Free Republic

Federal surveillance laws put in place after Nixon were supposed to protect U.S. citizens. The Obama administration used them to spy on political opponents. The drip-drip-drip of newly declassified documents related to the Trump-Russia investigation, together with recent reports that a classified leak against former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn might not have come from an unmasking request, leaves little doubt that the Obama administration weaponized federal surveillance laws to target Trump associates and undermine the incoming administration.The story thus far is complex, but it reveals a disturbing abuse of power by the Obama administration that suggests congressional reform of...

The public knows that the FBI relied extensively on the Democratic Party-financed dossier, whose list of anti-Trump allegations influenced the bureau’s overall attitude toward the candidate and eventual president. Now, Attorney General William Barr has made it clear he wants to know more: Just how far did the discredited dossier take the FBI into the depths of a nearly three-year Trump investigation? “What were the standards that were applied? What was the evidence?” Mr. Barr told CBS News, adding that his focus is not on the rank-and-file but on senior FBI leaders. Dossier writer Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence...

Wow, did I honestly just read this? Senator Charles Grassley has sent his second letter to FBI Director James Comey to inquire about how the FBI became involved in colluding with Christopher Steele, a former agent for the U.K.’s foreign intelligence service, MI6, concerning the lurid dossier on President Donald Trump and Russia. I am sitting here reading this in disbelief, as this whole thing just keeps getting bigger and bigger like Director Comey’s nose. This is Senator Grassley’s second letter! Does Comey really believe he can hide behind closed doors at this point? Director Comey needs to wake up...