking back his statements in light of recent Flynn document dumps...

[EVO X]

No, it lands in Andrew Weissman’s lap. Mueller was obviously his sock puppet and incapable of running anything.

I heard a brief audio clip from Powell on a twitter feed suggesting Mueller doesn't have all his facilities. She is going down that road....

[Jack Black]

I heard a brief audio clip from Powell on a twitter feed suggesting Mueller doesn't have all his facilities

His testimony to Congress left many viewers with the impression that he has some form of dementia or cognitive decline.

It's here, all 2:35:00 of it.

[Ann Archy]

Priestap FILLED IN THE CIRCLE on the answer of...to get him prosecuted or FIRED! Like a test where you fil in the circle.

[semimojo]

Pence has been walking back his statements in light of recent Flynn document dumps..

I know, which is weird. No one denies that Flynn talked to Kislyak about sanctions, and Pence made his incorrect claims publicly, supposedly based on what Flynn told him.

If Flynn didn’t lie to him who did?

[TiGuy22]

And Rino Ryan who sidelined Devin Nunes for 9 months..

_-

And, derailed Trump’s wall...

[EVO X]

If Flynn didn’t lie to him who did?

He knows now.....