As usual, you NEED the images and links:
The “Secret Research Project” – an IRS List, an NSA Database, and Resulting “Files” on Americans…
A carefully redacted footnote within a report by FISA Court Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer has always appeared to be a clue to a domestic surveillance program. Now details behind the redactions tell a concerning story.
A brief refresher is needed for those new to the story. In April 2017 Judge Collyer wrote a highly critical FISA Court opinion following discoveries by Director Admiral Rogers of government contractors accessing the NSA database, and extracting illegal search results from the electronic records of every American.
The scale of abuse was incredible [SEE HERE] and the surveillance issues had been covered up for years. Collyer cited the Obama administration as having “an institutional lack of candor” in their responses to her and the FISA court. The judge focused her criticism after a review of the period 2012 through April 2016.
Using the non-compliant admissions by NSA Director Mike Rogers and the results of the compliance audit, Judge Collyer used the period of November 2015 through April 2016 to gauge the scale of abuse at 85 percent. Eighty-five percent of all database search queries were unlawful, and she extended her analysis to say:
“while the government reports it is unable to provide a reliable estimate of [these non lawful searches] since 2012, there is no apparent reason to believe the November 2015 [to] April 2016 period coincided with an unusually high error rate”.
Also this very important:
“many of these non-compliant queries involved the use of the same identifiers over different date ranges.”
Eight-five percent of all use/extraction of the NSA database was unlawful; and they were searching many of the same Americans (“identifier”), repeatedly, over different dates. This means specific Americans were being targeted, tracked and monitored… unlawfully.
Within the 99-page opinion from Judge Rosemary Collyer she noted none of this FISA-702 database abuse was accidental. In a key footnote on page 87: Collyer outlined the years of unlawful violations was the result of “deliberate decisionmaking“:
This specific footnote, is key to peeling back the onion.
Note the phrase: “([redacted] access to FBI systems was the subject of an interagency memorandum of understanding entered into [redacted])”. This sentence exposes an internal decision; withheld from congress and the FISA court by the Obama administration; and outlines a process for access and distribution of surveillance data. Note: “no notice of this practice was given to the FISC until 2016“.
We feel confident we’ve now found the source of the “memorandum of understanding” that lies at the heart of the issue.
In March 2012 the Obama administration through Attorney General Eric Holder made changes to the exploitation of intelligence databases as noted in this Wall Street Journal article later in the year:
(December 2012 – WSJ) Top U.S. intelligence officials gathered in the White House Situation Room in March to debate a controversial proposal. Counterterrorism officials wanted to create a government dragnet, sweeping up millions of records about U.S. citizens—even people suspected of no crime.
Not everyone was on board. “This is a sea change in the way that the government interacts with the general public,” Mary Ellen Callahan, chief privacy officer of the Department of Homeland Security, argued in the meeting, according to people familiar with the discussions.
A week later, the attorney general signed the changes into effect.
The rules now allow the little-known National Counterterrorism Center to examine the government files of U.S. citizens for possible criminal behavior, even if there is no reason to suspect them. That is a departure from past practice, which barred the agency from storing information about ordinary Americans unless a person was a terror suspect or related to an investigation.
Now, NCTC can copy entire government databases—flight records, casino-employee lists, the names of Americans hosting foreign-exchange students and many others. The agency has new authority to keep data about innocent U.S. citizens for up to five years, and to analyze it for suspicious patterns of behavior. Previously, both were prohibited. Data about Americans “reasonably believed to constitute terrorism information” may be permanently retained.
The changes also allow databases of U.S. civilian information to be given to foreign governments for analysis of their own. In effect, U.S. and foreign governments would be using the information to look for clues that people might commit future crimes. (more)
The 2012 changes, instituted by Eric Holder, permitted files of specific Americans to be generated under the auspices of potential terror threats. The NSA databases could be exploited by the National Counterterrorism Center to extract content that would be contained within these files on targeted Americans.
Keep in mind this is early 2012, John Brennan is Deputy National Security Advisor and Asst. to President Obama for Homeland Security.
When Attorney General Eric Holder empowered the National Counterterrorism Center with this new authority, the office assigned to the data-collection was the Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC). The founder of the TTIC was John Brennan:
On 1 May 2003, the Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC) opened its doors. Led by its first Director, John Brennan, TTIC filled its ranks with approximately three dozen detailees from across the US Government (USG) and was mandated to integrate CT capabilities and missions across the government. (link)
Also note the date of this DOJ Memorandum is March 2012:
Under the new rules issued in March, the National Counterterrorism Center, known as NCTC, can obtain almost any database the government collects that it says is “reasonably believed” to contain “terrorism information.” (link)
The March 2012 date is right before the IRS scandal hit the headlines.
The IRS targeting scandal is where the term “Secret Research Project” originated as a description from the Obama team. It involved the U.S. Department of Justice under Eric Holder and the FBI under Robert Mueller. It never made sense why Eric Holder requested over 1 million tax records via CD ROM, until overlaying the timeline of the FISA abuse:
The IRS sent the FBI “21 disks constituting a 1.1 million page database of information from 501(c)(4) tax exempt organizations, to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.” The transaction occurred in October 2010 (link)
Why disks? Why send a stack of DISKS to the DOJ and FBI when there’s a pre-existing financial crimes unit within the IRS. All of the evidence within this sketchy operation came directly to the surface in spring 2012.
Here’s how it looks:
In 2010 Eric Holder asked the IRS to send him the records of 501(c) non profit groups and individuals representing conservative voters. [LINK] Lois Lerner sent the DOJ 1.1 million pages of 501(c)(4) tax filing data. Including a very specific set of “33 Schedule B attachment files”. The Schedule B’s were specific to Large Conservative 501(c)(4) groups operating and organized to oppose the agenda of President Obama. The Schedule B’s include the donor lists of specific people and sub-groups attached to the 501(c)(4).
* The IRS sent the FBI “21 disks constituting a 1.1 million page database of information from 501(c)(4) tax exempt organizations, to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.” The transaction occurred in October 2010 (link)
* In 2012 Eric Holder authorizes the use of government databases to search records of Americans and assemble “files” on potential targets. [Link] “The agency has new authority to keep data about innocent U.S. citizens for up to five years, and to analyze it for suspicious patterns of behavior.”
* In the period of 2012 through April 2016, According to FISA Judge Rosemary Collyer, there were tens of thousands of illegal (“non-compliant”) search queries of the NSA database targeting Americans. The search results were unlawfully “extracted” to unknown entities. Eighty-five out of every hundred searches were illegal (85% non-compliant rate).
Consider purposeful actions, as a political targeting operation, by weaponizing the systems of government. Steps:
First, identify the targets (IRS Database).
Second, research the targets (NSA Database).
Third assemble files on the targets (DOJ Authorization).
Fourth use the files to leverage/destroy your opposition.
We now have evidence of the first three steps; and my hunch is if we apply hindsight a lot of unusual activity will now make sense. We have been living inside the fourth step for a few years. We noticed the consequences… but we only had suspicions, until now.
Fusion GPS was not hired to research Trump, the intelligence community was already doing surveillance and spy operations. The intelligence community needed Fusion GPS to give them a plausible justification for already existing surveillance and spy operations.
Fusion-GPS gave the Obama administration the justification they needed for a FISA warrant with the Steele Dossier. Ultimately that’s why the Steele Dossier is so important; without it, the DOJ and FBI are naked with their surveillance and database abuse.
At 12:15pm on January 20th, 2017, Obama’s outgoing National Security Advisor Susan Rice wrote a memo-to-self. Many people have called this her “CYA” memo, from the position that Susan Rice was protecting herself from consequences if the scheme against President Trump was discovered. Here’s the email:
On January 5, following a briefing by IC leadership on Russian hacking during the 2016 Presidential election, President Obama had a brief follow-on conversation with FBI Director Jim Comey and Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates in the Oval Office. Vice President Biden and I were also present.
President Obama began the conversation by stressing his continued commitment to ensuring that every aspect of this issue is handled by the Intelligence and law enforcement communities “by the book“.
The President stressed that he is not asking about, initiating or instructing anything from a law enforcement perspective. He reiterated that our law enforcement team needs to proceed as it normally would by the book.
From a national security perspective, however, President Obama said he wants to be sure that, as we engage with the incoming team, we are mindful to ascertain if there is any reason that we cannot share information fully as it relates to Russia.
[Redacted Classified Section of Unknown length]
The President asked Comey to inform him if anything changes in the next few weeks that should affect how we share classified information with the incoming team. Comey said he would.
Susan Rice ~ (pdf link)
https://www.commdiginews.com/politics-2/obama-white-house-fisa-nsa-prism-spy-americans-2012-119410/
FISA Court exposes Obama’s abuse of NSA to spy on Americans
by L.J. Keith
FTA:
...The Obama White House used the most sensitive intrusive surveillance systems of the NSA to spy on Americans. A ruling by FISA Court Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer finds that 85% of NSA database requests under FISA section 702 authority at the DOJ were illegal or noncompliant. Surveillance systems, including PRISM, spying on hundreds if not thousands of Americans. Including Donald Trump and those around him. (United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review Amicus Brief)
Moreover, Collyer finds, that the Department of Justice showed an appalling “lack of institutional candor”.
...
oreover, James Comey did allow for limitless continuous, unlawful, and warrantless access by three Federal contractors. (Institutional Lack of Candor – FISA Violations January 24, 2018).
That those contractors had access to over 40000 searches of the NSA programs and databases during that 48-month period of time.
Out of approximately 5000 searches of the NSA database from October 2016 to April of 2017 in the National Security Division of the DOJ, 4250 of them were deemed illegal or non-compliant by the Presiding Judge of the FISA court.
That its targets were American citizens. Prominent Republicans. That the abuse was continuous, frequently entering the same person name over a protracted period of time.
Collyer ruled that this information was shared and disseminated unlawfully to John Brennan and James Clapper. Furthermore, information was disseminated within the Obama administration in violation of the 4th amendment.
From Obama and Brennan -The damage brought on America
How is it that Obama and Brennan could get away with being so diabolically sociopathic. Surely they knew what they were doing was illegal. All under the authorization of James Comey. He knew it was illegal.
It seems it was pure arrogance and hubris. They were sure they would not get caught. They were sure that Hillary Clinton election would cover their crimes.
I’m sure they all thought they would get a promotion for their efforts.
And when they did get caught, they fought back with treason. By continuing to usurp the constitution. Undermining the incoming President with the Russia hoax. Trying to cover up their litany of crimes. And staging an attempted coup against Donald Trump. A reckoning is coming
...
Very enlightening. Thank you.
MAGA!
https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3752822/posts?page=1
The “Secret Research Project” – an IRS List, an NSA Database, and Resulting “Files” on Americans…
https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3751923/posts?page=1
Joe Biden Reportedly Involved in Controversial Early Stages of 2016 Russia Probe
Since we can’t post this as a thread, I’ll put the whole post here:
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Obama Administration’s Snooping on Journalists’ Phone Records Broader Than Previously Known
THE EPOCH TIMES 5/28/2019
The Justice Department’s seizing of journalists’ phone records during the administration of President Barack Obama was more extensive than previously reported, recently released documents show.
In 2013, The Associated Press raised the alarm after the Justice Department (DOJ) informed the news service that it had subpoenaed and obtained the records—not including content of the calls—of 21 mobile phones and land lines, including home numbers assigned to AP journalists, and their offices.
But the DOJ had, in fact, issued 30 subpoenas for records of 30 phone lines “it believed to be those of The Associated Press reporters and editors,” according to a 2014 report by the DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).
The report, albeit heavily redacted, was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the Knight First Amendment Institute (KFAI) at Columbia University and the Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF).
The subpoenas covered a period between April 1, 2012, and May 10, 2012, as part of an investigation into who leaked classified documents that the AP used to produce several articles about the CIA foiling a Yemen-based plot to put a bomb on an airliner.
“The White House had said there was no credible threat to the American people in May of 2012. The AP story suggested otherwise, and we felt that was important information and the public deserved to know it,” AP President and Chief Executive Gary Pruitt said in a May 14, 2013, statement.
The OPR report says that then-Deputy Attorney General James Cole only approved the subpoenas on Feb. 6, 2013, after investigators interviewed more than 550 witnesses and reviewed thousands of government documents, but still “failed to produce investigative leads concerning the source of the leak.”
The AP alleged that the DOJ overreached, including by seizing records for general numbers for some of AP’s offices, including those in New York City and Washington.
“These records potentially reveal communications with confidential sources across all of the newsgathering activities undertaken by the AP [during the targeted period],” Pruitt said in a letter to then-Attorney General Eric Holder, also saying that the records could “provide a road map to AP’s newsgathering operations, and disclose information about AP’s activities and operations that the government has no conceivable right to know.”
Media Guidelines
The DOJ’s media guidelines require that subpoenas against journalists are “narrowly drawn,” but the OPR report shows how low of a bar that could be, according to Ramya Krishnan, attorney at KFAI, and Trevor Timm, FPF’s executive director.
The OPR report indicates that the DOJ originally wanted to subpoena records of The New York Times, Washington Post, and ABC News reporters, as well, since those outlets followed up on the AP articles and they too apparently used classified information, including some that wasn’t used in the AP articles. But because the DOJ held back on those, the OPR concluded that the AP subpoenas were already “significantly and deliberately narrowed.”
The guidelines also required that journalists be contacted ahead of time if their records are to be seized, as long as “such negotiations would not pose a substantial threat to the integrity of the investigation.”
In its conclusion, the OPR stated that the DOJ “could reasonably conclude that it was unable to find that negotiations would not pose a substantial threat to the integrity of the leak investigation” and, thus, the DOJ “was free to forgo negotiation and decline to provide The Associated Press with advance notice” of the subpoenas.
“The Justice Department’s narrow interpretation of the Media Guidelines throws into sharp relief the weakness of some of the only legal protections journalists have,” Krishnan and Timm said in a May 23 article in the Columbia Journalism Review.
In response to the uproar over the subpoenas, Holder had the guidelines revised, but they still include much of the same flexibility, including the exception that journalists will only be notified in advance unless “such notice would pose a clear and substantial threat to the integrity of the investigation, risk grave harm to national security, or present an imminent risk of death or serious bodily harm.”
The Associated Press and the DOJ didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Leak Crackdown
Under Holder, the DOJ pursued at least nine leak-related prosecutions, more than all previous administrations combined, The New York Times reported.
President Donald Trump also called for a leak crackdown after his administration faced a stream of classified information reaching the media. In one of the most striking examples, Trump’s calls with his Australian and Mexican counterparts shortly after entering office were leaked to the media.
On Dec. 20, 2018, former Senate staffer James Wolfe was sentenced to two months in prison for lying to FBI agents who were investigating the leak of a top-secret surveillance warrant application on a former associate of the Trump campaign, Carter Page.
As part of that investigation, the DOJ obtained some of the email and phone records of a New York Times reporter, Ali Watkins.
Watkins was in an intimate relationship with Wolfe since 2013, spanning her tenure at publications including McClatchy Newspapers, The Huffington Post, Politico, and Buzzfeed News, but ended it before she joined The New York Times, she told the publication. Wolfe’s indictment alleged he leaked classified information to at least four reporters. The New York Times has said Watkins was one of them, although she denies ever using Wolfe as a source.
They didn't start spying on Trump in 2015 or 2016...they'd been spying on him for years because he had the cojones to call out obama's unfitness and disqualifying birth place to be POTUS.
Fusion GPS was not hired to research Trump, the intelligence community was already doing surveillance and spy operations. The intelligence community needed Fusion GPS to give them a plausible justification for already existing surveillance and spy operations.
Fusion-GPS gave the Obama administration the justification they needed for a FISA warrant with the Steele Dossier. Ultimately that’s why the Steele Dossier is so important; without it, the DOJ and FBI are naked with their surveillance and database abuse.