Posted on 05/20/2020 9:19:19 AM PDT by Kaslin
Two top Republican senators have expanded their request for records related to the “unmasking” of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn to include information prior to the start of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane operation, which began in July 2016.
On Wednesday, acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell declassified the names of those in the White House involved in revealing Flynn’s identity as a U.S. citizen corresponding with a foreign actor, as requested by Republican Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Chuck Grassley of Iowa. Flynn had held discussions with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential transition as the incoming national security advisor. This became the alleged basis for the grand Russian collusion conspiracy and the key to setting up Flynn in a perjury trap.
Names in the declassified report of White House officials targeting Flynn include top intelligence chiefs, including Obama CIA Director John Brennan, Obama Department of National Intelligence Director James Clapper, former Obama Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, and former Vice President Joe Biden.
“We write now both to reiterate our request for the declassification of additional information related to the unmasking of Americans around the time of the 2016 election, but also to expand the scope of our request to include information as early as January 2016,” Grassley and Johnson wrote. “Based on our investigation and recent press reports, we are increasingly concerned that the surveillance of U.S. persons affiliated with the Trump campaign began earlier than the opening of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation in late July 2016.”
Sens. Grassley and Johnson say the administration’s deep-state surveillance operation on the Trump campaign involved unmasking even more U.S. citizens tied to the campaign that preceded the official launch of Crossfire Hurricane. Since it is a crime to surveil American citizens without a probable cause, their names are usually redacted on surveillance transcripts. Unmasking uncovers their identities.
“It has become evident that the FBI, and possibly members of the U.S. Intelligence Community, were focused on U.S. persons affiliated with the Trump campaign in early 2016, if not even earlier,” the senators wrote. “One example is that, in April 2016, FBI headquarters directed its New York Field Office to open a counterintelligence investigation of Carter Page, which on August 10, 2016, became part of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation.”
The senators’ expanded request marks a significant escalation into the unraveling of the previous administration’s surveillance scandal dubbed “Obamagate” and “Spygate,” as new information reveals the level to which the Obama White House went to prevent President Donald Trump from holding power. On Tuesday, newly declassified excerpts from former National Security Advisor Susan Rice’s bizarre inauguration day email sent to herself confirm that Flynn was a prime target at a Jan. 5, 2017 Oval office meeting between Obama, Rice, Biden, then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, and then-FBI Director James Comey.
“From a national security perspective, President Obama said he wants to be sure that, as we engage with the incoming team, we are mindful to ascertain if there is any reason we cannot share information fully as it relates to Russia,” Rice wrote while the administration was conducting secret surveillance on U.S. citizens in the Trump campaign and transition team. “Comey said he does have some concerns that incoming NSA Flynn is speaking frequently with Russian Ambassador Kislyak… President Obama asked if Comey was saying the NSC should not pass sensitive information related to Russia to Flynn. Comey replied ‘potentially.'”
Three years later, and after a two-and-a-half year special counsel investigation with unlimited resources conducted by Robert Mueller buoyed by endless media coverage, the Mueller report found not one person on the Trump campaign, let alone the president himself, spied for the Russian government.
Gee, ya think ? Nothing much gets past Grassley, does it?
Since it is a crime to surveil American citizens without a probable cause
************
Not if you’re a Democrat. Laws don’t apply to them.
As “concerned” as they may be, none of them has the stones to do anything about it.
When the GOP becomes "concerned" and "troubled" a strongly written letter usually follows.
Obviously not.
There have been well researched books published about these facts written three years ago.
Numbskulls running the country
I'm sure a strongly worded letter is to follow....
For the love of God and the future of this country - these eunuchs need to start hauling the suspects in with subpoena's and start holding hearings and prosecute those who lie / have lied under oath
It’s really nice to see these people starting to wake up to what many of US have been yelling about for better than three years now.
Bless their hearts.
Wow. Pretty soon they’ll be “on the road to really concerned.”
Then they’ll drive by the “areas of substantial concern.”
After a few times around the block they’ll “see serious concerns just around the corner.”
And the Qballs will still insist that Rosenstein has a white hat somewhere.
L
Obama had him tapped the moment Trump started up with questioning his birth location - Obama is an insecure loser.
Loved it when he called him out at the correspondents dinner, “The Donald”, You could see it right then that Trump was thinking “You’re A*s is grass”
Campaign season beltway theater. The GOP is going to pretend they care about this for a few months so the GOP base GOTV for Graham, McConnell, etc.
Obviously, the GOP couldn’t care less about the civil rights of Trump and his supporters being trampled by the Deep State. They’ve had 3 1/2 years to gather facts and instead used the Russia hoax to hamstring POTUS.
It’s really nice to see these people starting to wake up to what many of US have been yelling about for better than three years now.
Bless their hearts.
It’s all gaslighting by the GOP. Gowdy breezily admits now on TV they knew in 2017 that the FIB was lying about Obamagate. And what did the elected Republicans do about that? Nothing.
I still haven’t seen indictments.
Just saying
5.56mm
How about seeing some people going to jail????
I realize Obama prolly ain't going to jail...even though he should.
But what about all the others?????
Surveillance on Americans began in 1993 when the Clinton White House had FBI files on hundreds of Republicans, many no longer working for gov’t or holding elected office.
This continued when Obama was elected using electronic means.
We know that Obama was routinely spying on journalists and congress members. The Senate computers were surveilled before passage of Obamacare.
The IRS was weaponized to block groups from forming 401c(3) organizations opposed to Obama’s re-election. Treasury was involved in exposing financial records of Americans.
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