Bigdog (06-18-2018), Truth Detector (06-18-2018)
The struggle to uncover the FBI's conduct in the Trump-Russia probe has made some congressional investigators deeply suspicious of the bureau. But what do those investigators think the FBI actually did in its investigation of the Trump campaign, Russia, and the 2016 election?
First, they're convinced the FBI has something to hide. In the last 12 months, the bureau has, at various times, ignored, slow-walked, resisted, and downright stonewalled congressional requests, not to mention subpoenas, for information on the Trump-Russia investigation.
Each time the bureau hunkered down, suspicion grew on Capitol Hill. The FBI seemed particularly reluctant to reveal to Congress not what Russians did, or what people in the Trump circle did, but what the bureau itself did.
When did the investigation start? How did it start? What measures did the FBI, and its lawyers, and its informants employ?
Getting facts out of the FBI has been a long and arduous task.
First to cause serious suspicion was the Trump dossier. Eyebrows were raised when investigators learned that the FBI, at the height of the 2016 presidential campaign, offered to hire a former British spy who was collecting allegations about Trump and Russia.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., pushed for information. Among other things, he learned that the former British spy, well-connected with the FBI, was paid by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. That apparently did not matter to the bureau.
Then Nunes and others wondered: What did the bureau do with the sensational allegations in the dossier? That gave birth to the so-called "FISA abuse" investigation, when Republicans looked into whether the FBI used unverified allegations from the Trump dossier in proceedings before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court. It turned out the FBI did just that, to win a wiretap on Carter Page, who for a short time was a volunteer on candidate Trump's foreign policy advisory board.
Congressional investigators came away with the impression that the FBI was hiding something. It was.
Now, Congress is trying to get information about the informant(s) the FBI used in the Trump-Russia probe, and precisely what those informants did.
As part of that line of inquiry, Investigators have discovered a number of times in which Trump figures were approached, sometimes by people with FBI connections, with offers of derogatory information on Clinton. Each incident was before the FBI says it began the Trump-Russia investigation, code name Crossfire Hurricane, on July 31, 2016.
Starting in late May or early June 2016, a Cambridge University professor named Stefan Halper, who was a longtime FBI informant, contacted Page, and also Trump campaign official Sam Clovis, and finally Trump volunteer adviser George Papadopoulos, seeking contacts and information on the campaign. The Daily Caller's Chuck Ross has reported thatIn early June 2016, a Russian lawyer who was working closely with the opposition research firm Fusion GPS, which had commissioned the Trump dossier, asked for and received a meeting with top Trump campaign officials, including Donald Trump Jr., by promising dirt on Clinton. The meeting came to nothing.Halper "randomly asked Papadopoulos whether he knew about Democratic National Committee emails that had been hacked and leaked by Russians."
In late May 2016, a Russian who had apparently been an FBI informant for years contacted an associate of Trump campaign official Michael Caputo, and later met with Trump figure Roger Stone, reportedly offering dirt on Hillary Clinton. Stone told the Washington Post the Russian asked for $2 million, and the meeting went nowhere. The Russian said he was not working for the FBI when he met Stone.
Stone has on a variety of occasions denied he met with any Russians during the campaign — so take that into account when considering his credibility. The problem for congressional investigators is that the probe has become a two-front battle: dealing with the untrustworthiness of some of the figures in the investigation while also fighting the FBI to learn the basic facts of what happened.
Lawmakers would not be shocked that Roger Stone might lie to them. But they expect the FBI to be open and transparent with constitutionally-empowered oversight committees.
The bottom line is that some Republicans are wondering whether in the above instances, and perhaps others, someone actively tried to frame, or entrap, or set up, Trump figures. And those Republicans wonder whether the FBI knew about it or played some sort of role in it.
In short, there is suspicion that the FBI might have abused its tremendous powers in a highly politicized investigation undertaken in the middle of a presidential campaign.
The suspicions are behind the House move to force the FBI to give up information. Last Friday evening, top House lawmakers, including Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., met with bureau and Justice Department officials to demand compliance with House subpoenas. They gave the FBI a tight deadline to produce the subpoenaed information or face serious retaliation, like contempt proceedings, from the House.
Some Republicans believe the FBI will, finally, comply. Maybe that will happen, and maybe it won't. But the only thing that can reduce suspicion in the current atmosphere is more openness.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/o...-investigation
Bigdog (06-18-2018), Truth Detector (06-18-2018)
Investigators have discovered a number of times in which Trump figures were approached, sometimes by people with FBI connections, with offers of derogatory information on Clinton. Each incident was before the FBI says it began the Trump-Russia investigation, code name Crossfire Hurricane, on July 31, 2016.
Investigators have discovered a number of times in which Trump figures were approached, sometimes by people with FBI connections, with offers of derogatory information on Clinton. Each incident was before the FBI says it began the Trump-Russia investigation, code name Crossfire Hurricane, on July 31, 2016.
When did the investigation start? How did it start? What measures did the FBI, and its lawyers, and its informants employ?
Getting facts out of the FBI has been a long and arduous task.
Bigdog (06-18-2018), Truth Detector (06-18-2018)
Nunes: ‘Hell to Pay’ If Subpoenas Don’t Produce FBI/DOJ Documents This Week
https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article...-complied-week
So, if documents do not begin to be turned over tomorrow and a clear way and path forward for everything else is not clear here in the next couple days, there's going to be hell to pay by Wednesday morning, because we can no longer -- it's not just about the committee chairman any longer.
This is about rank-and-file members of Congress who continue to come up to me and say, what on Earth are you guys doing? I have many members of the Intelligence Committee that are Republicans that are trying to get to the bottom of these issues.
They're relying on me to get the documents, so that they can complete the investigation that we began. So, we are quickly -- this is going to go from just myself and a few committee chairmen to all the members of the House of Representatives, who are going to begin to take action against the Department of Justice and FBI.
Nunes told Bartiromo that contempt of Congress is “just one of many options.”
Bigdog (06-18-2018), Truth Detector (06-18-2018)
Could you please post shorter posts/threads?
I rarely read your tl posts.
If not, no worries, I will continue to ignore the vast majority of your posts. Which are just mostly cooy/paste.
suit yourself.
I highlite and use quotes for a quick OP read. read only those and you get the salient facts.
I use c/p to reinforce a point in discussion rather then get in stupid arguments.
This is a significant discussion of what Congress is trying to get from the FBI, and why it's important.
It's a comprehensive look - it would take you about 2 minutes to read my highlites instead of posting
you don't read them
Bigdog (06-18-2018), Truth Detector (06-18-2018)
The truth will come out; and no matter how much the FAKE dishonest Media attempts to avoid it, at some point they will be unable to.
But, even after the truth is out, the whiny dumb liberals on this forum and elsewhere lack the intelligence to be embarrassed by all their lies and moronic predictions.
After all, these idiots still think the Democratic Party of the Jackass is winning.
"When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny."
A lie doesn't become the truth, wrong doesn't become right, and evil doesn't become good just because it is accepted by a majority.
Author: Booker T. Washington
the truth will come out IF we get the docs, and they are not heavily redacted.
Gowdy was on fire yesterday on Chris Wallace. The fact Ryan is saying floor actions are in play is also
a significant change to the pleading and dodging from DoJ. Maybe the logjam clears up.
Truth Detector (06-18-2018)
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