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https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1129123075470057472.html

#AttorneyGeneral Barr is working to review the techniques used to investigate Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Here are 10 key questions that remain to be answered in the scandal that has become known as #Spygate (

1. What was the role that @CIA and John Brennan’s ‘Interagency Task Force’ played?

Former CIA Director Brennan admitted that he passed intelligence received from the #UK on the Trump campaign to the @FBI with the intention of having them investigate it:
“It served as the basis…
… for the FBI investigation to determine whether such collusion [or] cooperation occurred.”

Notably, Brennan met with then-head of the #UK #Spy agency @GCHQ, Robert Hannigan, in #Washington in 2016. The meeting was unusual, since Hannigan’s US equivalent…
… would have been NSA Director Mike Rogers.

Also in 2016, Brennan set up a joint task force, which included, according to @BBCNews reporting, 6 agencies or gov’t departments, including @CIA, @FBI, @USTreasury, @TheJusticeDept, @ODNIgov, and @NSAGov.
2. How exactly did @FBI use the #SteeleDossier?

The dossier produced on Trump by former #British #MI6 official Christopher Steele played a key role in @FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign, as well as the creation of the public perception that Trump colluded with Russia.
None of the key 103 allegations contained in the #SteeleDossier were confirmed in the investigation by #SpecialCounsel #RobertMueller.

Steele had been hired by #FusionGPS, which, in turn, had been hired by the @DNC and @HillaryClinton campaign…
…through their law firm @PerkinsCoieLLP—to produce the report on Trump.

#FusionGPS co-founder Glenn Simpson, alongside Steele, actively pushed the false allegations contained in the dossier into the @FBI, @TheJusticeDept, @StateDept, and the media.
An investigation by the House Intelligence Committee showed @FBI relied heavily on the #SteeleDossier in its application for a #FISA warrant on former Trump campaign adviser @carterwpage.

We also know that the FISC court wasn’t informed that the dossier…
… was a political opposition research project paid for by an opposing political campaign.

How exactly did the @FBI use the #SteeleDossier in its counterintelligence investigation, and at what point did they know that the information contained in it was false?
3. What was @BarackObama’s role in the Trump investigations?

It’s unclear how much former President #Obama was involved in the investigations into the Trump campaign. Given the involvement of the directors of @CIA and @FBI, it’s unlikely he wasn’t aware of this.
In a now partially declassified email from Jan 20, 2017, written by @BarackObama’s #NationalSecurity adviser @AmbassadorRice to herself—marked TOP SECRET—Rice wrote that her, Obama, VP @JoeBiden, @FBI Dir. @Comey, and Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates were present.
#Obama, during the meeting, allegedly told them that when it came to the #RussiaInvestigation “this issue is handled by the Intelligence and law enforcement communities ‘by the book.’”

We also know that in Jan 2017, @BarackObama received a briefing by #Brennan, @Comey, and DNI…
…James Clapper, in which #Obama was given a summary of the #SteeleDossier, which was attached to an intelligence report.

Trump: “It is inconceivable when it goes to Clapper, Brennan, Comey…I would imagine that some other people…also knew about it, and maybe a lot higher up.”
4. What happened to the info obtained through #Spying on Trump’s campaign?

We know the Trump campaign was spied on in at least 5 different ways:
• #FISA Warrant
• Unmasking requests
• Undercover informants
• #NationalSecurity Letters
• Foreign intelligence
The question remains: what was the info obtained through #Spying used for, and who the info was shared with?

Was any of the info obtained, for example, shared for political purposes? And was any info shared with @HillaryClinton’s campaign or the @DNC?
5. Did @BarackObama officials and @DNC collude with #Ukraine?

#Obama admin officials from the #NationalSecurity Council, @FBI, @TheJusticeDept, and @StateDept met with #Ukrainian #Corruption prosecutors in #Washington in January 2016.
In the meeting, the officials asked the #Ukrainians to re-open an investigation into payments to US figures by #Ukraine’s Party of Regions.

7 months later, alleged payments from #PaulManafort would be revealed, leading him to be removed from the campaign.
How the Obama White House engaged Ukraine to give Russia collusion narrative an early boost
A January 2016 meeting in Washington is one of the earliest documented efforts to build the Trump-Russia collusion narrative.
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/440730-how-the-obama-white-house-engaged-ukraine-to-give-russia-collusion
According to @Politico, @AlexandraChalup told a senior @DNC official in Jan 2016 “we can expect Paul Manafort to be involved in this election.”

This was prior to Manafort even reaching out to the Trump campaign through a mutual acquaintance.
Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump backfire
Kiev officials are scrambling to make amends with the president-elect after quietly working to boost Clinton.
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/ukraine-sabotage-trump-backfire-233446
.@AlexandraChalup, who worked as a consultant for @DNC, was working closely with the #Ukrainian embassy to obtain info on Trump, according to former embassy staffer @AndriyUkraineTe.
Ties to Ukrainian National a Unifying Theme in Early Attacks on Trump
While special counsel Robert Mueller has concluded there was no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and ...
https://www.theepochtimes.com/ties-to-ukrainian-national-a-unifying-theme-in-early-attacks-on-trump_2872609.html
Why was a @DNC consultant trying to get help from a foreign gov’t to obtain dirt on the Trump campaign? And why were @BarackObama officials pushing #Ukrainian prosecutors to re-open an investigation into #Manafort?
6. Was the @FBI’s team to investigate Trump hand-picked, and why?

Several of the key investigators of the @FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into Trump were the same as those investigating @HillaryClinton for her use of a private email server to send classified info.
Notably, Deputy @FBI Director #McCabe, FBI agent Peter Strzok, and FBI lawyer Lisa Page (who at the time was a special counsel to McCabe) were involved in both investigations.

Around 2 months after the FBI’s investigation was opened into @HillaryClinton, Strzok was one of…
… several hand-picked agents sent from the #Washington Field Office and moved to HQ for the investigation.

Strzok’s direct supervisor, Bill Priestap, acknowledged in closed-door testimony that Strzok and @FBI analyst Moffa were “driving the train.”

Were the agents working on the Trump campaign investigation hand-picked for the job, and why were the regular lines of reporting broken during the investigation?
7. What was @Comey’s role in the investigation into the Trump campaign?

Former @FBI Director Comey, since leaving the bureau, has made multiple public statements about his involvement in the investigation into the Trump campaign.
In a recent @CNN town hall interview, @Comey said he was “briefed on it on a regular basis” and that “they kept me closely informed.”
Significant questions remain about how the investigation into the Trump campaign was opened, as well as @Comey’s interactions with #Brennan, and whether the #Spying and infiltration efforts approved by Comey were done so on a legitimate basis.
8. What was Loretta Lynch’s involvement?

Very little is known about former #AttorneyGeneral Loretta Lynch’s involvement in the investigation into the Trump campaign. As attorney general, @FBI Director @Comey reported directly to her.
.@TheJusticeDept under Lynch defended the @carterwpage #FISA application before the FISC court, on behalf of @FBI.
9. Did reporters receive payments from #FusionGPS?

Fusion GPS has made payments to at least 3 journalists who reported on topics related to alleged #Russian interference in the elections, court documents show.
Declaration of Scott L. Glabe, Deputy General Counsel for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence | Elections (8.3K views)
Declaration of Scott L. Glabe, Deputy General Counsel for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence - Free download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. PERMANENT …
https://www.scribd.com/document/365208275/Declaration-of-Scott-L-Glabe-Deputy-General-Counsel-for-the-House-Permanent-Select-Committee-on-Intelligence
The journalists in question have “reported or written on matters within the scope of the committee’s investigation,” the court documents show.

#FusionGPS has denied that the company paid journalists for their reporting.
Company Behind Trump Dossier Paid Journalists, Court Documents Show
Fusion GPS, the firm behind a controversial dossier on Donald Trump, paid journalists who reported on topics related ...
https://www.theepochtimes.com/company-behind-trump-dossier-paid-journalists-court-documents-show_2367886.html
“They are not permitted to publish any articles based on that work, nor do we pay journalists to write stories,” #FusionGPS’s counsel, Joshua Levy said.

Instead, they sometimes work “with contractors that have specialized skills seeking public records under open-records laws.”
10. What changes will be brought to @FBI?

As investigations into the conduct of officials conclude, a prudent question will be about what reforms are needed to make sure that a politicized investigation of a political candidate and his or her campaign doesn’t happen again.
/END/