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Facepalm: Obama Spy Chief Says Russia Decided Outcome of 2016 Election
Townhall.com ^ | May 24, 2018 | Matt Vespa

Posted on 05/24/2018 4:03:54 PM PDT by Kaslin

Obama’s former spy chief, James Clapper, is on a roll as of late. The ex-Director of National Intelligence has come to the defense of the intelligence community. Last week, it was reported that Stefan Halper, a longtime CIA operative and Cambridge University professor, spied on the Trump campaign, trying to make contacts with George Papadopoulos, Carter Page, and Sam Clovis. Yet, to Clapper, this isn’t spying. It was just a confidential source trying to glean information under false pretenses to see if there was any Russian collusion—and so far, there hasn’t been any evidence to suggest the Kremlin was tipping the scales. Oh, and it was a good thing that the FBI did this during the election. Well, now he’s taking it a step further. Despite multiple politicians involved in the investigation into Russian collusion on the Hill, Clapper says the Russians “decided” the election. And obviously by extension, he’s referring to President Trump. Also, the Mueller probe has yet to find any evidence of said collusion. Clapper made these remarks on PBS NewsHour Wednesday:

Russia 'turned' election for Trump, Clapper believes

Judy Woodruff [Host]: One of the things you write very — or have spoken about, I should say, in addition to writing about it very candidly is how you have concluded after what happened in 2016 that the Russians not only affected — tried to affect the election, but you said they actually did affect the outcome.

James Clapper: Yes.

Judy Woodruff: What did you mean?

James Clapper: Well, first, I need to make clear that, when we did our formal intelligence community assessment in January of 2017, we didn’t make any call at all about whether the Russians affected the outcome of the election. We didn’t have the authority, charter or capability to do that.

Since I left the government, though, as a private citizen, it’s what I would call my informed opinion that, given the massive effort the Russians made, and the number of citizens that they touched, and the variety and the multidimensional aspects of what they did to influence opinion and affect the election, and given the fact that it turned on less than 80,000 votes in three states, to me, it just exceeds logic and credulity that they didn’t affect the election, and it’s my belief they actually turned it.

former Dir of National Intelligence James Clapper says he's personally concluded Russians not only influenced but DECIDED outcome of 2016 election: "80 thousand votes in 3 states" @NewsHour tonight— Judy Woodruff (@JudyWoodruff) May 23, 2018

Weird because Obama assured us no such thing was possible. https://t.co/VCPMJzRijv— Instapundit.com (@instapundit) May 24, 2018

“There is no serious person out there who would suggest somehow that you could even rig America’s elections." -Barack Obama (October 2016)— Magilla Guerrilla (@jmkg95) May 24, 2018

Okay—leaving out the shoddy collusion claims, you have got to be kidding me. We’re now rehashing claims that were negated by Facebook and others. For starters, it’s not like the Russian troll farm operation to influence voters was a massive effort. It was a $100,000 effort, very small in the grand scheme of things, where presidential races are now $1 billion ventures. And did you see some of these ads, like Jesus arm wrestling Satan? It’s a joke. The fact that the institutional integrity of the U.S., and that of our election system, would be upended by a small social media campaign is abjectly ridiculous. Also, throughout most of 2016, everyone had pretty much made up their minds about which candidate they were going to vote for come Election Day. Russia didn’t alter vote tallies; The Washington Post had good pieces about how hard it is to hack/rig an election

“There is no serious person out there who would suggest somehow that you could even rig America's elections,” said former President Obama in October of 2016. 

So, as with most who feed the liberal echo chamber that Russia colluded with the Trump team, or that Russia altered vote tallies, or that Russia’s influence tilted the election, it seems Mr. Clapper is approaching the unserious camp on this issue.

There is no way Trump won Ohio with just GOP votes, the same goes for Michigan and Wisconsin. For months, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) was warning her party that Trump could win her state. He did. He spoke to their issues on jobs, trade, and job protection. He positioned himself as a cheerleader for America; he had an economic agenda. Clinton did not. So, besides going insane on Russia interference, maybe think about the millions of Obama voters who flipped for Trump. The sour grapes over this election are becoming biblical in size from left-wingers concerning their whining. Clinton lost. She’s not coming back. She will never be president. And by the looks of it, most of your 2020 class isn’t much to write home about either. 


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Front Page News
KEYWORDS: 0bamawhitehouse; 2016election; carterpage; clapper; clintonnonnews; cnn; donaldtrump; georgepapadopoulos; jamesclapper; johnbrennan; leonpanetta; lyingmachine; margarettalev; russia; samclovis; scum; stefanhalper; susanrice
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To: Kaslin

1) If Clapper is correct, then he and his colleagues were epic failures!
2) If, as a private citizen, he has access to intelligence reports, then he is in criminal territory.
3) If Clapper is positive of this, it is his sworn duty (”preserve and protect”) to bring that evidence to public light. He has not and probably will not. The probable reason is that he is an extreme partisan Democrat and desires to destroy the President.
4) Conclusion: Clapper brings only FUD (Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt) to the table. IGNORE HIM!


21 posted on 05/24/2018 4:26:04 PM PDT by SES1066 (Happiness is a depressed Washington, DC housing market!)
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To: Kaslin

Ahhh, the mental deficiency defense


22 posted on 05/24/2018 4:27:01 PM PDT by Steven Tyler
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To: maxwellsmart_agent

interview by FakeNews Swamp creature Woodruff!

here she is again:

30 Apr: PBS Newshour: James Comey: FBI had ‘basis for investigating’ possible ties between Trump and Russia
Former FBI Director James Comey on Monday criticized a House Intelligence Committee report that found no evidence of collusion between Russia and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, saying the FBI had a “basis for investigating” the matter.
“There was a basis for investigating, meaning there were facts to support an investigation” into alleged ties between Russia and members of Trump’s campaign, Comey said in an interview with the PBS NewsHour’s Judy Woodruff. “To say there was no evidence just wasn’t the case.”
Comey joined a chorus of critics who have slammed the report in recent days...
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/james-comey-fbi-had-basis-for-investigating-possible-ties-between-trump-and-russia


23 posted on 05/24/2018 4:29:17 PM PDT by MAGAthon
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To: Kaslin

https://i.imgflip.com/qycyg.jpg

Round and fat IS a shape


24 posted on 05/24/2018 4:30:27 PM PDT by Steven Tyler
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To: tennmountainman
I bet this hack would not constantly be lying if he were put under oath in a grand jury.

You gotta be kidding. This rat will lie his @$$ off if he thinks it will save his skin. I think this is a desperation move on his part. There is a good chance this rat bastard is going to prison.

25 posted on 05/24/2018 4:30:43 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: Kaslin

They never say exactly what it was Russia did that swung the election.


26 posted on 05/24/2018 4:33:04 PM PDT by kjam22
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To: DiogenesLamp

Well, let’s get a Grand Jury, allow him to lie his a$$ off and send him
to jail. He can lie all he wants in public with no penality.


27 posted on 05/24/2018 4:34:22 PM PDT by tennmountainman ("Prophet Mountainman" Predicter Of All Things RINO...for a small fee.)
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To: CivilWarBrewing
Some Russians might have wanted to weaken H because they were convinced she was sure to win and wanted to start weakening her expected reign. But they could not and did not affect the election.
28 posted on 05/24/2018 4:37:12 PM PDT by ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas (Mozart tells you what it's like to be human. Bach tells you what it's like to be the universe)
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To: tennmountainman

Sounds good to me.


29 posted on 05/24/2018 4:37:27 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: Kaslin

It’s like global warming, no one sees any effect of it but they keep saying we all are seeing it every day.


30 posted on 05/24/2018 4:38:44 PM PDT by Williams (Stop tolerating the intolerant.)
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To: BenLurkin

Brennan is worse.

Oh I voted CPUSA and became director of the CIA.

Do what?!!!


31 posted on 05/24/2018 4:39:22 PM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: MAGAthon

Woodruff and the Deep State again:

3 Jan 2017: PBS Newshour: Part 1 — Russian meddling doubters should wait to see report, says Brennan
JUDY WOODRUFF: ...I began our conversation by asking about the status of the intelligence community’s report on Russia’s hacking of the election.
JOHN BRENNAN, Director, Central Intelligence Agency: The report is in its final throes of production. And so the report will be shared with the president, who ordered up this comprehensive review, within days.
And the DNI, Jim Clapper, is the one who is leading this effort on behalf of the intelligence community. And so it’s been a very, very rigorous and diligent review to make sure that we have full appreciation of all the intelligence that’s relevant...

JUDY WOODRUFF:Will it prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Russian officials were trying to interfere with the U.S. election?

JOHN BRENNAN: Well, I think, as Jim Clapper and Jeh Johnson said as early as December, that there was clear evidence that the Russians were interfering in the election.
And so I’m not going to reveal the contents of that report, because it is still under seal, and it will be provided to the president and to others, as appropriate. But it will address what Russia was doing, how it was doing it, and how we know that...
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/russian-meddling-doubters-wait-see-report-says-brennan

4 Jan 2017: PBS Newshour: Part 2 — John Brennan on what his CIA successor needs to worry about
JUDY WOODRUFF: We return now to my conversation with CIA Director John Brennan.
Last night, we focused largely on allegations of Russian hacking of U.S. political operations during the election and the war in Syria.
Tonight, we begin with concerns raised by European intelligence officials about possible Russian intrusion in upcoming elections there, and whether Director Brennan believes the U.S. is facing a new Cold War with Russia...
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/john-brennan-cia-successor-needs-worry


32 posted on 05/24/2018 4:39:39 PM PDT by MAGAthon
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To: Kaslin

What’s the chance Mexico, Soros and others didn’t influence far more, even in those 3 states?


33 posted on 05/24/2018 4:40:31 PM PDT by Williams (Stop tolerating the intolerant.)
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To: tennmountainman; Kaslin

Lou Dobbs just ran a clip from a year or so ago showing Clapper telling Congress, under oath, that the Russians had NO influence on the election of President Trump.


34 posted on 05/24/2018 4:41:06 PM PDT by GreyFriar (Spearhead - 3rd Armored Division 75-78 & 83-87)
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To: Kaslin
Unfortunately there's no evidence other than his perverse imagination.
35 posted on 05/24/2018 4:42:34 PM PDT by Vision (Obama corrupted, sought to weaken and fundamentally change America; he didn't plan on being stopped)
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To: MAGAthon

Truly a hideous swamp creature.


36 posted on 05/24/2018 4:43:26 PM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: GreyFriar

Clapper is a terrible liar. He can’t quite catch up with the Lying Kenyan.


37 posted on 05/24/2018 4:44:10 PM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: Kaslin
There's Clapper and Tapper and Halper and Mueller ...


38 posted on 05/24/2018 4:46:01 PM PDT by x
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To: ClearCase_guy

Good phrasing.


39 posted on 05/24/2018 4:51:17 PM PDT by Robert A Cook PE (The democrats' national goal: One world social-communism under one world religion: Atheistic Islam.)
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To: Kaslin

These people insult my intelligence. I’ve hated Hitlery since ‘92. Nothing the Ruskies could do would’ve changed my mind. I’m very educated in the truth and very aware of commie shenanigans. Nice try A$$holes, your stupid tactics may work on your dip$hit constituents, not me!


40 posted on 05/24/2018 4:52:07 PM PDT by HighSierra5
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