Undercover Huber
Why did the IG Report completely ignore Stefan Halper’s lies to the FBI about @GenFlynn , and leave open the possibility that Halper may even have triggered the opening of the CI case against him?
According to the IG, Stefan Halper (referred to as “Source 2”) met with the Crossfire Hurricane team twice (in Aug 11 and 12, 2016) and told them “he had been previously acquainted with @GenFlynn ”
*This was immediately before the FBI opened a case on Flynn on Aug 15, 2016*
The IG report is silent on anything Source 2 might have said specifically about Flynn. It’s also silent on the fact the Washington Field Office of the FBI tried to close the Flynn case on 01/04/2017. Both are going to be important in a second.
We now know from the FBI’s draft “Electronic Communication” dated 01/04/2017 (trying to close the Flynn CI case, stopped by Strzok at the direction of Comey, McCabe or both) confirms the “CH” team “contacted an established FBI CHS to query about” Gen Flynn & held a “debriefing”
At that “debriefing” between Halper and the FBI, Halper made up a story about when he “witnessed” a “suspicious” cab ride after Flynn spoke at an event. He supposedly shared a cab with someone Halper said was “affiliated” with Russian intelligence.
(Most of thats still redacted)
This “event” very likely refers to when Flynn spoke at the Cambridge Intelligence Seminar in Feb 2014, and the suspicious Russian-linked person supposedly in the cab was RealSLokhova (who also attended, and briefly spoke to Flynn)
(Most of that’s still redacted as well)
Except that story is a *lie*. Halper wasn’t at that event. He witnessed nothing, because he wasn’t there. And the cab ride almost certainly didn’t happen either, because RealSLokhova says she was picked up from the event by her Husband. And she’s willing to say that under oath.
There are multiple pictures of that Cambridge Seminar event (attended by about 20 people). Flynn was there, as was Richard Dearlove (former head of MI6), and Christopher Andrew (then mentor of RealSLokhova and “unofficial” historian of MI5). But Halper wasn’t. Not in any photos.
“No one remembers Halper attending the event because, in truth, Halper was not there” — sworn court filing of RealSLokhova , in case filed against Halper himself
Halper's lawyers never challenged that statement. Even when the federal Judge dismissed RealSLokhova ’s case (for other reasons), he did not challenge that claim, only saying that “even assuming it was false” that Halper “attended” the dinner, it wasn’t defamatory to claim he did.
SVETLANA......My case is under appeal after Clinton-appointed judge attempted to throw it out for time limitation issues-which I am appealing-but not on facts of the case, which are undisputed. This week’s revelations vindicate me.
Halper’s lawyers even noted @RealSLokhova ’s claim it was a “falsehood” to say Halper attended the Feb, 2014 Cambridge event, and then NEVER defended it as *true*, just that it wasn’t *defamatory*, and non-actionable.
That’s because it’s not true: Halper wasn’t there.
And the FBI trying to close the case on Flynn is great evidence Halper’s “attendance” at this event so he could see this suspicious cab ride is false. The FBI never tried to interview @RealSLokhova , or anyone at the dinner. Why? Because it would have proven their own source lied.
FYI, WaPo, WSJ and NYT have all published stories claiming that Halper attended that Feb 2014 event. None have any evidence that’s true. All the stories are anonymously sourced to Halper or Halper’s buddies. There never will be any evidence Halper was there, because he wasn’t.
So when Halper told the FBI that he was “previously acquainted” with Flynn, and “witnessed” this suspicious cab ride, HE WAS LYING TO THE FBI. And at the time, he was a paid Confidential Human Source - the only one cited in the carterwpage FISA, other than Steele.
That’s big.
But what’s arguably bigger is WHEN Halper told this lie about Flynn. When else could Halper claimed to have been “acquainted” with Flynn if not this Feb 2014 dinner (the only time Flynn attended the Cambridge seminar Halper helped organize)?
Now, maybe Halper told the FBI about the dinner after the CI case was opened. But that’s NOT in the IG report, despite Halper’s other meetings with the FBI being in there. In fact the IG report says nothing about Halper and Flynn, other than what I quoted.
In addition, FBI’s Jan 4, 2017 draft Closing EC doesn’t say when this “debriefing” with Halper happened either. The wording sort of implies it was after the case was opened, but never says it.
So it is possible that a lie from Halper actually triggered opening the case on Flynn?
What else did the FBI have? Their own laughable “predicate” appears to be that Flynn worked for Trump, attended an RT dinner (at the time, RepAdamSchiff had previously appeared on RT!), and was “linked” to Russians (Er, he was the former head of DIA under “Russian reset” Obama)
Ah, but all of those things were already true between Aug 1 and Aug 10, 2016, which is when the FBI opened cases on Page, Papadopoulos and Manafort - BUT NOT FLYNN. That didn’t happen until Aug 15. He’s the odd one out.
Flynn obviously already worked for Trump. He already had these “links”, and he’d already attended the RT dinner long ago. The thin gruel of Russian “links” and working for Trump was enough to open cases on all the others, but NOT Flynn.
But what did the FBI have extra before they opened the case? Stefan Halper telling them about being “previously acquainted” with Flynn - which almost certainly refers to that Feb 2014 Cambridge dinner, where he was never “acquainted” with Flynn at all.
Oh, & even if Halper told this lie *after* the case was opened on Flynn, the FBI mustn’t have found it credible because they never tried to properly investigate it, and then even tried to close the case anyway. So that means at best the lie came between Aug 15, 2016 & Jan 4, 2017.
What else was happening between Aug 16 & Jan 17? Oh yeah, the FBI was using a person they should have suspected of lying to dirty people up - Halper - as a CHS wearing a wire on carterwpage , GeorgePapa19 and others, AND relying on Halper as “Source #2” in the FISA warrant apps.
Then, incredibly after their own source lies to them about Flynn to dirty him up, the FBI have the audacity to charge Flynn with lying to them! Corrupt dirty cops isn’t an adequate description. And for all we know, Halper is STILL on Wray’s FBI books as a paid confidential source.
Finally, IG Horowitz blew this line of inquiry, and didn’t mention anything about the FBI trying to close the case on Flynn in Jan 2017. Horowitz also admitted hasn’t seen any evidence that any of Halper’s information was ever corroborated during his entire time as an FBI source
Durham can do what the IG didn’t, and solve this mystery quite easily with a few interviews and record checks.
Or, the DOJ/USG can keep Halper on his retainer and ignore this. Either way, we’ll know what’s up