7:00 AM 12/15/2018 - Investigate ex-President Obama and how he came to power: Chinese money, Russian cunning, or the Abwer's designs? Or all of the above? Investigate the Obama's FBI as the major bastion of treachery. - M.N.

Obama's FBI as the major bastion of treachery - Google Search

Saturday December 15th, 2018 at 6:59 AM

M.N.: Flynn is not the victim of the FBI. He is a victim of the Obama Administration which apparently intended to use him as the both front channel and the back channel communication line with the Russian military and political circles. For some reasons this project did not work out, and Flynn was sidelined by Obama. 
Everything you are dealing with today, most of the political and geopolitical problems are the direct result of the actions, inaction, and the misdirected actions and strategies of the Obama Administration, including very much so the "Trump - Russia Scandal". 

The Obama Administration must also be very vigorously investigated as the direct antecedent and the Genesis Cloaca of the Trump Administration. Both of them are the two parts of the same phenomenon and the same but the larger scale operation. 

Investigate ex-President Obama and how he came to power: Chinese money, Russian cunning, or the Abwer's designs? Or all of the above? Investigate the Obama's FBI as the major bastion of treachery. I have a feeling that this investigation will be very fruitful and useful. 

Michael Novakhov

12.15.18 

Mueller Rejects Flynn’s Attempt to Portray Himself as Victim of the F.B.I. - The New York Times

Saturday December 15th, 2018 at 3:55 AM

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Mueller Rejects Flynn’s Attempt to Portray Himself as Victim of the F.B.I.  The New York Times

Michael Flynn had cooperated with the special counsel but in asking for leniency, he stoked an unfounded theory about potential evidence he did not lie to ...

View full coverage on Google News

Good Riddance! Criminal Investigations follow-ups on those comfortable FBI “retirements” are needed, if you really want to understand what really happened. | “Obama-era FBI leadership team hollowed out, after latest [Bill Priestap’s] retirement”. 

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Update – 4:43 AM 12/14/2018

Investigate the Obama’s FBI in the utmost depth and to their bones of bones; and there, I think, you will find the answers to the many questions posed by the “Trump – Russia” Investigation. 

Of no less importance is the issue of the so called “Chabad” Orthodox Jewish sect, which is most likely the KGB-GRU-Putin’s front, in this and other related affairs. Their connections extend directly to the Red Mafia, and also to the Israeli ruling circles and to Mossad. They also have to be investigated in the utmost depth. 

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My working hypothesis, shared earlier, is that Obama felt very insecure in governing the country and he gave the free rein to the FBI to obtain the maximum protection, in all respects, from the FBI. Comey, with his “impeccable moral credentials” was riding his “high horse”, providing the cover of legality; but the FBI was really run by the incompetent and inefficient robots and Obama puppets, like McCabe. 

This hypothesis needs the serious investigation, to prevent these types of disasters in the future. 

Michael Novakhov

12.13.18 

RECENT POSTS

• Good Riddance! Criminal Investigations follow-ups on those comfortable FBI “retirements” are needed, if you really want to understand what really happened. | “Obama-era FBI leadership team hollowed out, after latest [Bill Priestap’s] retirement”.December 13, 2018
• 12:37 PM 12/9/2018 – Mr. Mueller shows his cards—and reveals a pack of jokers – CNN | Investigate the entire upper echelon of the Obama’s FBI!December 9, 2018
• 11:51 AM 12/9/2018 – Comey: Mr. Giuliani was making statements that appeared to be based on his knowledge of workings inside the FBI New York …” – James Comey dishes on Rudy Giuliani’s role in Trump 2016 election scandal – – Palmer ReportDecember 9, 2018
• 9:09 AM 12/9/2018 – Does Mr. Comey need the psychiatric examination of his memory and reasoning capacities?! – Comey transcript released: Ex-FBI boss claims not to know, remember key details in Russia caseDecember 9, 2018
• 1:46 PM 12/8/2018 – Friendly Fire Killed Sheriff’s Sergeant At Thousand Oaks, Calif., Shooting Scene – NPRDecember 8, 2018
• 1:17 PM 12/8/2018 – Officer killed during Borderline shooting died from friendly rifle fire NBC NewsDecember 8, 2018
• 8:55 AM 12/5/2018 – Grassley Demands Information About FBI Raid on WhistleblowerDecember 5, 2018
• 12.5.18 – M.N.: Investigate the entire upper echelon of the Obama’s FBI, and consider bringing the criminal charges against all the former and current FBI officials! | Bill Priestap, a 20-year veteran of the FBI, will exit the agency at the end of the year, according to a new report. – WSJDecember 5, 2018
• 7:13 AM 12/1/2018 – BOOK REVIEW: Craig Unger – ‘House of Trump, House of Putin,’ the plot to put a Russian operative in the White House: “This claim surprised the heck out of me: “The most powerful figures in America’s national security—including two FBI directors, William Sessions and Louis Freeh … ended up working with Russians who had been deemed serious threats to the United States.”December 3, 2018
• 11:26 AM 12/3/2018 – The Memo: Trump’s Mueller problems deepen, worrying allies – The HillDecember 3, 2018
• 6:20 AM 11/30/2018 – The Boss: J. Edgar Hoover and the Great American InquisitionNovember 30, 2018

Obama-era FBI leadership team hollowed out, after latest retirementThursday December 13th, 2018 at 6:19 AM

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Another top FBI official who helped oversee the Trump-Russia and Clinton email investigations is retiring, as the last traces of the bureau’s embattled leadership team that once stood under Barack Obama’s presidency disappear.

The official, Bill Priestap, will retire from his post as assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division by the end of the year.

“Assistant Director Bill Priestap became eligible to retire and has chosen to do so after 20 years of service,” an FBI spokesperson told Fox News on Wednesday.

Priestap, who participated in the bureau’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server and the FBI’s initial probe into Russian meddling and potential collusion with Trump campaign associates during the 2016 presidential election, has testified before Congress on multiple occasions regarding the bureau’s handling of both investigations.

In this July 26, 2017 photo, Bill Priestap, assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division, testifies during a Judiciary Committee hearing into alleged collusion between Russian and the Trump campaign. (Reuters)

His departure, which reportedly was unrelated to the controversies surrounding those investigations, is significant, as it marks the de facto end of the Obama-era leadership team — which has been steadily disbanding since the early months of the Trump administration amid a combination of firings and retirements.

Here’s a look at other top FBI officials who have since left the bureau, or been removed:

Former FBI Director James Comey

James Comey, the highest-profile of the lot, was the first to go, though he has remained in the spotlight ever since his departure. President Trump fired Comey on May 9, 2017, after a recommendation from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who pegged his advice on Comey’s handling of the Clinton investigation, though other factors are suspected of playing a role.

Comey has been hit with scrutiny from both sides of the aisle over the bureau’s handling of the Clinton probe. Comey first announced in July 2016, during the heat of the presidential race, that he would recommend no charges against the former secretary of state while calling her handling of classified information on her server “extremely careless.” But just days before voters cast their presidential ballots, on Oct. 28 2016, Comey unilaterally announced he would re-open the investigation due to new emails uncovered on the laptop of Anthony Weiner—the husband of Clinton confidante Huma Abedin. Clinton and Democrats have argued that his actions contributed to her loss.

When Trump took office, Comey decided to memorialize conversations between the two regarding the FBI’s investigation into Russian meddling. One of the memos detailed a conversation the two had in February 2017 regarding Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, and his communications with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. According to Comey’s memo, Trump asked that the former director shut down the investigation into Flynn, allegedly making the infamous statement: “I hope you can let this go.”

Comey ultimately shared the memos with his friend, Columbia Law School Professor Daniel Richman, who now serves as his attorney, with the intention of Richman leaking the memos to the press to spur the appointment of a special counsel. One week after Comey was fired, Rosenstein, who oversaw the Justice Department Russia investigation after former Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself, appointed Special Counsel Robert Mueller to investigate.

Comey is slated to return to Capitol Hill in the coming days, appearing before the House Judiciary Committee to share his testimony on both the Clinton and Trump probes in a closed-door setting.

Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe

Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who was Comey’s No. 2 and tasked with leading the bureau upon his termination, was fired by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions in March, just days before he would have been eligible for a lifetime pension, after it was determined that he lied to investigators reviewing the bureau’s probe of Clinton’s server.

Sessions fired McCabe after the DOJ inspector general revealed McCabe had made “an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor –including under oath—on multiple occasions.” Inspector General Michael Horowitz determined that McCabe had not been forthcoming in regard to the handling of the probe, which in turn, sparked a disciplinary process that recommended McCabe’s firing.

That probe, though, was kick-started by Comey, who admitted to ordering the investigation this spring during an interview on his media blitz to promote his memoir. Comey said he believed McCabe was a “good person,” but that he “lied.”

McCabe, who served as acting FBI director from May 2017 until August 2017, when FBI Director Christopher Wray was confirmed to his post, was removed as Wray’s deputy in January after months of conflict-of-interest complaints from Republicans, including the president.

McCabe also led the bureau during the early months of the Russia investigation. Republicans accused McCabe of abusing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), by signing FISA warrants targeting former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

Peter Strzok and Lisa Page

Peter Strzok, a former senior counterintelligence agent, and Lisa Page, who worked as FBI general counsel, both left the bureau after a raging controversy over their apparent political bias.

Strzok and Page, who were romantically involved, first fell under intense scrutiny in December 2017, when the Justice Department inspector general revealed the two exchanged numerous anti-Trump text messages, dating back to 2016. The two discussed 2016 campaign politics and repeatedly blasted Trump. Some text messages also reflected apparent concern about being too tough on Clinton during the email probe.

One text message from Strzok to Page even vowed to “stop” Trump from becoming president.

Page and Strzok both worked on Mueller’s Russia investigation. Page left the special counsel’s office in the summer of 2017 after serving a short detail, and Strzok was removed and reassigned to the FBI’s Human Resources division after the politically charged text messages were uncovered last year.

Both Page and Strzok testified on Capitol Hill this summer—Page in a closed-door setting, and Strzok in an hours-long public grilling before the House Oversight Committee. In May, Page resigned from her post at the bureau. Strzok first lost his security clearance, and then was escorted from his FBI office. By August, Strzok was officially fired.

The inspector general is currently investigating whether Strzok’s anti-Trump bias factored into the launch of the bureau’s Russia investigation.

James Baker

James Baker served as FBI’s general counsel and left the bureau on May 4—the same day as Lisa Page.

James Baker, former FBI general counsel, left the bureau in May. (FBI)

Baker, a top FBI lawyer, was reassigned in late 2017 as an adviser to current FBI Director Wray, after being the subject of a Justice Department investigation on the suspicion of leaking classified information about the salacious anti-Trump dossier to a journalist.

Baker currently is a visiting fellow of governance studies at The Brookings Institution.

James Rybicki

James Rybicki, who served as chief of staff to Comey, left the FBI in January. He served as chief of staff to Wray in the first months of his leadership but left the bureau amid scrutiny over his role in the Clinton email investigation.

Former FBI Chief of Staff Jim Rybicki. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Rybicki was not fired. Instead, his departure was “in the works for a while,” according to law enforcement sources.

Wray said in January that Rybicki was leaving for “an opportunity in the corporate sector,” and that he would be “dearly missed by the FBI family—and me personally.”

Michael Kortan

Michael Kortan, assistant director of public affairs at the FBI, retired from his post in February.

Michael Kortan, left, departed the FBI after previously serving under James Comey and Robert Mueller.(FBI/Reuters)

Kortan worked at the FBI for 33 years.

Josh Campbell, James Turgal, Greg Bower, Michael Steinbach, John Giacalone

Josh Campbell, a former special assistant to Comey, left the bureau this year and joined CNN as a law enforcement analyst.

James Turgal, a former assistant director to the FBI, left the bureau in October 2017 and now works at Deloitte in Cyber Risk Services.

Greg Bower, the FBI’s top congressional liaison, left the bureau in April, amid multiple congressional probes and inquiries into the FBI’s Clinton and Russia investigations.

Michael Steinbach, the former head of the FBI’s national security division, and his predecessor John Giacalone both left the bureau and have appeared on Capitol Hill for interviews with committees.

Fox News’ Catherine Herridge, Samuel Chamberlain, Bradford Bentz, and Brian Flood contributed to this report.Read the whole story · · · · · · · ·

E.W. Priestap, assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division – Google SearchThursday December 13th, 2018 at 6:04 AM

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FBI: China threatens ‘the future of the world’

Washington Examiner-12 hours ago… up our defenses against this,” E.W. Priestap, assistant director of the FBI’sCounterintelligence Division, told the Senate Judiciary Committee.US Officials: China Tops List of Security Threats
Voice of America-11 hours agoChina positioning itself to supplant America as next superpower: FBI …
Economic Times-3 hours agoUS, China set to take action against each other as tensions rise
In-Depth-CNN-13 hours agoView all

FBI veteran who worked on Clinton, Russia probes retiring

Washington Examiner-Dec 4, 2018Bill Priestap, a 20-year veteran of the FBI, will exit the agency at the end of the year, according to a new report. Priestap, the assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s counterintelligence division, has decided to retire from the bureau, the Wall Street Journal reported. He was involved with the …Another High-Ranking FBI Official to Depart
Highly Cited-Wall Street Journal-Dec 4, 2018

‘We are not a tool of trade’: US assistant attorney general for security …

Globalnews.ca-8 hours agoOne day later, the U.S. assistant attorney general for security sat before a … as Bill Priestap, assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, … “I don’t know if you’re a New England Patriots football fan at all, but my …Trump sets ‘terrible precedent’ by crossing red line on Huawei case
KPAX-TV-11 hours agoView all

Obama-era FBI leadership team hollowed out, after latest retirement

Fox News-Dec 5, 2018Another top FBI official who helped oversee the Trump-Russia and Clinton … Bill Priestap, assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division, … due to new emails uncovered on the laptop of Anthony Weiner—the …

China suspected in huge Marriott data breach, official says

Newcanaannewsonline-10 hours agoWASHINGTON (AP) — Investigators believe hackers working on behalf of China’s main intelligence agency are responsible for a massive data …US accuses China for massive Marriott hotel chain data theft
In-Depth-<a href=”http://Aljazeera.com” rel=”nofollow”>Aljazeera.com</a>-8 hours ago

Hillicon Valley — Presented by AT&T — Officials warn of threat from …

The Hill-11 hours ago”[China] is the most severe counterintelligence threat facing our country today,” said Bill Priestap, the FBI’s assistant director of the Counterintelligence Division. Priestap said China should be at the top of the global threat list. …. SLOW AND STEADY: A new congressional scorecard released this week found …

Today’s Headlines and Commentary

Lawfare (blog)-Dec 5, 2018Bill Priestap, the current assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, will retire from government service before the … Jen Patja Howell posted a new episode of the Lawfare Podcast, which featured a conversation …

The Daily 202: Flynn sentencing memo hints at how much Mueller …

Washington Post-Dec 5, 2018New White House counsel Pat Cipollone will start in the role on Monday … serves as assistant director of the [FBI’s] counterintelligence division, will leave … Mr. Priestap’s retirement is unrelated to the controversies over the …

House GOP sets three FBI interviews in Clinton probe

The Hill-May 24, 2018Charlotte newspaper calls for new election in ‘tainted’ North Carolina House race … Multiple congressional sources confirmed Priestap’s interview. … As the head of the FBI counterintelligence division, he held a pivotal …. Steinbach, as executive assistant director of the national security division, also …Three FBI officials to answer House panel’s questions about Clinton …
Fox News-May 24, 2018View allRead the whole story · · · · ·

China threatens ‘the future of the world’Thursday December 13th, 2018 at 6:03 AM

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Chinese spying threatens “not just the future of the United States, but the future of the world,” a senior FBI official told lawmakers Wednesday.

“We are being exploited by China, so we are right to shore up our defenses against this,” E.W. Priestap, assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division, told the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Our efforts must inspire other nations to preserve similar systems. We must persuade them to choose freedom, reciprocity, and the rule of law. What hangs in the balance is not just the future of the United States, but the future of the world.”

Priestap, who is due to retire at the end of this month, painted a dire picture of Chinese spycraft, warning that the Communist regime uses an array of unconventional intelligence assets to pilfer American secrets both from the government and the private sector. He urged lawmakers to brace for “a hypercompetitive world” in which China uses economic theft to cement their status as a major international power.

“Make no mistake: The Chinese government is proposing itself as an alternative model for the world, one without a democratic system of government, and it is seeking to undermine the free and open rules-based order we helped establish following World War II,” he said in his prepared testimony. “Our businesses and our government must adapt in order to compete and thrive in this world.”

Priestap invoked the Cold War with the Soviet Union repeatedly as a model for the U.S.-China rivalry, though he discouraged against assessing the fight in military terms. “The Chinese government understands a core lesson of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union: Economic strength is the foundation of national power,” he said. “The competition between the United States and China will be greatly influenced, if not ultimately decided, on the strength of our economies.”

His warning echoed the assessment offered by a senior CIA official in July. “At the end of the day, the Chinese fundamentally seek to replace the United States as the leading power in the world,” Michael Collins, the CIA’s deputy assistant director for the East Asia Mission Center, said during the Aspen Security Forum. “What they’re waging against us is fundamentally a cold war.”

Priestap also affirmed FBI Director Chris Wray’s view that Chinese espionage represents a whole-of-society threat, though he stipulated that not every Chinese national is a spy.

“Not meaning every person in the society is posing the threat but people from all walks of life — you can’t effectively combat that threat with ad hoc responses,” he said. “We need more people in government, more people in business, more people in academia pulling in the same direction to combat this threat effectively.”

That said, the Chinese spy services regard expatriate students and workers in the United States as potential assets. “[The intelligence officials] think of them as — just simply an extension of their power, of their nation,” Priestap said. “Based on FBI interaction with some of those individuals, it really is a case-by-case basis. Some I think are not knowledgeable in the least and are completely unwitting of doing anything in furtherance of their government aims. And, others either through direct or other softly applied pressure understand that they have obligations to meet.”

Priestap suggested that the U.S. government coordinate with academic institutions and major companies, in addition to outreach to incoming Chinese nationals, to mitigate the risk of potential espionage.

“However, we must also make certain that, as we address the loopholes and vulnerabilities within our system, we do not simultaneously undermine the open, free, and fair principles that have made it thrive,” he testified.Read the whole story · ·

High-speed train crashes into bridge, killing seven, in Turkey – CNNThursday December 13th, 2018 at 5:59 AM

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High-speed train crashes into bridge, killing seven, in Turkey  CNN

A high-speed train has crashed near the Turkish capital Ankara, killing at least seven people and leaving dozens more injured, according to the city’s governor …View full coverage on Google News

Netanyahu’s Negotiating With Neo-Fascists for a ‘Consensus View’ of the HolocaustThursday December 13th, 2018 at 5:19 AM

The Daily Beast Latest Articles1 Share

A few hours ahead of his arrival, an irritated Salvini told Israel’s Foreign Press Association that “the growing anti-Semitism goes together with Islamic extremism, to which no one is paying attention.” Thus letting old-fashioned European fascist anti-Semitism off the hook. Salvini added, “I don’t have to justify myself every time I go to Israel.”