Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Rice tried to protect Obama, blame Comey for withholding intelligence from Flynn & Trump team
FoxNews ^ | May 19, 2020 | Andrew C. McCarthy

Posted on 05/20/2020 5:07:08 AM PDT by billorites

Blame-shifting. It is a Washington pastime. It also appears to be the reason why former National Security Adviser Susan Rice wrote her now-infamous memo, documenting an Oval Office meeting at which top Obama administration officials resolved to withhold Russia-related intelligence from the incoming Trump administration.

A key paragraph of Rice’s memo, previously redacted, has now been declassified and made public. Fox News obtained a copy Tuesday from the office of Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., which had sought access to the document.

The memo was written as an email “to the File” as Rice was leaving her office for the last time on Jan. 20, 2017, the day Donald Trump was inaugurated.

It seems that the purpose of the memo was to shift the blame to then-FBI Director James Comey for the withholding of Russia intelligence from the Trump team.

Rice’s objective was to absolve President Barack Obama of any blame for directing that Russia information be concealed from Trump and his incoming national security team, particularly Michael Flynn

< edit >

We are left to understand that nothing about withholding Russia intelligence was really resolved at the meeting, and to assume that nothing happened afterward that would have caused President Obama to do anything further.

Translation: If it came to pass that Russia information was withheld from President Trump, National Security Adviser Flynn and the incoming Trump team, blame Comey.

Of course, the palpable reason for concealing Russian intelligence from the new president and his national security team would be to obscure the fact that the Obama administration had monitored the Trump campaign and planned for the investigation to continue even after Trump took power.

That is not something an FBI director could have pulled off on his own. Counterintelligence investigations, after all, are done for the president.

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 20170120; bagpipesbarr; moretalk; ricememo; trustsessions; trustwray
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-87 next last
To: Joe 6-pack
The fact that none have done so (at least publicly) as of yet...

Riiiiiiight!

Obama’s De Facto Russian Collusion Co-Conspirators
So certain were the Obama collaborators they would not only succeed in emasculating President Trump, but they would never be held accountable that one of the prime collaborators, James Clapper, Obama’s Director of National Intelligence, unabashedly revealed to Anderson Cooper of CNN in July of 2018 the following (which was completely ignored and buried by the mainstream media):

If it weren’t for President Obama, we might not have done the intelligence community assessment that we did that set up a whole sequence of events which are still unfolding today, including Special Counsel (Robert) Mueller’s investigation. President Obama is responsible for that. It was he who tasked us to do that intelligence community assessment in the first place. That's pretty public and it sounds like "I was just following orders so I'm clear" to me.
61 posted on 05/20/2020 7:32:48 AM PDT by philman_36 (Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty and supped with infamy. Benjamin Franklin)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Joe 6-pack

Good post. Agree 100%.

The coupist game plan has been obvious for going on 4 years now. That the Deep State coup isn’t being engaged and stopped can only be because there is no opposition party to it. Therefore, the coup against POTUS and the MAGA agenda is provably bipartisan in nature.


62 posted on 05/20/2020 7:41:54 AM PDT by lodi90
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: philman_36
"That's pretty public and it sounds like "I was just following orders so I'm clear" to me."

So Clapper admitted openly to the coup attempt in July 2018, and was indicted when?

63 posted on 05/20/2020 7:47:40 AM PDT by Joe 6-pack (Qui me amat, amat et canem meum.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 61 | View Replies]

To: Joe 6-pack
So Clapper admitted openly to the coup attempt in July 2018, and was indicted when?

The future isn't determined yet.

How can you proclaim future inaction with certainty based only on the inaction of the past?

Hey, you ask a rhetorical question you get one in return.

64 posted on 05/20/2020 7:54:30 AM PDT by philman_36 (Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty and supped with infamy. Benjamin Franklin)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 63 | View Replies]

To: Liz

This is why it was IMPERATIVE for Barr and Durham to investigate the ORIGINS because if the origins revealed no predicate, no basis, no genuine probable cause for launching a counter-intel operation, then Rice’s feeble stay-out-of-jail memo would fall apart.


Barr seems very careful with his words, “ to date” hopefully indicating that the imperative investigation is what he/durham are really about and getting to the end game of what did Obama/Biden know that was beyond the “ counter-intel” framework.

Barr may be applying a very legalistic terminology re “ criminal” as this point awaiting whatever comes out, or already knowing and taking some of the “persecution of Obama/Biden” off the table for now.

Trump is very direct in using “ criminal” and hopefully knows the real end game as he strings along the media and Joey... to their demise.

Thanks for your very through, insightful post.

You do an excellent job of background and then summarized key point.

Much appreciated


65 posted on 05/20/2020 8:22:53 AM PDT by patriotspride
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: lodi90

The predicate for all of it was the Kenyanesian Usurpation which was also bipartisan in nature.


66 posted on 05/20/2020 8:27:54 AM PDT by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizens Are Born Here of Citizen Parents_Know Islam, No Peace-No Islam, Know Peace)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 62 | View Replies]

To: lodi90
"Barr has been AG over a year. If he was going to move against the coupists he would have done it long ago. Instead he has done little but aid and abet them."

DC is a rotten town.. There piles everywhere and because of national securty Barr has to be careful where he steps, .. I think he wears the white hat and in time he will prove himself to be the right man at the right time....

67 posted on 05/20/2020 8:30:52 AM PDT by unread (A REPUBLIC..! if you can keep it....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: philman_36
"The future isn't determined yet...Hey, you ask a rhetorical question you get one in return."

Justice delayed is justice denied.

Past is prologue.

Hey, you hit me with one cliche, you get two in return!

68 posted on 05/20/2020 8:40:37 AM PDT by Joe 6-pack (Qui me amat, amat et canem meum.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 64 | View Replies]

To: Liz

I think you summarized it well @ post 41

This is a pretty good piece by McCarthy that hones in on the most important part of the Rice memo, which was done posthumously to deflect blame from the White House and place it squarely at the feet of Comey.

It indicates a level of knowledge by Rice as to what was going to happen (the Russian collusion delusion coup attempt) and her concerns that it might not work so they needed to insulate Obama.

Comey is a fool. He pictured himself the hero of this story (as usual) when he will be remembered as the villain. Those above him have plausible deniability as they can deflect to what Comey was telling them. It is the standard DC game. Brennan and Clapper will put it squarely at the feet of Comey.

The only person Comey can try to blame is McCabe and vice versa. However, the conclusion you have in bold above is true. Criminal intelligence investigations are done for the President.....

Speaking of Rice, it is amazing how wrong she was in her Russia vs China calculation in her testimony. Russia behaved recklessly during the Obama administration in part due to the feckless foreign policy and weakness of that administration. Where are they now?

The real threat then and now is playing out before our very eyes. China. Flynn was concerned about China and Rice thought he was dangerously wrong. How did we survive the last administration?


69 posted on 05/20/2020 8:59:48 AM PDT by volunbeer (Find the truth and accept it - anything else is delusional)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: lodi90

Barr is either deep state are is not capable (or unwilling) to fix the mess at DOJ.
A few facts (not in any particular order):
1) Barr started his career at the CIA,
2) was part of the Bush Administration,
3) close to Kelly,
4) has not cleaned house at DOJ,
5) has not accomplished anything meaningful in prosecuting crimes committed by the left (all the way from Hillary, to sanctuary cities for illegal immigration, to out of control prosecutors, to voting irregularities, to antifa),
6) Epstein (yes, ultimately he was responsible for allowing his apparent assassination, either by design or incompetency), Epstein’s testimony would have been a great embarrassment to many in the deep state,
7) organized attorneys to defend the FBI in the Ruby Ridge debacle,
8) has taken no action to stop the defacing of our national monuments,
9) Barr closed the case against x-FBI boss, McCabe without any charges,
10) refuses to target Obama or Biden, because it may make his organization look political,
11) the declassification and release of records on unmasking of Flynn by Obama and Biden left to the acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell,
12) no real action on FISA abuse,
13) illegals allowed to vote,
14) Barr runs a $29 billion per year agency (over $200 each taxpayer) that incubated the coup against Trump. To show so far, no convictions or indictments except for Trump supporters,
15) All of the information regarding the coup has come from sources outside of DOJ,
Some of us have lost patience, just like we did with Sessions.


70 posted on 05/20/2020 9:11:05 AM PDT by Swirl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Joe 6-pack
Justice delayed is justice denied.

One word clue for you...substantiation. You know what that is, right?

Past is prologue.

The (proverbial) murder attempt (impeachment) failed.

Hey, you hit me with one cliche, you get two in return!

The ball is back in your court.

71 posted on 05/20/2020 9:29:20 AM PDT by philman_36 (Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty and supped with infamy. Benjamin Franklin)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 68 | View Replies]

To: Swirl

I forgot one, a close friend of Muller


72 posted on 05/20/2020 9:42:59 AM PDT by Swirl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 70 | View Replies]

To: Swirl

Good summary. I had high hopes for tough talking Barr. Started to lose faith when he allowed the IG to slow walk his report. Gave up completely when he allowed Durham to punt until the summer. Durham had no problem quickly indicting someone who threatened Schiff. However, the FIB Fisa forger caught red handed is still free as a bird. The proof is in the pudding with Barr and Durahm as they say, unfortunately.


73 posted on 05/20/2020 9:45:20 AM PDT by lodi90
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 70 | View Replies]

To: philman_36
"One word clue for you...substantiation. You know what that is, right?"

Interesting that you used the word, "clue." There have been plenty for Barr and Durham to follow up on in order to "substantiate," what has been for some time an open coup attempt. All the substantiation in the world is worth less than hog spit if nothing is ever done with it.

" "The (proverbial) murder attempt (impeachment) failed."

As it should have. Our side does little more than practice defense; we should be pretty good at it by now. Let me know when somebody besides POTUS takes the initiative to go on the offense.

"The ball is back in your court."

I never lost my balls.

74 posted on 05/20/2020 9:49:30 AM PDT by Joe 6-pack (Qui me amat, amat et canem meum.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 71 | View Replies]

To: oincobx
One thing to remember, Barr has spe m t the past four decades as an advocate of unchecked Executive Power. He is pretty much in the camp that “when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.”

True. He apparently also believes it's OK for feral agents to shoot an unarmed woman in the head as she's holding her infant daughter.

75 posted on 05/20/2020 10:09:59 AM PDT by zeugma (Stop deluding yourself that America is still a free country.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Joe 6-pack
There have been plenty for Barr and Durham to follow up on in order to "substantiate," what has been for some time an open coup attempt.
And here I was thinking we were talking about a specific incident regarding James Clapper that has yet to be substantiated.
Or have you moved the goalpost?

All the substantiation in the world is worth less than hog spit if nothing is ever done with it.
If justice delayed is justice denied then isn't wrongful prosecution the same as justice denied as well?
Flynn might have some salient views on that.

Let me know when somebody besides POTUS takes the initiative to go on the offense.
WOW! You really HAVE been asleep at the wheel.
Durham's investigation into possible FBI misconduct is now criminal probe, sources say

Looks like somebody is on offense to me. What do you see...nothing happening?

I never lost my balls.
I just said the ball was in your court.
Did I ever say you had any balls to lose?

76 posted on 05/20/2020 10:32:54 AM PDT by philman_36 (Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty and supped with infamy. Benjamin Franklin)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 74 | View Replies]

To: Joe 6-pack

I’ll say one thing for you: You’re way out on the limb on this one. If anyone meaningful is seriously indicted, we will see on which side of the saw you are standing.

Note I said ‘indicted’ rather than convicted. Media poisoning of the jury pools makes conviction of any in the Obama cabal in DC & area courts is an iffy proposition, even via the most carefully crafted of indictments.


77 posted on 05/20/2020 10:41:14 AM PDT by citizen (Women are from Venus and Men are from Mars. All the other genders you make up are from Uranus.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 74 | View Replies]

To: citizen

I do wish John Rob would allow me to correct my grammatical mistake.


78 posted on 05/20/2020 10:48:35 AM PDT by citizen (Women are from Venus and Men are from Mars. All the other genders you make up are from Uranus.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 77 | View Replies]

To: citizen
"I’ll say one thing for you: You’re way out on the limb on this one. If anyone meaningful is seriously indicted, we will see on which side of the saw you are standing."

Not really out on a limb here. As I indicated in my earliest posts on this thread, nobody will be happier than me if I am wrong. I suspect that if indictments are handed down, Strzok and Page will be about as high as it goes, and their sleazy affair makes them easy targets. I know they're now national figures, but they are really bit players as far as the coup attempt.

If I'm wrong, I'll freely admit my intuition needs some recalibration, and do so with a smile.

79 posted on 05/20/2020 10:57:46 AM PDT by Joe 6-pack (Qui me amat, amat et canem meum.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 77 | View Replies]

To: Joe 6-pack

I quite agree. It’s not important how the personal assessments play out as long as some worthy perps get prison time.

But along with a biased media, add in possible flagrant instances of jury nullification, perhaps overseen by another Sullivan or Jackson and I worry that justice will be denied at the end.

I hope I am worrying needlessly.


80 posted on 05/20/2020 11:21:00 AM PDT by citizen (Women are from Venus and Men are from Mars. All the other genders you make up are from Uranus.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 79 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-87 next last

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.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson