Posted on 04/04/2019 1:13:46 PM PDT by Liz
A secret memo granted broad rights to the FBI to share information gathered under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act with foreign officials. Two-way exchange of information with foreign officials could allow the politicized targeting of Americans, since foreign nations aren’t obligated to uphold the U.S. Constitution. The efforts by the Justice Department to gather information on Trump aides repeatedly involved figures associated with foreign agencies.
Foreign allies strongly opposed President Donald Trump declassifying information illuminating the investigation into Russian collusion. A 2012 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court motion contained a little-noticed provision expanding the FBI’s ability to share information with foreign officials, which could have laid the groundwork for abuses against U.S. citizens, Rep. Louie Gohmert said. “This motion and order would allow the FBI to collude with foreign governments about U.S. citizens,” Gohmert, a Texas Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. The potential for the U.S. government to spy on citizens — including for potentially political purposes — by partnering with foreign governments has come under renewed scrutiny following a pattern of Trump campaign associates being seemingly targeted abroad or by using their contacts with foreigners.
Republicans who believed the Russia probe improperly targeted a political opponent urged President Donald Trump to declassify documents related to the investigation months ago. But Trump ultimately declined, with two foreign countries adamantly opposed to the release.
In a 70-page motion to the court dated April 23, 2012, the Obama administration asked to modify “Section IV.C (Dissemination of Foreign Intelligence Information Concerning United States Persons To Foreign Governments).” “The following underlined text will be inserted into the first sentence: ‘The FBI may disseminate FISA-acquired information concerning United States persons, which reasonably appears to be foreign intelligence information, is necessary to understand foreign intelligence information or assess its importance, or is evidence of a crime being disseminated for a law enforcement purpose, to foreign governments as follows,'” it says (emphasis theirs).
Gohmert told TheDCNF: “‘Reasonably necessary to understand foreign intelligence or assess its importance?’ That’s pretty vague.There’s nothing they could obtain on American citizens that John Brennan or James Clapper couldn’t say ‘it helped me understand other intelligence,'” he continued, referring to the former directors of the CIA and of national intelligence, respectively.
Sidney Powell, a former federal prosecutor, told TheDCNF “this language is very concerning. There is ever-mounting evidence that our ‘allies’ in the ‘Five-Eyes’ world were part of the conspiracy to destroy President Trump,” she said, referring to the intelligence alliance between the U.S., Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the U.K. “This amendment only exacerbates the likelihood of abuses.”
In September 2018, Trump ordered the “immediate declassification” of key documents that would illuminate the Russia probe — which ultimately found no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia — but reversed himself days later. He said two unnamed countries, described as “very good allies,” called to express concern. The New York Times reported that the British government expressed “grave concern.”
Foreign governments do not have the same restrictions on monitoring U.S. citizens as the Department of Justice does, since foreign governments are not beholden to the U.S. Constitution. Allowing a two-way exchange of information significantly expands the ability of the U.S. to work with other governments on topics dealing with Americans. The 2012 motion, which was mostly declassified in 2015, also requested additional powers to share intelligence with foreign governments that are still unknown because the relevant portion was redacted. “In addition, the following underlined text is inserted into Section IV.C.2: [redacted],” it said. “To facilitate the dissemination of evidence of a crime to foreign governments, the amendments permit FBI to [redacted].” Gohmert railed against the document on the House floor on March 28, saying the secret nature of the years-old motion meant Congress didn’t know what it voted to reauthorize. “I don’t know anyone that did know back in 2012 that our Obama Justice Department was throwing the door open with this vague and ambiguous language,” he said.
With special counsel Robert Mueller finding no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia despite an aggressive monitoring effort, Republicans are now looking into the potential abuse of powers originally granted for anti-terrorism purposes to spy on Americans for political reasons. Department of Justice officials used the Democrat-funded Steele dossier and a news article relying on the same source to obtain warrants under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).“We now know FISA Court, at least one, perhaps more, courts were lied to … this basically a star chamber where the public is not allowed to know what went on,” Gohmert said.
--SNIP--
Former President Barack Obama and former national security adviser Susan Rice are pictured. (Joshua Roberts/REUTERS) When it emerged in early 2017 that Obama officials including former national security adviser Susan Rice made dozens of requests to unmask the identities of associates of Trump, it triggered an uproar. (RELATED: UNMASKED: Susan Rice Requested Intelligence On Trump Associates) “We thought it was bad that they were unmasking so many American citizens to additional American officials, but now we find out they got authority to even share it with foreign governments without our approval,” Gohmert told TheDCNF. “It seems like they were setting the stage for the FBI to become more politically operative. In what other places might it have been helpful?
Luke Rosiak, a Daily Caller News Foundation investigative reporter, authored “Obstruction of Justice: How the Deep State Risked National Security to Protect the Democrats.” Send news tips to luke@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
PING
#3 (thoughtomator)
The foreign government involvement makes the coup attempt an act of war - whether one has been declared or not.
This in turn makes treason and not merely sedition the correct charge.
#4 (dp0622)
Agreed.
We will find any combination, from things I’ve read, of Italy (breaks my heart), Germany, England and France involved.
#12 (JoSixChip )
If what appears to have happened here, happened. And I fully believe it did. It is government corruption on a scale that is unimaginable. The fact that it has been almost 3 years and no one has been charged tells me that the entire government, elected and unelected, are involved one way or another. Knowledge of it without taking action is the same as participating in my book. The entire congress and all agencies should be investigated, and not by congress and the agencies. We need a true independent investigation NOW! The fact that Barr as not initiated it already tells me all I need to know about him.
#17 (bert)
So...... there was election related collusion with foreign governments, massive collusion. The collusion included President Barack Obama and who knows who all else in the White House.
The colluders must be tried and then executed for crimes against the Republic. The punishment must be so severe it will never happen again
I agree the “not treason” arguments are absolutely bizarre. If the word has any meaning at all it has to apply here.
This is why Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for selling our atomic bomb secrets to the Soviets, BUT THEY WERE NEVER CHARGED WITH TREASON. The last American to be charged with treason was some Japanese-American guy who was prosecuted when he returned to the U.S. after serving in the Japanese army in World War II.
I, and others here, have been saying for years that the Five Eyes setup allows this very thing, by design.
There’s no law in the US against England spying on us or the information we give them privileged access to. We even ask them to tell us what they found while spying, and they give it back to us, by agreement.
It’s the whole reason for “Five Eyes.”
Then they NEED to pay also.
This was the global socialists (in the US, UK, France, Australia, etc.) working together to ensure they could eavesdrop on each other’s political candidates...preventing any right of center politician from gaining office.
They could eavesdrop on each other and ensure that their power would be unquestioned.
Just remember who was in charge in 2012 when this took place....all socialists in the US and EU who endorsed the Islamic migration into the EU and Hispanic migration into the US. They hoped to lock up their power.
The Brexit vote and the Trump election stopped all of this.
Had Clinton won the election, this would have proceeded unchecked and undetected. Oh, we would have conspiracy theories, but nothing substantive to stop it.
To take the sedition-only position, one must advance the case that individuals cannot personally levy war against the USA unless they participate in acts in support of an external enemy.
So, who's the enemy? It cannot be the conspirators themselves? Must the enemy be identified as a foreign entity in a declared war? Obviously, these are all specious arguments, because it reduces the concept of treason to pure legal semantics. That is patently ridiculous - if it were so, then a web of conspirators could freely act against the US without any fear of repercussion.
Mount a coup? Not treason, see you later, have fun on your vacation. Plan to overthrow the lawful government? Ditto - say hi to the wife and kids for me. Look, it's a silly and specious position. What the deep state did was engage in treason, and if Trump doesn't do something about it, we can kiss the republic good-bye.
Abut 2 years ago, Devin Nunes pushed for renewal of the Patriot Act. I hope Fox News interviewers ask him what he knew about this at the time.
Gohmert’s revelation raises a lot of questions. First being, exactly WHO pursued this reciprocity in 2012? Where did the idea originate? (Request from allies or domestic origin?) What were the communications about it among FBI, CIA, DNI, DoJ, White House, NSC, NSA?
All involved need to be forced to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, preferably using a professional to ask the questions rather than our elected imbeciles.
Why 10 years into the Patriot Act was this suddenly needed?
One assumes it was sold as a patch for real situations. I can imagine situations where the US might have FISA-based intel on US persons involved in terrorism that needed to be shared with allies in Europe or elsewhere. What disaster occurred because they didn’t have this power?
I am much more concerned in foreign agencies “sharing” with US agencies, data on US persons collected outside the US. The policy change does not appear to directly address that, but it’s existence strongly implies the other side wanted payback.
A stench so thick and pervasive that even a good rainstorm can’t clear the air. The Swamp.
Several places on FR over the last year and 1/2 I’ve seen Trump’s mention of “Covfefe” referred to as the Covert Five Eyes, Five Eyes.
Makes plenty of sense. Now think back how LONG ago, PDJT used that term. LONG time. Even when that goofy “what do you hear” thing ran around the internet, PDJT said “I hear Covfefe”
My guess is that he has know about the spying for a very long time, especially against him.
Where is Admiral Rogers that went to his Trump Tower office and spilled the beans about the wiretapping. Didn’t he move his campaign office the very next day to his property in NJ?
He’s amazing for putting this altogether. Now we see resistance from both our GOP friends, and of course the evil Dems. Pray for PDJT to have victory over this SWAMP.
“The FBI compiles lists an gives them to the Brits”
Lists compiled by the SPLC who trains the FBI and even awards the Good Boy medals.
Yes, that does make sense. Obama threw everything he had to stop candidate Trump....but Trump won anyway.
“Where did the idea originate?”
The Obama white house. Val Jarrett, the Podestas, Hildabeast et al.
Go back and think of all the wretched people involved with him. Val Jarrett blatantly stated right before leaving the white house, that they “had things in place for years to come” She is ONE evel nasty person.
And remember, Obama didn’t leave Washington, ValJar LIVES in that house. Who are they today wiretapping - oh yes you bet they’re still collecting data.
This mess is so deep.
Well, they should have thought about that problem ahead of time. As a previous poster said, it's an act of war and the chips should lie where they fall.
GOPee is the enemy worse than the communist socialist prog democrats because they are liars and betray those who support them.
may explain slow playing declas?
if this is true, looks like a lotta “former” allies heads will roll.
gotta be somebody working the back channels on this delicate subject.
PING
Article and #21.
Thanks, Whenifhow. Good to see you posting again.
Bttt.
5.56mm
Who are they today wiretapping - oh yes you bet they’re still collecting data.
This mess is so deep.
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Piles of Data so vast and dense , it’s takes a village of programmers and analysts to sift and sort it.
Speaking of ValJar
Pete Buttigieg ‘is a terrific candidate,’ says longtime Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett
https://www.yahoo.com/news/pete-buttigieg-valerie-jarrett-influencers-202916410.html
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I guess she has less time to spend in Tehran now than when she was in the WH. Thank goodness for teleconferencing and FaceTime.
“The foreign government involvement makes the coup attempt an act of war - whether one has been declared or not.
This in turn makes treason and not merely sedition the correct charge.”
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