6:51 AM 5/19/2019 - M.N.: Throw out the Incompetent Nincompoops!!! Brainless, Know-Nothing and Do-Nothing, Treacherous Obamanites!!!
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6:51 AM 5/19/2019
M.N.: Throw out the Incompetent Nincompoops!!! Brainless, Know-Nothing and Do-Nothing, Treacherous Obamanites!!!
And remember, the new people, we will watch you very closely too. All of you serve America, not Trump, and not anyone else!
M.N.: Throw out the Incompetent Nincompoops!!! Brainless, Know-Nothing and Do-Nothing, Treacherous Obamanites!!!
And remember, the new people, we will watch you very closely too. All of you serve America, not Trump, and not anyone else!
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M.N.: Throw out the Incompetent Nincompoops!
Post - M.N.: Throw out the Incompetent Nincompoops!!!
Incompetent, Brainless, Know-Nothing and Do-Nothing,
Treacherous Obamanites!!!
Incompetent, Brainless, Know-Nothing and Do-Nothing,
Treacherous Obamanites!!!
Note: A new post – A Listing of Participants – provides a far more comprehensive listing of various players.
This post remains useful in its description of certain individuals – specifically John Carlin & Mary McCord.
There have been numerous resignations and demotions at the FBI and DOJ.
Department of Justice (Non-FBI):
- John Carlin – Assistant Attorney General – Head of DOJ’s National Security Division – announcedresignation on September 27, 2016 after filing the Government’s proposed 2016 Section 702 certifications on September 26, 2016. The filing does not disclose known FISA Abuses. Carlin is aware NSA Rogers is conducting a compliance review which will uncover the FISA Abuse. The 2016 certifications are scheduled for Court approval on October 26, 2016. Trump surveillance originated under Carlin’s tenure.
- Sally Yates – Deputy Attorney General & Acting Attorney General (replacing Loretta Lynch – 10 days) – fired January 30, 2017. Complicit in Flynn Surveillance and surveillance of Trump Campaign.
- Mary McCord – Acting Assistant Attorney General – Acting Head of DOJ’s National Security Division (replacing John Carlin) – announced resignation on April 17, 2017 – Left on May 11, 2017. Complicit in Flynn Surveillance and surveillance of Trump Campaign.
- Bruce Ohr – Associate Deputy Attorney General – demoted twice. Stripped of Associate Deputy Attorney General title on December 6, 2017. Removed as head of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force January 8, 2018. Unofficial liaison between Fusion GPS and FBI/DOJ. Wife worked at Fusion. Long-standing ties to both Christopher Steele and Glenn Simpson/Fusion GPS.
- David Laufman – DOJ National Security Division, Deputy Asst. Attorney General in charge of counterintelligence – resigned on February 7, 2018. Laufman “played a leading role in the Clinton email server and Russian hacking investigations.”
- Rachel Brand – Associate Attorney General – number three official behind Deputy AG Rosenstein – resigned February 9, 2018. Takes top legal position at Walmart. Brand “played a critical role in Congress’ re-authorization” of section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
FBI:
- James Comey – FBI Director – fired May 9, 2017. Oversaw all FBI operations – including exoneration of Clinton and Trump-Russia Investigation. Reported to AG Lynch.
- Peter Strzok – Deputy Assistant Director of FBI’s Counterintelligence – forced off Mueller’s team – demoted August 16, 2017 to FBI’s Human Resources. IG Horowitz discovered texts July 27, 2017. Strzok involved in all facets of Clinton exoneration. Working member of “Insurance Policy” group.
- Lisa Page – FBI/DOJ Lawyer – forced off Mueller’s team – demoted August 16, 2017 to parts unknown. IG Horowitz discovered texts July 27, 2017. Working member of “Insurance Policy” group.
- James Baker – FBI General Counsel – demoted and reassigned on December 20, 2017. Working member of “Insurance Policy” group. Senior-most legal counsel at FBI.
- James Rybicki – Chief of Staff to FBI Director James Comey & successor Chris Wray – resigned/forcedout January 23, 2018. Working member of “Insurance Policy” group.
- Andrew McCabe – Deputy FBI Director – on December 23, 2017 announced retirement effective March 22, 2018. Forced to resign on January 29, 2018. Involved in all aspects. Reported to Comey.
- Josh Campbell – Special Assistant to James Comey – resigned on February 2, 2018. Writes op-ed in New York Times on why he is leaving but does not disclose in op-ed that he was Special Assistant to Comey – or that he had been offered lucrative CNN job. Takes job with CNN on February 5, 2018.
- Michael Kortan – FBI Asst. Director Public Affairs – resigned on February 8, 2018 – effective February 15, 2018. Kortan served as assistant director for public affairs, an influential job that controlled media access.
- Bill Priestap – Assistant Director – Head of FBI Counterintelligence – Holds same position. Strzok’s boss – reported directly to McCabe.
My listing is not meant to be exhaustive. I’m sure I’ve missed some meaningful former participants. Feel free to post me on any you think noteworthy.
I have not included former Obama officials who are complicit but left their positions on President Trump’s Inauguration (i.e. Loretta Lynch). Nor have I included participants outside the DOJ/FBI.
Watch List:
- David Bowditch (FBI) – expected to replace Andrew McCabe as Deputy FBI Director. Bowditch’s name is featured in emails and Strzok texts.
- Trisha Anderson (DOJ) – adviser in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, was previously an attorney at Attorney General Eric Holder’s former firm, Covington & Burling. Attended two April 25, 2016 White House meetings with FBI Counsel James Baker and several DOJ FISA lawyers – Tashina Guahar, Christopher Hardee, Brad Wiegmann. Anderson’s name appears in Strzok/Page texts.
- Greg Brower (FBI) – Assistant Director for the Office of Congressional Affairs. FBI’s liaison with Congress. Listed by Devin Nunes as one of the individuals he wants to interview.
- Sally Moyer (FBI) – Attorney. Listed by Devin Nunes as one of the individuals he wants to interview.
- Dana Boente (DOJ/FBI) – Acting Head of DOJ’s National Security Division until January 23, 2018 and the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Replaced Mary McCord. Was briefly Acting Deputy Attorney General until Rosenstein appointed. On January 23, 2018, Boente was named as FBI General Counsel – replacing James Baker who was demoted and reassigned.
- Edward O’Callaghan (DOJ) – became Acting Assistant Attorney General and Acting Head of DOJ’s National Security Division on January 27, 2018, replacing Dana Boente.
Some may choose to include FBI Director Wray and/or Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein on the Watch List. I have not.
Notice anything odd in the listing of names (excluding Watch List)?
Look at the listing again – and take note of who is still there.
- James Baker – FBI
- Peter Strzok – FBI
- Lisa Page – FBI/DOJ
- Bruce Ohr – DOJ
- Bill Priestap – FBI
Why are these individuals still employed – why haven’t they resigned.
With the exception of Priestap who still holds his original position, they’ve all been demoted into oblivion. Their careers are over – and have been.
There is one likely answer.
I’ve already discussed Priestap extensively:
Where is Bill Priestap – FBI’s Counterintelligence Head. – December 28, 2017
FBI Counterintelligence Head Bill Priestap – A Cooperating Witness – February 11, 2018
In both articles I make the case that Priestap is cooperating with the many investigations.
Baker, Strzok, Page and Ohr are likely cooperating as well. They were caught dead to rights – firmly ensnared in the Inspector General’s Investigation.
They are likely being kept in effective isolation – shielded from the media – and compromised, leaking Congressmen like Adam Schiff.
The Conservative Treehouse has an excellent article on this theory.
Many of the names like Comey, McCabe and Strzok have been extensively covered. I’ll briefly touch on a couple of the lesser known names – John Carlin and Mary McCord.
John Carlin – Assistant Attorney General – Head of DOJ’s National Security Division:
- November 2015-April 2016 – The FBI and DOJ’s National Security Division (NSD) use private contractors to access raw FISA information using “To” and “From” FISA-702(16) & “About” FISA-702(17) queries.
- March 2016 – NSA Director Rogers becomes aware of improper access to raw FISA data.
- April 2016 – Rogers orders the NSA compliance officer to run a full audit on 702 NSA compliance.
- April 18 2016 – Rogers shuts down FBI/NSD contractor access to the FISA Search System. The compliance audit continues.
- September 26 2016 – DOJ’s NSD Head John Carlin files the Government’s proposed 2016 Section 702 certifications. The filing does not disclose the FISA Abuses. Carlin is aware of Rogers’ compliance review. The 2016 certifications are scheduled for Court approval on October 26, 2016.
- September 27 2016 – Carlin announces he is resigning. Mary McCord will later assume his position.
- October 15, 2016 – Carlin formally leaves the NSD.
- Mid-October 2016 – DNI Clapper submits a recommendation to the White House that Director Rogers be removed from the NSA.
- October 20 2016 – Rogers is briefed by the NSA compliance officer on the Section 702 NSA compliance audit and “About” query violations.
- October 21 2016 – Rogers shuts down all “About Query” activity. Rogers reports the activity to DOJ and prepares to go before the FISA Court.
- October 21 2016 – DOJ & FBI seek and receive a Title I FISA probable cause order authorizing electronic surveillance on Carter Page from the FISC. At this point, the FISA Court is unaware of the Section 702 violations.
- October 24 2016 – Rogers verbally informs the FISA Court of Section 702(17) violations.
- October 26 2016 – Rogers formally informs the FISA Court of 702(17) violations in writing.
- October 26, 2016 – The FISA Court refuses to formalize the 2016 Section 702 certifications. A complete overhaul of Section 702 processes ensues.
The FBI and DOJ’s NSD were quite literally racing against Rogers’ Investigation in order to obtain a FISA Warrant on Carter Page.
Carlin specifically didn’t disclose his knowledge of FISA Abuse in the annual Section 702 certifications so as not to raise suspicions at the FISA Court pre-FISA Warrant.
Carlin filed the 2016 Section 702 Certification on September 26, 2016. Carlin announced his resignation on September 27 2016 and left on October 15, 2016.
The FISA Warrant on Carter Page was obtained on October 21, 2016.
Although Rogers initiated the investigation in April 2016, the NSA compliance officer did not fully brief Rogers until October 20, 2016. Rogers verbally notified the FISA on October 24, 2016 to prevent approval of the Section 702 Certification by the FISA Court on October 26, 2016.
For the complete story see: The Uncovering – Mike Rogers’ Investigation, Section 702 FISA Abuse & the FBI.
I encourage you to read the FISA Court’s emorandum Opinion and Order.
One more thing. From an earlier post:
In 2015, Inspector General Michael Horowitz requested oversight of the DOJ’s National Security Division (NSD). Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates responded with a 58 page Memorandum, that effectively told the Inspector General to go pound sand.
No NSD oversight would be allowed.
The same division where the Section 702 violations occurred under NSD Head John Carlin.
Mary McCord – Acting Assistant Attorney General – Head of DOJ’s National Security Division:
McCord took over for Carlin after he resigned on September 27, 2016.
McCord accompanied Acting AG Sally Yates to see White House Counsel Bill McGahn regarding Michael Flynn.
McCord was the individual directly overseeing the surveillance of Flynn.
- December 29 2016 – General Michael Flynn speaks to the Russian Ambassador.
- January 12 2017 – Mike Flynn’s Dec 29 2016 call is leaked to Washington Post. The article portrays Flynn as undermining Obama’s Russian sanctions.
- January 19 2017 – The NYT reports that several agencies — the FBI, CIA, NSA and Treasury are monitoring several associates of the Trump campaign suspected of Russian ties.
- January 19 2017 – Obama’s top intelligence and law-enforcement deputies meet to talk about Flynn’s conversation with Kislyak.
- January 23 2017 – The FBI reports nothing unlawful in content of Flynn call.
- January 24 2017 – Mike Flynn is interviewed without notice by the FBI. Peter Strzok is the interviewing agent.
- January 25 2017 – The Department of Justice receives a detailed briefing on Flynn from the FBI.
- January 26 2017 – Sally Yates travels to the White House along with Mary McCord of the DOJ’s National Security Division to discuss Mike Flynn.
- January 27 2016 – Sally Yates returns to the White House for a second discussion.
- February 9 2017 – The NYT and the Post publish articles claiming that General Michael Flynn discussed sanctions with Russian ambassador Kislyak.
- February 13 2017 – Mike Flynn resigns/fired as National Security Advisor.
After an extensive investigation, Flynn was charged with one count of lying to the FBI.
Comey told lawmakers in March 2017 that the FBI agents who interviewed Flynn did not believe that Flynn had lied to them, or that any inaccuracies in his answers were intentional.
Mueller’s case against Flynn originates with surveillance provided by the Carter Page FISA Warrant. The FBI obtained the FISA Warrant through the Steele Dossier. The Dossier has been exposed and discredited through the Nunes and Grassley Memos.
Meanwhile, the details of the Flynn case have become ever more curious – covered here.
I will be shocked if Flynn’s case is not dropped at the end of all this.
I’ve touched on just two of the many individuals involved, but it’s easy to see that actual details run deeper than acknowledged by press reports.
The Media generally portray these departures as a small matter – or the simple result of President Trump’s “antagonism” towards the FBI/DOJ. In most – if not all – cases, these departures signify something deeper.
As an example, Hugh Hewitt relays the opinion of a long-time source on the departure of David Laufman – one of the lower profile names.
“That’s what happens when you are told that you are the subject of an OPR (Office of Professional Responsibility) or OIG (Office of the Inspector General) investigation…”
“He was in his post since 2014 – under Carlin, Yates and Lynch in the chain of command.”
One other note on Laufman:
Obama stacked the Department of Justice with left-leaning lawyers. Ideology is specifically prohibited by federal law as a condition of hiring but this was steadfastly ignored.
From an earlier post, The Injustices of Obama’s Justice Department:
Mr. Adams highlights the highly politicized DOJ hiring practices put in place by Obama and Eric Holder in an extensive series of investigative articles. His conclusion in his final article – located at bottom of the article listing:
The Justice Department is forbidden by federal law from hiring employees based on political affiliation. Yet the resumes revealed the following ideological breakdown among the new hires:
Leftist lawyers: 113
Moderate, non-ideological, or conservative lawyers: 0
The matter-of-fact evidence should lead any reasonable observer to believe the DOJ has employed an illegal political litmus test during the interview process.
He ends with the following:
Loretta King, while serving as the acting assistant attorney general for civil rights at the outset of the Obama administration, ordered the resumes of highly qualified applicants to be rejected only because they didn’t have political or left-wing civil rights experience. Multiple DOJ sources with direct knowledge of hiring committee practices have confirmed this to me.
And when Mr. Adams says Leftist he really means Extreme Leftist. Take a look at the resumes for yourself. It’s disheartening.
As I was searching DOJ lawyers present at the April 25, 2016 FISA meeting I came across a twitter account from one of the attendees, Alan Rozenshtein, now in the private sector:
A normal WH would have the credibility to call a mulligan on the whole mess and start over, but Trump is too busy cryptically threatening Adam Schiff and calling Nunes an American hero. The Trump presidency has officially hit peak process absurdity, and I’m going to bed. /FIN— Alan Z. Rozenshtein (@arozenshtein) February 10, 2018
They are all ideologically the same.
For those who don’t have enough names to keep a watch over, on January 26, 2018, Grassley “sent six letters seeking information and documents regarding Christopher Steele’s work on behalf of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary for America.”
The letters seek information and documents relating to those political organizations’ knowledge of and involvement in Mr. Steele’s work and his reported interactions with the FBI while he was working on behalf of these political organizations.
The letters were sent to:
- The Democratic National Committee (DNC)
- Hillary for America (HFA)
- Former DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
- Former DNC Chair Donna Brazile
- HFA Chair John Podesta
- HFA Chief Strategist Joel Benenson
Grassley asked slight variants of the same twelve questions – including this last one:
12. For the period from March 2016 through January 2017, please provide all communications to, from, copying, or relating to:
Fusion GPS; Bean LLC; Glenn Simpson; Mary Jacoby; Peter Fritsch; Tom Catan; Jason Felch; Neil King; David Michaels; Taylor Sears; Patrick Corcoran; Laura Sego; Jay Bagwell; Erica Castro; Nellie Ohr; Rinat Akhmetshin; Ed Lieberman; Edward Baumgartner; Orbis Business Intelligence Limited; Orbis Business International Limited; Walsingham Training Limited; Walsingham Partners Limited; Christopher Steele; Christopher Burrows; Sir Andrew Wood, Paul Hauser; Oleg Deripaska; Cody Shearer; Sidney Blumenthal; Jon Winer; Kathleen Kavalec; Victoria Nuland; Daniel Jones; Bruce Ohr; Peter Strzok; Andrew McCabe; James Baker; Sally Yates; Loretta Lynch; John Brennan.
You can read more about Grassley’s letter here.
There are some obvious names – and there are some interesting names – on Grassley’s list. Names like Rinat Akhmetshin, Ed Lieberman, Oleg Deripaska, Cody Shearer, Sidney Blumenthal, Daniel Jones, Loretta Lynch and… John Brennan.
They really thought it impossible that Trump could win.
And so, they acted accordingly – and with false impunity.
newer post The Absurdities of Mueller’s Indictment
Read the whole story
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FBI agent Peter Strzok was finally fired Aug. 10 after more than a year of intrigue surrounding his bias against President Donald Trump.
He joins more than two dozen other top FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) officials who have been fired, demoted, or resigned in the wake of investigations of the 2016 presidential election—in yet another confirmation that the DOJ/FBI swamp is being drained.
The once-respected Federal Bureau of Investigation was compromised by politically motivated insiders, including James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Strzok, and many others. As more evidence of corruption comes to light, their schemes have rapidly begun to unravel. Such schemes included the exoneration of Hillary Clinton for her illegal email practices, the stonewalling of the separate investigation of the Clinton Foundation relating to Uranium One, and the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) investigation of Trump associates that’s known as “Spygate.”
Much ink has been spilled in detailing the machinations of Comey, McCabe, Strzok, and Lisa Page, as well as other former DOJ officials such as Loretta Lynch, Sally Yates, and Bruce Ohr. Shockingly, Ohr’s wife, Nellie Ohr, worked for the Clinton-financed Fusion GPS—the firm behind the infamous anti-Trump dossier.
There appears to be an obvious conflict of interest demonstrated by Nellie Ohr’s work for Fusion GPS, which paid for the dossier, while her husband worked for the DOJ and was involved in the dossier investigation. Bruce Ohr then passed this research to the FBI, where Comey, McCabe, Strzok, and others used its “salacious and unverified” findings to obtain a controversial FISA warrant to spy on Trump associates.
The House judiciary committee wants to learn how the dossier was laundered through official channels to be used as the primary basis for the FBI’s FISA warrant. The committee has threatened to subpoena the Ohrs if they refuse to testify in front of Congress regarding their connections to Fusion GPS. Strzok’s text messages refer cryptically to a “secret society” and an “insurance policy” against Trump. Many believe the dossier was part of the FBI and DOJ’s plan to “stop” Trump.
Text messages between Strzok and his paramour, former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, were first revealed last year and exposed Strzok’s and Page’s political biases, repeatedly vilifying candidate Trump and his supporters. In one message, Strzok called Trump an “idiot.” Other messages referred to Trump as a “menace” and a “douche.” Strzok famously denigrated average American voters when he claimed he could smell the Trump support after a visit to Walmart.
The firing was long overdue. Despite frequent characterizations of him as a lowly “FBI agent,” Strzok was a big fish. In June, the Inspector General of the DOJ released a blistering, 568-page reportdocumenting the FBI’s handling of the investigation into Clinton and her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state. While the report offered no “documentary evidence” of Strzok’s political bias, it did say his conduct “cast a cloud” over the entire investigation; He was escorted from the FBI building and stripped of his security clearance shortly after its release. He remained on the payroll, however, until this past week.
Strzok now joins the ranks of more than 25 FBI and DOJ officials who have been forced out—largely in disgrace. Here is a list of the notable Trump-era firings, demotions, and departures:
FBI Departures:
- James Comey, director (fired)
- Andrew McCabe, deputy director (fired)
- Peter Strzok, counterintelligence expert (fired)
- Lisa Page, attorney (demoted; resigned)
- James Rybicki, chief of staff (resigned)
- James Baker, general counsel (resigned)
- Mike Kortan, assistant director for public affairs (resigned)
- Josh Campbell, special assistant to James Comey (resigned)
- James Turgal, executive assistant director (resigned)
- Greg Bower, assistant director for office of congressional affairs (resigned)
- Michael Steinbach, executive assistant director (resigned)
- John Giacalone, executive assistant director (resigned)
DOJ Departures:
- Sally Yates, deputy attorney general (fired)
- Bruce Ohr, associate deputy attorney general (twice demoted)
- David Laufman, counterintelligence chief (resigned)
- Rachel Brand, deputy attorney general (resigned)
- Trisha Beth Anderson, office of legal counsel for FBI (demoted or reassigned*)
- John P. Carlin, assistant attorney general (resigned)
- Peter Kadzik, assistant attorney general, congressional liaison (resigned)
- Mary McCord, acting assistant attorney general (resigned)
- Matthew Axelrod, principal assistant to deputy attorney general (resigned)
- Preet Bharara, U.S. attorney, SDNY (fired along with 45 other U.S. Attorneys)
- Sharon McGowan, civil rights division (resigned)
- Diana Flynn, litigation director for LGBTQ civil rights (resigned)
- Vanita Gupta, civil rights division (resigned)
- Joel McElvain, assistant branch director of the civil division (resigned)
*Status Unclear
Why so many departures? As I argue in my new book, the top layers of the FBI have long been troubled by financial self-dealing, political machinations, and coverups for ineptitude. As these deep problems increasingly come to light, the leadership is fleeing like rats from a ship. Expect to see more, as well as possible indictments, as congressional investigations continue.
Seamus Bruner is the associate director of research at the Government Accountability Institute and author of the new book “Compromised: How Money and Politics Drive FBI Corruption.”
Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
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“Government power was used to spy on American citizens,” Barr said in the interview published on Friday. “I can’t imagine any world where we wouldn’t take a look and make sure that was done properly.”
“Just like we need to ensure that foreign actors don’t influence the outcome of our elections, we need to ensure that the government doesn’t use its powers to put a thumb on the scale,” he added.
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Barr is working closely with CIA Director Gina Haspel, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, and FBI Director Christopher Wray, according to the WSJ. His review is not a criminal investigation “at this point,” the newspaper reported. There is no timetable for its completion.
The attorney general discussed why he chose John Durham, Connecticut’s U.S. attorney, to lead the review.
“I was looking for someone who is tenacious, who is used to looking at sensitive material involving government activities, who has a reputation for being fair and evenhanded,” he said.
Barr did not discuss what he has discovered so far, but he told the paper that he was surprised that officials have not been able to answer many of his questions.
“I have more questions now than when I came in,” he said.
Former FBI officials have testified that they opened the counterintelligence investigation on July 31, 2016, after they received information from the Australian government that a foreign policy campaign adviser, George Papadopoulos, told an Australian diplomat that he was told the Russians had “dirt” on Hillary Clinton.
As Papadopoulos has detailed to Breitbart News and other outlets, the person who told him the Russians had dirt was a Maltese academic named Joseph Mifsud.
Papadopoulos has discussed in interviews the odd circumstances around the introduction. He said he met Mifsud through a woman in London who used to work for the FBI, who told him that Mifsud would introduce him to a lot of important people who would help him on the campaign.
It has later emerged that an FBI informant named Stefan Halper separately met Carter Page at a conference in London in mid-July. Halper would later reach out to Papadopoulos, bringing along a young woman who introduced herself as a research assistant named “Azra Turk.”
The New York Times recently reported that the woman was a “government investigator” who oversaw the operation with Halper to gain more information from Papadopoulos.
The FBI in October 2016 obtained a warrant to surveil Page, using opposition research gathered by ex-British spy Christopher Steele for the firm Fusion GPS, which was commissioned by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
Read the whole story
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Read the whole story
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Note: A new post – A Listing of Participants – provides a far more comprehensive listing of various players.
This post remains useful in its description of certain individuals – specifically John Carlin & Mary McCord.
There have been numerous resignations and demotions at the FBI and DOJ.
Department of Justice (Non-FBI):
- John Carlin – Assistant Attorney General – Head of DOJ’s National Security Division – announcedresignation on September 27, 2016 after filing the Government’s proposed 2016 Section 702 certifications on September 26, 2016. The filing does not disclose known FISA Abuses. Carlin is aware NSA Rogers is conducting a compliance review which will uncover the FISA Abuse. The 2016 certifications are scheduled for Court approval on October 26, 2016. Trump surveillance originated under Carlin’s tenure.
- Sally Yates – Deputy Attorney General & Acting Attorney General (replacing Loretta Lynch – 10 days) – fired January 30, 2017. Complicit in Flynn Surveillance and surveillance of Trump Campaign.
- Mary McCord – Acting Assistant Attorney General – Acting Head of DOJ’s National Security Division (replacing John Carlin) – announced resignation on April 17, 2017 – Left on May 11, 2017. Complicit in Flynn Surveillance and surveillance of Trump Campaign.
- Bruce Ohr – Associate Deputy Attorney General – demoted twice. Stripped of Associate Deputy Attorney General title on December 6, 2017. Removed as head of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force January 8, 2018. Unofficial liaison between Fusion GPS and FBI/DOJ. Wife worked at Fusion. Long-standing ties to both Christopher Steele and Glenn Simpson/Fusion GPS.
- David Laufman – DOJ National Security Division, Deputy Asst. Attorney General in charge of counterintelligence – resigned on February 7, 2018. Laufman “played a leading role in the Clinton email server and Russian hacking investigations.”
- Rachel Brand – Associate Attorney General – number three official behind Deputy AG Rosenstein – resigned February 9, 2018. Takes top legal position at Walmart. Brand “played a critical role in Congress’ re-authorization” of section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
FBI:
- James Comey – FBI Director – fired May 9, 2017. Oversaw all FBI operations – including exoneration of Clinton and Trump-Russia Investigation. Reported to AG Lynch.
- Peter Strzok – Deputy Assistant Director of FBI’s Counterintelligence – forced off Mueller’s team – demoted August 16, 2017 to FBI’s Human Resources. IG Horowitz discovered texts July 27, 2017. Strzok involved in all facets of Clinton exoneration. Working member of “Insurance Policy” group.
- Lisa Page – FBI/DOJ Lawyer – forced off Mueller’s team – demoted August 16, 2017 to parts unknown. IG Horowitz discovered texts July 27, 2017. Working member of “Insurance Policy” group.
- James Baker – FBI General Counsel – demoted and reassigned on December 20, 2017. Working member of “Insurance Policy” group. Senior-most legal counsel at FBI.
- James Rybicki – Chief of Staff to FBI Director James Comey & successor Chris Wray – resigned/forcedout January 23, 2018. Working member of “Insurance Policy” group.
- Andrew McCabe – Deputy FBI Director – on December 23, 2017 announced retirement effective March 22, 2018. Forced to resign on January 29, 2018. Involved in all aspects. Reported to Comey.
- Josh Campbell – Special Assistant to James Comey – resigned on February 2, 2018. Writes op-ed in New York Times on why he is leaving but does not disclose in op-ed that he was Special Assistant to Comey – or that he had been offered lucrative CNN job. Takes job with CNN on February 5, 2018.
- Michael Kortan – FBI Asst. Director Public Affairs – resigned on February 8, 2018 – effective February 15, 2018. Kortan served as assistant director for public affairs, an influential job that controlled media access.
- Bill Priestap – Assistant Director – Head of FBI Counterintelligence – Holds same position. Strzok’s boss – reported directly to McCabe.
My listing is not meant to be exhaustive. I’m sure I’ve missed some meaningful former participants. Feel free to post me on any you think noteworthy.
I have not included former Obama officials who are complicit but left their positions on President Trump’s Inauguration (i.e. Loretta Lynch). Nor have I included participants outside the DOJ/FBI.
Watch List:
- David Bowditch (FBI) – expected to replace Andrew McCabe as Deputy FBI Director. Bowditch’s name is featured in emails and Strzok texts.
- Trisha Anderson (DOJ) – adviser in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, was previously an attorney at Attorney General Eric Holder’s former firm, Covington & Burling. Attended two April 25, 2016 White House meetings with FBI Counsel James Baker and several DOJ FISA lawyers – Tashina Guahar, Christopher Hardee, Brad Wiegmann. Anderson’s name appears in Strzok/Page texts.
- Greg Brower (FBI) – Assistant Director for the Office of Congressional Affairs. FBI’s liaison with Congress. Listed by Devin Nunes as one of the individuals he wants to interview.
- Sally Moyer (FBI) – Attorney. Listed by Devin Nunes as one of the individuals he wants to interview.
- Dana Boente (DOJ/FBI) – Acting Head of DOJ’s National Security Division until January 23, 2018 and the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Replaced Mary McCord. Was briefly Acting Deputy Attorney General until Rosenstein appointed. On January 23, 2018, Boente was named as FBI General Counsel – replacing James Baker who was demoted and reassigned.
- Edward O’Callaghan (DOJ) – became Acting Assistant Attorney General and Acting Head of DOJ’s National Security Division on January 27, 2018, replacing Dana Boente.
Some may choose to include FBI Director Wray and/or Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein on the Watch List. I have not.
Notice anything odd in the listing of names (excluding Watch List)?
Look at the listing again – and take note of who is still there.
- James Baker – FBI
- Peter Strzok – FBI
- Lisa Page – FBI/DOJ
- Bruce Ohr – DOJ
- Bill Priestap – FBI
Why are these individuals still employed – why haven’t they resigned.
With the exception of Priestap who still holds his original position, they’ve all been demoted into oblivion. Their careers are over – and have been.
There is one likely answer.
I’ve already discussed Priestap extensively:
Where is Bill Priestap – FBI’s Counterintelligence Head. – December 28, 2017
FBI Counterintelligence Head Bill Priestap – A Cooperating Witness – February 11, 2018
In both articles I make the case that Priestap is cooperating with the many investigations.
Baker, Strzok, Page and Ohr are likely cooperating as well. They were caught dead to rights – firmly ensnared in the Inspector General’s Investigation.
They are likely being kept in effective isolation – shielded from the media – and compromised, leaking Congressmen like Adam Schiff.
The Conservative Treehouse has an excellent article on this theory.
Many of the names like Comey, McCabe and Strzok have been extensively covered. I’ll briefly touch on a couple of the lesser known names – John Carlin and Mary McCord.
John Carlin – Assistant Attorney General – Head of DOJ’s National Security Division:
- November 2015-April 2016 – The FBI and DOJ’s National Security Division (NSD) use private contractors to access raw FISA information using “To” and “From” FISA-702(16) & “About” FISA-702(17) queries.
- March 2016 – NSA Director Rogers becomes aware of improper access to raw FISA data.
- April 2016 – Rogers orders the NSA compliance officer to run a full audit on 702 NSA compliance.
- April 18 2016 – Rogers shuts down FBI/NSD contractor access to the FISA Search System. The compliance audit continues.
- September 26 2016 – DOJ’s NSD Head John Carlin files the Government’s proposed 2016 Section 702 certifications. The filing does not disclose the FISA Abuses. Carlin is aware of Rogers’ compliance review. The 2016 certifications are scheduled for Court approval on October 26, 2016.
- September 27 2016 – Carlin announces he is resigning. Mary McCord will later assume his position.
- October 15, 2016 – Carlin formally leaves the NSD.
- Mid-October 2016 – DNI Clapper submits a recommendation to the White House that Director Rogers be removed from the NSA.
- October 20 2016 – Rogers is briefed by the NSA compliance officer on the Section 702 NSA compliance audit and “About” query violations.
- October 21 2016 – Rogers shuts down all “About Query” activity. Rogers reports the activity to DOJ and prepares to go before the FISA Court.
- October 21 2016 – DOJ & FBI seek and receive a Title I FISA probable cause order authorizing electronic surveillance on Carter Page from the FISC. At this point, the FISA Court is unaware of the Section 702 violations.
- October 24 2016 – Rogers verbally informs the FISA Court of Section 702(17) violations.
- October 26 2016 – Rogers formally informs the FISA Court of 702(17) violations in writing.
- October 26, 2016 – The FISA Court refuses to formalize the 2016 Section 702 certifications. A complete overhaul of Section 702 processes ensues.
The FBI and DOJ’s NSD were quite literally racing against Rogers’ Investigation in order to obtain a FISA Warrant on Carter Page.
Carlin specifically didn’t disclose his knowledge of FISA Abuse in the annual Section 702 certifications so as not to raise suspicions at the FISA Court pre-FISA Warrant.
Carlin filed the 2016 Section 702 Certification on September 26, 2016. Carlin announced his resignation on September 27 2016 and left on October 15, 2016.
The FISA Warrant on Carter Page was obtained on October 21, 2016.
Although Rogers initiated the investigation in April 2016, the NSA compliance officer did not fully brief Rogers until October 20, 2016. Rogers verbally notified the FISA on October 24, 2016 to prevent approval of the Section 702 Certification by the FISA Court on October 26, 2016.
For the complete story see: The Uncovering – Mike Rogers’ Investigation, Section 702 FISA Abuse & the FBI.
I encourage you to read the FISA Court’s emorandum Opinion and Order.
One more thing. From an earlier post:
In 2015, Inspector General Michael Horowitz requested oversight of the DOJ’s National Security Division (NSD). Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates responded with a 58 page Memorandum, that effectively told the Inspector General to go pound sand.
No NSD oversight would be allowed.
The same division where the Section 702 violations occurred under NSD Head John Carlin.
Mary McCord – Acting Assistant Attorney General – Head of DOJ’s National Security Division:
McCord took over for Carlin after he resigned on September 27, 2016.
McCord accompanied Acting AG Sally Yates to see White House Counsel Bill McGahn regarding Michael Flynn.
McCord was the individual directly overseeing the surveillance of Flynn.
- December 29 2016 – General Michael Flynn speaks to the Russian Ambassador.
- January 12 2017 – Mike Flynn’s Dec 29 2016 call is leaked to Washington Post. The article portrays Flynn as undermining Obama’s Russian sanctions.
- January 19 2017 – The NYT reports that several agencies — the FBI, CIA, NSA and Treasury are monitoring several associates of the Trump campaign suspected of Russian ties.
- January 19 2017 – Obama’s top intelligence and law-enforcement deputies meet to talk about Flynn’s conversation with Kislyak.
- January 23 2017 – The FBI reports nothing unlawful in content of Flynn call.
- January 24 2017 – Mike Flynn is interviewed without notice by the FBI. Peter Strzok is the interviewing agent.
- January 25 2017 – The Department of Justice receives a detailed briefing on Flynn from the FBI.
- January 26 2017 – Sally Yates travels to the White House along with Mary McCord of the DOJ’s National Security Division to discuss Mike Flynn.
- January 27 2016 – Sally Yates returns to the White House for a second discussion.
- February 9 2017 – The NYT and the Post publish articles claiming that General Michael Flynn discussed sanctions with Russian ambassador Kislyak.
- February 13 2017 – Mike Flynn resigns/fired as National Security Advisor.
After an extensive investigation, Flynn was charged with one count of lying to the FBI.
Comey told lawmakers in March 2017 that the FBI agents who interviewed Flynn did not believe that Flynn had lied to them, or that any inaccuracies in his answers were intentional.
Mueller’s case against Flynn originates with surveillance provided by the Carter Page FISA Warrant. The FBI obtained the FISA Warrant through the Steele Dossier. The Dossier has been exposed and discredited through the Nunes and Grassley Memos.
Meanwhile, the details of the Flynn case have become ever more curious – covered here.
I will be shocked if Flynn’s case is not dropped at the end of all this.
I’ve touched on just two of the many individuals involved, but it’s easy to see that actual details run deeper than acknowledged by press reports.
The Media generally portray these departures as a small matter – or the simple result of President Trump’s “antagonism” towards the FBI/DOJ. In most – if not all – cases, these departures signify something deeper.
As an example, Hugh Hewitt relays the opinion of a long-time source on the departure of David Laufman – one of the lower profile names.
“That’s what happens when you are told that you are the subject of an OPR (Office of Professional Responsibility) or OIG (Office of the Inspector General) investigation…”
“He was in his post since 2014 – under Carlin, Yates and Lynch in the chain of command.”
One other note on Laufman:
Obama stacked the Department of Justice with left-leaning lawyers. Ideology is specifically prohibited by federal law as a condition of hiring but this was steadfastly ignored.
From an earlier post, The Injustices of Obama’s Justice Department:
Mr. Adams highlights the highly politicized DOJ hiring practices put in place by Obama and Eric Holder in an extensive series of investigative articles. His conclusion in his final article – located at bottom of the article listing:
The Justice Department is forbidden by federal law from hiring employees based on political affiliation. Yet the resumes revealed the following ideological breakdown among the new hires:
Leftist lawyers: 113
Moderate, non-ideological, or conservative lawyers: 0
The matter-of-fact evidence should lead any reasonable observer to believe the DOJ has employed an illegal political litmus test during the interview process.
He ends with the following:
Loretta King, while serving as the acting assistant attorney general for civil rights at the outset of the Obama administration, ordered the resumes of highly qualified applicants to be rejected only because they didn’t have political or left-wing civil rights experience. Multiple DOJ sources with direct knowledge of hiring committee practices have confirmed this to me.
And when Mr. Adams says Leftist he really means Extreme Leftist. Take a look at the resumes for yourself. It’s disheartening.
As I was searching DOJ lawyers present at the April 25, 2016 FISA meeting I came across a twitter account from one of the attendees, Alan Rozenshtein, now in the private sector:
A normal WH would have the credibility to call a mulligan on the whole mess and start over, but Trump is too busy cryptically threatening Adam Schiff and calling Nunes an American hero. The Trump presidency has officially hit peak process absurdity, and I’m going to bed. /FIN— Alan Z. Rozenshtein (@arozenshtein) February 10, 2018
They are all ideologically the same.
For those who don’t have enough names to keep a watch over, on January 26, 2018, Grassley “sent six letters seeking information and documents regarding Christopher Steele’s work on behalf of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary for America.”
The letters seek information and documents relating to those political organizations’ knowledge of and involvement in Mr. Steele’s work and his reported interactions with the FBI while he was working on behalf of these political organizations.
The letters were sent to:
- The Democratic National Committee (DNC)
- Hillary for America (HFA)
- Former DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
- Former DNC Chair Donna Brazile
- HFA Chair John Podesta
- HFA Chief Strategist Joel Benenson
Grassley asked slight variants of the same twelve questions – including this last one:
12. For the period from March 2016 through January 2017, please provide all communications to, from, copying, or relating to:
Fusion GPS; Bean LLC; Glenn Simpson; Mary Jacoby; Peter Fritsch; Tom Catan; Jason Felch; Neil King; David Michaels; Taylor Sears; Patrick Corcoran; Laura Sego; Jay Bagwell; Erica Castro; Nellie Ohr; Rinat Akhmetshin; Ed Lieberman; Edward Baumgartner; Orbis Business Intelligence Limited; Orbis Business International Limited; Walsingham Training Limited; Walsingham Partners Limited; Christopher Steele; Christopher Burrows; Sir Andrew Wood, Paul Hauser; Oleg Deripaska; Cody Shearer; Sidney Blumenthal; Jon Winer; Kathleen Kavalec; Victoria Nuland; Daniel Jones; Bruce Ohr; Peter Strzok; Andrew McCabe; James Baker; Sally Yates; Loretta Lynch; John Brennan.
You can read more about Grassley’s letter here.
There are some obvious names – and there are some interesting names – on Grassley’s list. Names like Rinat Akhmetshin, Ed Lieberman, Oleg Deripaska, Cody Shearer, Sidney Blumenthal, Daniel Jones, Loretta Lynch and… John Brennan.
They really thought it impossible that Trump could win.
And so, they acted accordingly – and with false impunity.
newer post The Absurdities of Mueller’s Indictment
Read the whole story
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