Two Possibilities in Trump Wiretapping, and Neither Is Good

The American Thinker ^ | 27 December 2019 | Frank Watt

[lowbuck]

The report of the I.G.'s findings on the use of FISA in the FBI Crossfire Hurricane investigation is an outrage. As a 22 year FBI Agent, I have personally conducted multiple investigations using both Title III "wiretaps" and FISA authorized intercepts. From this perspective, I can only see two possible interpretations of the actions of the FBI and DOJ. Either scenario should anger and frighten every fair minded citizen who takes the time to read the report and understand its implications. . . snip

If the heinous abuses documented in the I.G.s report result in a weakening or loss of FISA, we will all be the worse for it. If those responsible are not held to account, this will happen again. There is no happy face to put on this episode.

[lowbuck]

An interesting read that gives some background on how the FISA spying on Carter Page should have been managed.

Two possible conclusions and both are not very pretty. Take your pick. . . total incompetence or total corruption.

[Fresh Wind]

I would say those two conclusions are not mutually exclusive.

[9YearLurker]

There is no question but that this was total corruption.

And it is not as if the FBI had a glorious history before this, but Obama no doubt up the politicization of it to a crazy-high level.

[KarlInOhio]

If it was mere incompetence I would expect at least one of the seventeen “mistakes” to have tilted in Trump’s direction. Nope, this was pure corruption which they expected President Hillary to bury deep after the election.

[ballplayer]

Isn’t it interesting that the individual acts in this entire scandal,Page,Papadopoulos,Flynn,Stone,President Trump,Ukraine are covered as different entities?
This is one big freaking,massive monumental act of TREASON by it seems dozens of Government actors! Folks we are seeing the largest scandal in our History and it’s reported as one issue here,one issue there and the Purposeful distraction ANOTHER SCAM TO COVER THE REAL CULPRITS,the impeachment of our President!
The media is doing their job well covering for the corrupt Democrat party that should be disbanded

[nathanbedford]

The Horowitz report notes 17 acts of misfeasance leading to the issuance of the FISA warrants. Horowitz declines to take the only rational inference, that these omissions were the product of bias rather than chance. I googled the odds of quarter dollar coming up heads 17 consecutive tosses and the odds exceed one in 320,000.

A footnote in the appendix to that report reveals a total of 51 omissions and/or acts of misfeasance, I did not bother to Google those odds.

As an additional thought, we see reports that the surveillance authorized and actually procured through this FISA warrant naming Carter Page, was far more widespread because in practice the warrant authorized spying on those with whom Page communicated and those who communicated in their turn with them until, as some accounts assert, as many as 23,000 people were spied upon under the Page FISA warrants.

One would think that this appalling statistic would be more widely emphasized if it is true. One would think the author of this article would have made that point to further vent his outrage. Does anyone have information on this subject which definitively sets the actual parameters of these searches?

[wastoute]

A good many people are slowly coming to the realization that not only have crimes been committed by people who seriously should have known better but that if those criminals are not prosecuted our country will not survive. Which is why I say Trump is the Last President. What will the libtards do if Barr does begin to arrest people like Holder and Lynch? Is that Barr’s problem? He thinks if he does arrest 0bama that will tear the country apart?

[shelterguy]

“””””Take your pick. . . total incompetence or total corruption. “”””

I’ll go with.....TOTAL CORRUPTION for $800.00, Alex.

[wastoute]

The Democrats seem to think this is all just a big Frat prank. They have no idea the fire they are playing with.

[mo]

Exercise of a “wiretap” outside of Constitutionally-limited purposes, is a deliberate corruption of the Constitution and consequently is SEDITION.

Particularly when perpetrated by those having taken an oath to uphold the Constitution.

[polymuser]

They’re stupid or evil.

Or, they’re evil and stupid.

[Pontiac]

Two possible conclusions and both are not very pretty. Take your pick. . . total incompetence or total corruption.

Really it makes no difference. Those involved should go to jail.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse and neither is incompetence a get out of jail free card.

[Rocky]

And the FISA court is corrupt, as well. They were warned several times over the past three years about errors and omissions in the Carter Page warrant. The court did nothing to stop the abuses.

The FISA program is broken, and it can’t be fixed by adding more rules. The investigators and the court broke the rules which were already in place. More rules can’t fix that. Repeal FISA.

[kabar]

The FISA system must be totally scrapped and replaced with something that first and foremost protects our civil liberties. It must be remembered that not only was Carter Page illegally spied upon, but also, everyone he came into contact with and their contacts per the two hop rule. That includes Donald Trump himself.

[lowbuck]

Oh, I tend to go with corruption. Especially with all the other illegal activities going on with the FBI/DOJ/CIA.

However, you have to allow the possibility of incompetence on a gross scale. How can I say this? I was a Naval Aviator and whenever we had a fatal accident the accident report would list item after item leading up to the crash that if anyone had acted the accident would not have happened. Often you would questions why X, Y or Z who were very competent and should have intervened yet just let things slide. Sometimes the Swiss cheese lines itself up and you can only hope that it does not have your name on it!

You hit the nail on the head with this observation “Nope, this was pure corruption which they expected President Hillary to bury deep after the election”.

All this and much much more was simply never going to see the light of day when Hill won. Only problem is she lost. So sad, so bad.

[EVO X]

I’ve read a good chunk of the report. I would put the thumbscrews to case agent 1. I find it hard to believe he was solely behind all the omissions in the first FISA application. One example is he omitted exculpatory evidence on George Papadopoulos because he thought Georg’s response was scripted.Case agent 1 also left out the memo from the CIA that CP was an asset.

[Fireone]

Government has layers of accountability. How about we find out all the corrupt layers that were compromised, to lead up to this scandal?
I believe the buck stops at Chief Justice Roberts, no? He oversees the FISA courts, and their activities, yes?
Call him on the Senate floor for televised public hearings beginning Monday. Demand total accountability, or strip him of his job, pay, and pension(s). Then, jail him.

[FroggyTheGremlim]

I keep waiting for one, just one main stream media person with a solid reputation to wake up and say to him/her self, “what are we doing?”

“Why are we defending these treasonous democrats?”

“We have children, why are we covering up for these seditious government officials who are violating everything our country stands for?”

And some such media person do some real INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM, and expose all this democrat corruption, from Obama’s ineligibility to Hillary’s trail of arkancides, to Lorrett Lynch’s tarmac rendezvous with Clinton, to ...

Is there not a single one of them who cares about the country their children and inheriting? Not one?

[FroggyTheGremlim]

And ==> are

[Libloather]

On Hannity’s radio show yesterday, Carter Page said that he has yet to meet with Barr or Durham. No idea what that means.