Monday, February 12, 2018

Senators shine a light on 'unusual' Susan Rice email on Russia probe

Former national security adviser Susan Rice sent an "unusual email" to herself on January 20, 2017--the day President Trump was sworn into office. What made it 'unusual' was that it documented President Obama's guidance at a high-level covert meeting about how law enforcement ought to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, a pair of GOP senators said Monday.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Sen. Lindsey Graham said the partially unclassified email was sent by Rice the day of Trump's inauguration and it seems to document a meeting with Obama, then-FBI Director James Comey, then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, then-Vice President and Chief Gaffer Joe Biden and Rice herself.

In the email, Rice wrote: "President Obama began the conversation by stressing his continued commitment to ensuring that every aspect of this issue is handled by the Intelligence and law enforcement communities 'by the book.' The president stressed that he is not asking about, initiating or instructing anything from a law enforcement perspective. He reiterated that our law enforcement team needs to proceed as it normally would by the book."

And true to Obama form, the email reflects his guidance on sharing sensitive information with both the Russians and the incoming Trump administration.

So rather than sharing information with the incoming administration, Rice revealed that 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 that we cannot share information fully as it relates to Russia."

"The President asked Comey to inform him if anything changes in the next few weeks that should affect how we share classified information with the incoming team. Comey said he would."

Grassley (R-Iowa), and Graham (R-SC), upon releasing the email Monday said that they uncovered it as part of their oversight of the FBI and the DOJ, and said it raises new questions.

"It strikes us as odd that, among your activities in the final moments on the final day of the Obama administration, you would feel the need to send yourself such an unusual email purporting to document a conversation involving President Obama and his interactions with the FBI regarding the Trump/Russia investigation," they said in a letter to Rice.

"In addition, despite your claim that President Obama repeatedly told Mr. Comey to proceed 'by the book,' substantial questions have arisen about whether officials at the FBI, as well as at the Justice Department and the State Department, actually did proceed 'by the book.'"

Perhaps Rice was told to 'cover their butts' by telling the FBI to go 'by the book.'

Certainly the Trump "dossier" wasn't 'by the book' nor was Fast and Furious, the Clinton private email server and the way Benghazi was mishandled. 

I believe they were writing the book as they plowed along.


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