Posted on 02/04/2018 10:40:24 AM PST by Para-Ord.45
To monitor the communications of a "U.S. person" (a citizen, legal permanent resident, or U.S. corporation) under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the FBI needs probable cause to believe the target is an agent of a foreign power. In Page's case, the relevant definition of a foreign agent would be someone who "knowingly engages in clandestine intelligence gathering activities for or on behalf of a foreign power," or who knowingly assists such activities, when they "involve or may involve" violating a criminal statute. When a U.S. person is the target, a warrant cannot be issued "solely upon the basis of activities protected by the first amendment."
Unlike when it seeks a warrant in an ordinary criminal case, the FBI did not need to show probable cause to believe that Page had broken the law, only that he was an agent of a foreign power, which might (or might not) involve illegal espionage. The New York Times says the FBI had to show Page was "probably an agent of a foreign power." But if probably means "more likely than not" (i.e., supported by "a preponderance of the evidence"), that is incorrect. Probable cause, which the Supreme Court has described as "a fair probability," is supposed to be stronger than a hunch or a reasonable suspicion, but it is weaker than a preponderance of the evidence, the standard that applies to verdicts in civil cases. To put it another way, the FBI could get a warrant for an American who was probably not a foreign agent.
How hard is it to show the sort of probable cause the FBI needs under FISA? Not very, judging by the bureau's track record before FISC judges, who almost never reject its warrant applications. The FBI's defenders argue that its success rate reflects careful preparation, which requires approval by senior Justice Department officials and often includes consulting with the court before filing. But in the end, Syracuse University law professor William Banks says, the government's burden is not very demanding. "Carter Page was doing business in Russia, talking to Russian diplomats who may have been involved in intelligence activities in the United States," Banks told the Times. "Game over. The standards are incredibly open-ended."
So claiming Page was an agent would be easy AND a perfect back-door to surveil your enemies. (Page has filed lawsuits as has many Russian individuals and business entities for slander . Page has also filed an affidavit with the FBI stating so.)
To properly do that you need not a FISA Title VII / FISA(702) but a broader FISA Title I . FISA Title I then allowed the FBI to target their political enemies:
FBI was targeting Carter Page directly. AND as such they carried full surveillance authority upon all of this activities, interactions, communications and contacts therein.
Because of this direct approach, any group, organization or entity who came in contact with U.S. Person Carter Page was then open for ancillary review and FBI investigation. Those who engaged in contact with Carter Page became subject to surveillance and searches in the same manner as if Page was an actual foreign agent.
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/02/02/inside-the-hpsci-memo-a-key-distinction-being-conflated-title-i-vs-title-vii/
So, seeing that it should be easy to get a warrant, why did they have to manufacture evidence to get it when there was real evidence available? I think because they wanted the manufactured evidence leaked, whereas the real evidence would not make page 37.
This would be a lot more meaningful article if the FISA Court had not denied the first request for surveillance authorization.
Where is Page in all of this? Was he changed?
Pretty easy?
Then why did they resort to engineering a fake dossier?
Evidently this was not about Carter Page at all. It was about destroying the opposition.
They destroyed the opposition in the ComDem Primary.
Then proceed to do the same on the GOP.
So it is much bigger than “just” Carter Page.
Charged...
For a Democrat, the shortest distance between a conspiracy and action is a lie. It’s in their DNA.
Under the parameters used by the Obama FBI,DoJ,NSA,CIA, should Steele,Simpson and FGPS e been arrested as Russian foreign agents ?
I’m with you, if it was so easy to get a surveillance warrant on Page because of his business dealings with Russia, why use a fake dossier to get the warrant? Perhaps the first warrant request that was turned down was done the “easy way.” When they got shot down, they threw in the fake dossier, and Isikoff article from Yahoo. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the way it went down. Slime bags.
Nothing clandestine about Page’s associations.
So what they are saying is any candidate can be spied on if he has anyone with foreign experience in his campaign or cabinet.
The history of FISC Judges' approvals suggests they would find it easy to have a warrant granted, not that Carter Page's activities actually rose to the standard of homework the FBI required before they were corrupted and destroyed by Barack 0bama. That the FBI allowed politics to lower their prior standards--to the point of corruption--is the entire point of the memo.
And you really have to wonder what's happened to CATO. Is their Koch funding so demanding that they've lost sight of every libertarian principle they ever supported?
Here's an alternative version, written by someone who was clearly spied on by the Federal government illegally, with no loyalties to the Brothers Koch (SHARYL ATTKISSON):
so far, Page has not been accused of or charged with anything in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe. This is as of last Friday (2/2/18).
Carter Page, Scharter Page - the salient fact is that the Steele Dossier was about Trump. The first FISA warrant was, de facto, against Republican Presidential Candidate Trump. That is an enormous scandal. The first renewal of that warrant was against President-Elect Trump - a far worse scandal. The second renewal was against President Trump, and the last was against President Trump, and worse, was signed by the president’s Deputy Attorney General.That never has, and never will, happen to a Democrat POTUS.
Seriously, how much more did the FISA court have to justify a warrant against Trump than Trump - and every other “birther” had - still has - to suspect that Obama was not a natural-born citizen of the US??? Consider the multiple “birth certificates,” and the book he wrote which says he was born in Kenya . . .
However, giving a speech to foreigners and later receiving a gift to a foundation merits no investigation.
The article is Fake (False) news.
FTA: “Unlike when it seeks a warrant in an ordinary criminal case, the FBI did not need to show probable cause to believe that Page had broken the law, only that he was an agent of a foreign power, which might (or might not) involve illegal espionage.”
This is absolutely not true.
From Sundance: “The law does not allow the FBI to call an American an “agent of a foreign power” unless they can show the person “knowingly engages in clandestine intelligence gathering activities for or on behalf of a foreign power” AND the nature of their activity is criminalized.”
Then there should have been a huge FISA dossier on Bill and Hillary Clinton. Him showing up there and making speeches for 100’s of thousands of dollars. And the Clinton charity getting money from Russian Oligarchs.
Where the hell is THEIR appointed special prosecutor?
Oh that’s right, we ONLY GO AFTER REPUBLICANS AND CONSERVATIVES.
All the other crap they’re spewing is smokescreen, people!!!
Thanks. I wonder why?
what date was the first one denied do you know?
Not sure why that wasn’t in the Memo...(that one was denied before the Dossier)
Where is Page in all of this? Was he changed?
NO
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