Comey Faces the Music: Ex-FBI Boss Arraigned on Lies and Obstruction Charges

Comey has a private discussion with the Lord

In a courtroom drama that's been brewing for years, former FBI Director James Comey is stepping into the federal dock Wednesday morning, indicted for allegedly lying his way through a congressional probe and stonewalling investigators digging into the Russia hoax mess. 

Comey has said he is innocent, in spite of the words he said under oath that turned out to be false.

The once-mighty G-man turned author, 'Nature Boy,' and Trump critic, is due for his initial appearance at 10 a.m. Eastern in the Albert V. Bryan United States Courthouse, smack in the Eastern District of Virginia. Comey's wife, Patrice, and daughter Maurene were already spotted queuing up outside the building early Wednesday, a poignant snapshot of family steeling for the storm. 

Presiding over the spectacle is District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff.

The hammer dropped in September when a federal grand jury slapped Comey with two counts: false statements in the legislative branch's wheelhouse and straight-up obstruction of a congressional proceeding.

The indictment paints Comey as the roadblock in a probe over leaking classified intel, breaching 18 USC 1505 like it was yesterday's news.

Prosecutors claim Comey fibbed big-time when he swore under oath that he never greenlit an FBI underling to play anonymous leaker. Per the paperwork, that was a whopper. Fox News Digital broke the story back in July that Comey was in the FBI's crosshairs for a criminal probe. The heat was all about whether he perjured himself during that September 30, 2020, Hill testimony on his stewardship of the FBI's original Trump-Russia witch hunt, internally dubbed "Crossfire Hurricane."

"No one is above the law," Attorney General Pam Bondi fired off on X post-indictment, underscoring that it "reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people. We will follow the facts in this case."

Current FBI Director Kash Patel had this to say: "previous corrupt leadership and their enablers weaponized federal law enforcement, damaging once proud institutions and severely eroding public trust."

"Every day, we continue the fight to earn that trust back, and under my leadership, this FBI will confront the problem head-on," Patel added. "Nowhere was this politicization of law enforcement more blatant than during the Russiagate hoax, a disgraceful chapter in history we continue to investigate and expose."

Patel went on: "Everyone, especially those in positions of power, will be held to account – no matter their perch."

Comey, ever the showman, responded with an Instagram video after the cuffs came calling, brushing off the charges like yesterday's briefing.

"My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn't imagine ourselves living any other way," he said. "We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn't either. Somebody that I love dearly recently said that fear is the tool of a tyrant, and she's right."

Comey's wife and daughter

"But I'm not afraid," Comey added.

"My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I am innocent, so let’s have a trial and keep the faith," Comey said. Fox News Digital's got the exclusive on another deep-state domino: Ex-CIA chief John Brennan's sweating a criminal probe tied to the same Trump-Russia farce.

By federal clock, prosecutors had until Tuesday to drop the charges, five years from the alleged lies.

The Eastern District of Virginia's U.S. Attorney’s Office is steering the ship on this one. Flashback: The FBI kicked off its Trump-Russia obsession in July 2016 under the "Crossfire Hurricane" banner.

Trump fired Comey in May 2017, sparking the inevitable backlash.

Enter Robert Mueller days later as special counsel to inherit the FBI's fever dream probe.After a two-year taxpayer-funded odyssey, Mueller's March 2019 finale? Zilch on criminal collusion between Team Trump and Moscow meddlers in '16.

Then John Durham was assigned as special counsel to autopsy the "Crossfire Hurricane" origins. The FBI blew off a neon-red flag that they were the marks in a Clinton-orchestrated ploy to twist law enforcement for an electoral edge pre-2016.

John Durham

"The aforementioned facts reflect a rather startling and inexplicable failure to adequately consider and incorporate the Clinton Plan intelligence into the FBI's investigative decision-making in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation," Durham’s report states.

"Indeed, had the FBI opened the Crossfire Hurricane investigation as an assessment and, in turn, gathered and analyzed data in concert with the information from the Clinton Plan intelligence, it is likely that the information received would have been examined, at a minimum, with a more critical eye," the report continued.

Durham hammered home: The FBI "failed to act on what should have been, when combined with other incontrovertible facts, a clear warning sign that the FBI might then be the target of an effort to manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes during the 2016 presidential election."

Years in the making, Comey's day in court feels like poetic justice; a reckoning for the Russia hoax architects who bet the house on taking down Trump, only to watch the foundations crack.

If you like Brain Flushings and want to Buy Me A Coffee, I would appreciate it, as it supports my work. Obviously, there is no pressure but I certainly wouldn't stop you. 

Tweet

Durham investigation may have Hillary doing a "Biden" in her pantsuit over Fusion GPS

As John Durham on Wednesday moved ahead with his prosecution of Michael Sussmann, the Hillary Clinton proxy, he shared some good news for America in its fight against evil.

You may recall, several weeks ago, Hillary for America and Fusion GPS attempted to intervene in the trial against Sussmann arguing that documents Durham requested were covered by attorney-client privilege. This was a ridiculous claim since Sussmann previously denied he was working for anyone--he just wanted to be a good citizen--when he went to the FBI with the fake Russian conspiracy theory regarding Alfa Bank and Donald Trump.

It was also documented that Fusion GPS hired Sussmann to do political research, not to offer legal advice.

Leslie McAdoo Gordon shared a post on social media that perfectly encapsulates the situation:

Latham (for Sussman): “He wasn’t acting on behalf of those two clients!”

Durham: “Judge, we’d like to offer these communications into evidence.”

The Clients: “We object! Those communications are covered by attorney-client privilege!”

Durham: pic.twitter.com/nAvKIQU8sv

— Leslie McAdoo Gordon ⚖️ 👠🇺🇸 (@McAdooGordon) April 19, 2022

The trap was set by Durham and Sussmann and Hillary's confederates were caught in it. The documents were allowed and stuff may soon be hitting the proverbial fan.

According to Techno Fog, a close observer and expert on the Fusion GPS/Hillary Clinton saga, says that Durham's motion was granted and the court will get the documents because there is no attorney-client privilege involved since it's pure BS that Sussmann was merely providing legal advice, as a previous case in which Hillary for America settled with the government admitting that factoid.  

These documents will bear out what Sussmann's true arrangement was, and they will be handed over to Durham and his team. The document review will happen on camera, where no funny Hillary business can take place. 

The special counsel will probably find information in those documents to go after other targets involved in the Russian collusion hoax. Hillary's attempt to deep six Durham's work has failed and hopefully we will find out who was paid and who coordinated the attempt to frame former President Trump and use the FBI to do their bidding. 

* * *

Sex. Now that I have your attention: for more hard-hitting content, and a few soft-hitting ones too, subscribe to Brain Flushings and check out the ads on these pages. It costs nothing to subscribe and it's worth every penny. And remember, every time you click on an ad, you help in the fight against John Kerry's global warming, the heebie-jeebies and the dreaded omicron.

* * *

I would like to say heads will roll, but like history has shown us, these people get away with everything short of murder, and the murder part isn't proven. 

Imagine if Crooked Hillary gets indicted. 

Tweet

Hillary's lawyer in deep poo as Durham investigation reveals that he lied to the FBI

Michael Sussmann is facing trial in May for one count of lying to the FBI, like Mike Flynn who may have been tricked into doing the same. For Flynn, a Trump ally, the DOJ recommended he serve 6 months in prison but was pardoned by then-President Trump. If found guilty, it will be interesting to see if Sussmann serves any time.

John Durham's team claims that Sussmann brought data about an alleged connection between Trump and Alfa Bank to James A. Baker at the FBI in 2016. 

Flynn's lie was that he said that he had not spoken to his Russian counterpart, which he did and is actually part of the job he had. 

So Sussmann's lie was to damage Trump, while Flynn's was just stupid but not as bad as Sussmann's, Hillary Clinton's former lawyer.

Sussmann (allegedly) claimed that he was providing the FBI with material as a citizen, not on behalf of his client, Hillary Clinton. Beyond the fact that he lied, Sussmann even billed the campaign for the meeting with the FBI--that's as smart as Jussie Smollett writing a check to his MAGA "attackers."

Sussmann’s own attorneys denied that he lied to the FBI but starting in February they also made an alternative argument. Even if Sussmann had lied to the FBI, that lie would have been “ancillary” and therefore immaterial. This is known as "flip-flopping."

“It has long been a crime to make a false statement to the government. But the law criminalizes only false statements that are material—false statements that matter because they can actually affect a specific decision of the government,” the lawyers wrote, adding that, by contrast, false statements “about ancillary matters” are “immaterial and cannot give rise to criminal liability.”

The flip-flopping may have come from Durham's team revealing that they had a text message sent to James A. Baker at the FBI on the night before they met. So, on September 18, 2016 at 7:24 p.m., the night before they met, Sussmann put his lie in writing and sent the following message to the General Counsel's cellphone:

Jim — It’s Michael Sussmann. I have something time-sensitive (and sensitive) I need to discuss. Do you have availability for a short meeting tomorrow? I’m coming on my own – not on behalf of a client or company – want to help the Bureau. Thanks. 

The FBI General Counsel responded: “Ok. I will find a time. What might work for you?”

* * *

Sex. Now that I have your attention: for more hard-hitting content, and a few soft-hitting ones too, subscribe to Brain Flushings and check out the ads on these pages. It costs nothing to subscribe and it's worth every penny. And remember, every time you click on an ad, you help in the fight against John Kerry's global warming, the heebie-jeebies and the dreaded omicron.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton is back in the news telling lies of her own, lie such as: Joe Biden is a great president.

Tweet

Former DNI Ratcliffe informed Durham intel supports 'multiple' indictments in probe

Here's a story you will net see on CNN, MSNBC, 60 Minutes nor the rest of the legacy media: former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe met with Special Counsel John Durham on several occasions to discuss the existence of intelligence evidence that support indicting "multiple people" in Durham's investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe. [H/T Fox News]

Regarding Durham's latest filing, alleging that lawyers from Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign paid to "infiltrate" servers belonging to Trump Tower and later the White House after Trump took office, in order to establish an "inference" and "narrative" to bring to federal government agencies linking President Trump to Russia.

In October 2020, Fox News reported that Ratcliffe provided about 1,000 pages of material to the Department of Justice to support Durham's investigation.

Ratcliffe said he believed there was "enough evidence" in the material he provided to indict "multiple people."

One key piece, now declassified, revealed that intelligence officials in the CIA forwarded an investigative referral on Hillary Clinton approving "a plan concerning U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering U.S. elections" in order to distract the public from her email scandal to the FBI. Holy crap!

Sources told Fox News that the CIA memo, aka: Counterintelligence Operational Lead (CIOL), was properly forwarded to the FBI, and to the attention of then-FBI Director James "Lordy" Comey and to then-Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Peter Strzok. 

[Strzok was eventually fired after the messages that he and his paramour, Lisa Page exchanged about their hatred for Trump, came to light and the insinuation that Strzok would do something about Trump's presidency.]

Strzok testifying and looking bizarre, like an evil Alfred E. Newman

"The following information is provided for the exclusive use of your bureau for background investigative action or lead purposes as appropriate," the 2016 CIA memo to Comey and Strzok stated.

"This memorandum contains sensitive information that could be source revealing. It should be handled with particular attention to compartmentation and need-to-know. To avoid the possible compromise of the source, any investigative action taken in response to the information below should be coordinated in advance with Chief Counterintelligence Mission Center, Legal," the memo read. "It may not be used in any legal proceeding — including FISA applications — without prior approval …"

"Per FBI verbal request, CIA provides the below examples of information the CROSSFIRE HURRICANE fusion cell has gleaned to date," the memo continued. ""An exchange [REDACTED] discussing US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s approval of a plan concerning US presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering US elections as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private email server."

A source familiar with the matter told Fox News that Ratcliffe, privately, has raised concerns that the CIOL was directed to Comey and Strzok, probably due to their hatred for Trump. As it turned out, there is no evidence that the FBI began an investigation into Clinton's plan as per the CIA referral.

But wait, because there's more.

Ratcliffe had also declassified documents that revealed former CIA Director John Brennan briefed then-President Barack Obama on Hillary’s purported "plan" to tie then-candidate Trump to Russia as "a means of distracting the public from her use of a private email server" ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

Brennan is a contributor to MSNBC and NBC and is a leftist hack.

"We’re getting additional insight into Russian activities from [REDACTED]," Brennan’s declassified notes, which were first obtained by Fox News in October 2020, read. "CITE [summarizing] alleged approved by Hillary Clinton a proposal from one of her foreign policy advisers to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service."

At this point, Durham has indicted three people as part of his investigation: Igor Danchenko on Nov. 4, 2021, Kevin Clinesmith in August 2020, and Michael Sussmann in September 2021.

Danchenko was charged with making a false statement and is accused of lying to the FBI about the source of information that he provided to Christopher Steele for the anti-Trump dossier. Kevin Clinesmith was also charged with making a false statement. Clinesmith had been referred for potential prosecution by the Justice Department's inspector general's office, which conducted its own review of the Russia investigation.

Specifically, the inspector general accused Clinesmith, without naming him, of altering an email about Page to say that he was "not a source" for another government agency while Page said that he was a CIA source. The DOJ relied on that assertion as it submitted a third and final renewal application in 2017 to eavesdrop on Trump campaign aide Carter Page under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

* * *

Why not subscribe to Brain Flushings and check out the ads on these pages. It costs nothing to subscribe and it's worth every penny. And remember, every time you click on an ad, you help in the fight against the tech giants.

* * *

Durham also charged Michael Sussmann, a former Clinton campaign lawyer, with making a false statement to a federal agent. Sussmann has pleaded not guilty, but all the evidence indicates otherwise. The indictment against him says he told then-FBI General Counsel James Baker in September 2016, not even 2 months prior to the 2016 presidential election, that he was not doing work "for any client" when he requested and held a meeting in which he presented "purported data and 'white papers' that allegedly demonstrated a covert communications channel" between the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank, which has ties to the Kremlin. 

But his billing of the Clinton campaign proved him a liar.

Aren't they all liars?

Fake news isn't just about lying in the copy; it's also about omitting or refusing to report on something factual that hurts your political agenda.

Tweet

Jake Sullivan involved in former Clinton shyster lawyer indictment

Jake "the Fake" Sullivan, Biden's  White House national security adviser, is the "foreign policy advisor" referred to in the John Durham Special Counsel indictment  of Michael Sussmann, the presidential lawyer for Hillary Clinton's campaign. Sussmann was indicted for allegedly lying to the FBI on Sept. 16 regarding his connection to the Clinton campaign. 

He has pleaded not guilty.

The Durham probe continues to shine a light on the Hillary campaign and is moving deeper into the Biden White House. Thus far, this is the closest Special Counsel John Durham's investigation  has come into the origins of the Russia investigation to anyone directly associated with the Biden-Harris White House.

The indictment alleges Sussmann told then-FBI General Counsel James Baker he was not doing work "for any client" when he requested and held a September 2016 meeting in which he provided evidence of a purported secret communications channel between then-candidate Donald Trump and Russia.

In fact, Sussmann even billed the Clinton campaign for the meeting, according to Durham’s indictment. Subsequently, the FBI found the story of the alleged link between Trump's presidential campaign and the Russian bank to be complete balderdash.

And the legacy media doing yeoman's work for the Clinton campaign and the Democratic Party, either never checked their reporting or were lying through their capped teeth.

The indictment paints a picture where an unnamed Clinton campaign lawyer "exchanged emails with the Clinton Campaign’s campaign manager, communications director, and foreign policy advisor [Jake Sullivan] concerning the Russian Bank-1 allegations that Sussmann had recently shared," with an unnamed reporter, most likely from either CNN OR MSNBC. 

* * *

Why not subscribe to Brain Flushings and check out the ads on these pages. It costs nothing to subscribe and it's worth every penny. And remember, every time you click on an ad, you help in the fight against the tech giants.

* * *

There is no indication that Sullivan is a target of Durham’s investigation, only that he received information from Sussmann. But if it turns out that he is a target, this will not bode well for Joe Biden's next term, if someone decides for him that he should run.

Additionally, the Durham indictment alleges that Sussmann was working on behalf of a tech industry executive, an American internet company and Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

Prosecutors say Sussmann's "lie" is important because it "misled the FBI General Counsel and other FBI personnel concerning the political nature of his work."

Another grand jury indictment was returned on Nov. 4 for Igor Danchenko, a Russian analyst who is accused of being the primary sub-source in the creative work of political theater known as the Steele Dossier. He is charged with five counts of making false statements to the FBI and his next court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday.

BleachBit may be sponsoring the Democrats' next presidential election campaign.



Tweet

Clinton campaign shyster lawyer Mike Sussmann indicted for allegedly lying to FBI in Russian investigation

It looks as if a Clinton campaign lawyer, Michael Sussmann allegedly lied to the FBI during the Russia investigation, which turned out to be a Democrat false propaganda attempt to attack former President Donald Trump.

The indictment accuses Sussmann, a Hillary Clinton operative, of hiding the fact that he was working for her failed campaign while pushing for an investigation into then-candidate Trump's ties to Russia in 2016. We know how that investigation turned out.

President Trump appointed John Durham to investigate the origins of the Russia probe, with this indictment of Sussmann coming just weeks before the five-year statute of limitations was set to expire. [FUN FACT: Biden, whose Indian name is 'The Hamster is Dead," calls it the "Statue of Limitations,"]

Why not subscribe to Brain Flushings and check out the ads on these pages. It costs nothing to subscribe and it's worth every penny. And remember, every time you click on an ad, you help in the fight against the tech giants.

Sussmann's firm had previously represented the Democratic National Committee. According to the record, the shyster lawyer told the FBI's James Baker in September, 2019 that he was not representing a client when pushing for an investigation into Trump. Had he left out the word "not," there would not be a problem for him; but he lied. Allegedly.

Sussmann denied any wrongdoing, while withholding the fact that he was working on behalf of former failed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's failed and poorly run presidential campaign.

Lawyers for Sussmann say that he "has committed no crime" and that prosecuting him "would be baseless, unprecedented and an unwarranted deviation from the apolitical and principled way in which the Department of Justice is supposed to do its work." 

After all, he's no General Mike Flynn.

Tweet

New evidence damning to Obama in phony Russiagate scandal

Fresh evidence unsealed in the Michael Flynn court battle confirms-not implies-that former President Barack Hussein Obama played a central role in moving forward the whole fake Russiagate "scandal" that rocked the entire country.

Handwritten notes by the disgraced former FBI agent Peter Strzok show that Obama and his comical side-kick, Joe Biden who played along, encouraged the FBI and Department of Justice to investigate Flynn, in spite of their knowledge told to them by the FBI that Flynn's actions "appear legit."

Of course, we should not be too hard with Biden as it's quite possible his mental status is similar to what it is today--lacking the analytical capacity to distinguish his derriere from his elbow.

Strzok notes the document of then FBI chief James "Lordy" Comey's account, which gives more detail of the January 5, 22017 meeting that included Obama, Biden, Comey, Susan Rice and Sally Yates. [Rice was then National Security Adviser and Yates was then Deputy Attorney General.]

On learning that the FBI was set to close its investigation into Flynn after finding no evidence of wrongdoing, Obama and Biden suggested finding ways to keep it open, with Biden bringing up the (dead letter) Logan Act, because he graduated at the bottom third of his law school and didn't realize how preposterous his idea was at the time.

The notes show Obama ordering the continued investigation be kept secret from the incoming Trump administration.  “Make sure you look at things and have the right people on it,” Obama ordered.

After Trump entered the White House, Comey and Yates were able to take out Flynn, thus sidelining White House oversight of the 

In the new administration, holdovers Comey and Yates did manage to take out Flynn, sidelining any effective White House oversight of the unprincipled Russiagate probe — and thus allowing it to grow like fungus.

Biden lied to ABC last month, “I know nothing about those moves to investigate Michael Flynn.” Still, it's possible he forgot as he has reached the point where he cannot identify his wife from his sister without assistance.

Serious-looking US Attorney John Durham is reviewing the origins of the Russiagate probe for signs of impropriety and unlawfulness. The report will hopefully be released to the public before the election in November.

Please consider following this blog, and remember, every time you click on an ad, an angel gets its wings and a dead terrorist gets his virgins.

Tweet

Spook, vets, and libs call for Durham's resignation along with the entire GOP

Now that John Durham is increasing the pressure on former CIA director John Brennan, liberal elites and CIA veterans are calling for Durham to resign.

NBC broke the story in October that U.S. Attorney John Durham's inquiry regarding the Trump-Russia collusion probe has gone into full criminal investigation mode. In fact, Durham planned to interview Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence, James "Not Wittingly" Clapper as well as additional current and former intelligence community officials.

Brennan, who now works for the Comedy News Network [CNN] told NBC at the time that Durham’s investigation was “bizarre.” He was attempting to discredit the investigation because he has so much to lose if found guilty of criminal behavior.

 “I don’t know what the legal basis for this is,” Brennan said. 

The possible reason for his lack of understanding about the legality for the Durham inquiry may have to do with the fact that Brennan is not a lawyer. He studied political science at Fordham University and for his MA studied government at the University of Texas with a concentration of Middle East studies abroad. He speaks Arabic fluently and it is rumored that he has traveled to Mecca where only Muslims are permitted to visit. Go figure.

Ironically, it is Brennan who may have been responsible for the entire Trump-Russia collusion affair, so the fact that he's clueless about the "legal basis" brings to mind a song by The Eagles titled "Your Lying Eyes."

Brennan's fear that Trump might actually win the election in 2016 and his relentless pursuit for "dirt" on Trump while insisting the FBI perform a counterintelligence investigation on him, got the whole affair moving.

After Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) released his "Nunes memo" in the spring of 2018, the American Spectator’s George Neumayr wrote an article entitled, “John Brennan’s CIA operated like a branch office of the Hillary campaign.” 

Neumayr called the Trump-Russia investigation “the probe from nowhere to nowhere, undertaken simply to satisfy the partisan hunches of John Brennan and other Trump haters in the Obama administration.”

Sounds kind of coup-ish, if you ask me.

Neumayr wrote that, based upon Brennan’s testimony and his leaks, he started encouraging the FBI to open an investigation in the spring of 2016. Brennan would present the FBI with what "evidence" and he would “shake down” foreign intelligence officials looking for any "dirt" to hang on Trump. He would then present the information to the now fired FBI official Peter Strzok and other government officials. 

In last December The New York Times, a former newspaper, reported that they had discovered from their source that Durham had requested Brennan’s communications from the CIA. This would include all emails, call records and text messages. 

Also, it was said the Durham team would be scrutinizing transcripts of Brennan’s testimony before Congress looking for inconsistencies, i.e., lies.

But CNN stands behind Brennan as they stand behind Qassem Soleimani and Iran.

Since the Times’ report was published, calls for the resignations of both Durham and Attorney General William Barr have been growing among the ranks of the liberal elites who feel the vice tightening around their collective nuts.

John Brennan may be in deep trouble. Lucky for him he's deep state--nothing will happen to him. Unless . . .

Please consider following this blog, and remember, every time you click on an ad, an angel gets its wings.

Tweet

US Attorney Durham blasts IG findings on Russia probe

U.S. attorney John "No Bull" Durham has been conducting a large scope investigation of how the Trump-Russia probe originated. On Monday, he released a rare and blistering statement that he disagrees with conclusions of the so-called FISA report -- specifically, that DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz found that the launching of the probe basically complied with DOJ and FBI policies.

“Based on the evidence collected to date, and while our investigation is ongoing, last month we advised the Inspector General that we do not agree with some of the report’s conclusions as to predication and how the FBI case was opened,” Durham said in a statement.

The Horowitz report was released Monday and it stated that investigators found no intentional misconduct or political bias over the efforts to start the 2016 probe and to seek a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant to monitor Carter Page, the President's campaign adviser in the early part of the investigation. However, the report found that there were "significant concerns with how certain aspects of the investigation were conducted and supervised."

“I have the utmost respect for the mission of the Office of Inspector General and the comprehensive work that went into the report prepared by Mr. Horowitz and his staff,” Durham said. “However, our investigation is not limited to developing information from within component parts of the Justice Department. Our investigation has included developing information from other persons and entities, both in the U.S. and outside of the U.S.”

Durham, the U.S. attorney for Connecticut has also been conducting a wider investigation into alleged misconduct and improper government surveillance on the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election. The Durham probe became a full criminal investigation publicly around October.

Attorney General William Barr appeared upset as he ripped the FBI over the investigation, calling it “intrusive” and saying it was launched based on the “thinnest of suspicions.”

“The Inspector General’s report now makes clear that the FBI launched an intrusive investigation of a U.S. presidential campaign on the thinnest of suspicions that, in my view, were insufficient to justify the steps taken,” Barr said in a statement.

He also expressed frustration that the FBI continued investigating the Trump campaign, even as “exculpatory” evidence came to the light.

“It is also clear that, from its inception, the evidence produced by the investigation was consistently exculpatory,” Barr said. “Nevertheless, the investigation and surveillance was pushed forward for the duration of the campaign and deep into President Trump’s administration.”

Even former Special Counsel Robert Mueller acknowledged in his report that investigators did not find evidence of a conspiracy between Trump’s campaign and the Russians in 2016 – which the FBI probed extensively.

So the Democrats obviously needed more dirt on Trump to keep the impeachment nonsense going.

Barr pointed out that the FISA report shows a “clear abuse” of the surveillance process, which has apparently been exemplified in Adam Schiff's using congressional subpoena power to go after phone records of GOP Congress members and a reporter.

“In the rush to obtain and maintain FISA surveillance of Trump campaign associates, FBI officials misled the FISA court, omitted critical exculpatory facts from their filings, and suppressed or ignored information negating the reliability of their principal source,” Barr said factually.

He added, “The Inspector General found the explanations given for these actions unsatisfactory. While most of the misconduct identified by the Inspector General was committed in 2016 and 2017 by a small group of now-former FBI officials, the malfeasance and misfeasance detailed in the Inspector General’s report reflects a clear abuse of the FISA process.”


Please consider following this blog and visit the ads on this page.   You can also see my other blog on the Times of Israel.




Tweet

Obama spy leaders amid Russia probe: "Throwing each other under the bus"

A new round of covert finger-pointing has begun among Obama administration officials after the launch of a formal inquiry into the origins of the Russia investigation. The investigation is being led by John Durham, one of the Justice Department’s toughest prosecutors. These officials just might have some explaining to do about efforts that were taken to surveil the Trump campaign.

A key issue that popped up like a wet zit this week concerns whether then-FBI Director James Comey or then-CIA Director John Brennan -- or both of these losers -- pushed the unverified and inaccurate Steele dossier containing claims about President Trump and his relationship to Russia. The dossier’s more sensational claims were never substantiated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team.

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) has long demanded to know about the origins of the Mueller probe tweeted:

“Amazing—James Comey says that in 2016, John Brennan insisted on including the dossier in their IC assessment. But Brennan says: no no, COMEY wanted to use the dossier.” 

Meadows added:

“They know the truth is coming. And now they're all throwing each other under the bus.”

It's actually quite fun to watch.

Sources told Fox News that a late-2016 email chain said that Comey told FBI subordinates that Brennan insisted the dossier be included in the intelligence community assessment (ICA) on Russian interference. That email chain has not been made public.

However, a former CIA official put the blame squarely on Comey, according to Fox News.

"Former Director Brennan, along with former [Director of National Intelligence] James Clapper, are the ones who opposed James Comey’s recommendation that the Steele Dossier be included in the intelligence report," the official said.

Clapper previously testified that the dossier was not ultimately used in the ICA, but with Clapper, the truth can be elusive.

News that Comey had briefed Trump personally on the dossier before the inauguration -- purportedly to warn him of potential blackmail threats -- leaked within days and opened the door for media outlets to publicize the dossier's harsh claims.

Another FBI top official said in a podcast that he and others worried that it could appear to people who fail to see the wonderment, wisdom and spiritual clarity of Comey that he was trying to blackmail Trump when he initially told him about the allegations in the dossier.

The trees and the road know of his purity.

The Justice Department’s watchdog, Michael Horowitz, also is expected to conclude his internal review of how the dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele was used to secure the original surveillance warrant for former Trump aide Carter Page in October 2016, as well as for three renewals since it was built on bull crap.

Horowitz’s team has questioned why the FBI considered Steele, a foreign national, a credible source, and why the bureau seemed to use news reports to bolster Steele’s credibility. Is it even remotely possible Steele, et al, hate Donald Trump?

U.S. Attorney John Huber earlier was appointed by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions to review not only alleged surveillance abuses by the Justice Department and the FBI, but also their handling of the investigation into the Clinton Foundation and other matters. The status of Huber's work is not known but the sweat is starting to form above many an upper lip.


Kindly consider following Brain Flushings and please visit the ads on these pages. Thank you.




Tweet

Barr assigns US attorney to investigate spying involving Trump campaign

Attorney General Bill Barr has assigned U.S. attorney John Durham to determine the origins of the Russia investigation in order to see if intelligence collection of the Trump campaign was "lawful and appropriate."

Durham previously has investigated law enforcement corruption, the destruction of CIA videotapes and the Boston FBI office's relationship with mobsters. He is to continue to serve as the chief federal prosecutor in Connecticut and is considered to be apolitical.

Unlike the DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, Durham will have subpoena power to investigate both current and former employees of the FBI and other agencies that may be involved. The IG's subpoena power only extends to current employees as he investigates potential surveillance abuses by the FBI, which should make the former director, James Comey, quake in his Dockers Top-Siders.

House Republican Reps. Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows wrote to Durham in January seeking a briefing, saying they had "discovered" that Durham's office was "investigating [former FBI General Counsel James Baker] for unauthorized disclosures to the media."

Durham's appointment comes about a month after Barr used a "dirty word" and told members of Congress he believed "spying did occur" on the Trump campaign in 2016. He later said he didn't mean anything pejorative by the word 'spying' and was gathering a team to look into the origins of the special counsel's investigation. Democrats, who have used that dirty word in the past, were appalled by its use when it implied that they might have been doing it.

Fox News reported:

In obtaining a secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant to surveil former Trump aide Carter Page, the FBI copy-pasted directly from a disputed Washington Post opinion article to suggest the Trump campaign may have been compromised. The bureau also repeatedly assured the court that it "did not believe" British ex-spy Christopher Steele was the direct source for a Yahoo News article implicating Page in Russian collusion.

London court records showed that contrary to the FBI's assessments, former British intelligence agent Steele briefed Yahoo News and other reporters in the fall of 2016 at the direction of Fusion GPS -- the opposition research firm behind the dossier. Fusion GPS was retained by the [execrable] Hillary Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee (DNC), a piece of information not stated in the FISA application.

Now it's time to grab the popcorn and watch the show as Democrats are doing everything the can to distract from what's going on in the background.

Kindly consider following Brain Flushings and please visit the ads on these pages. Thank you.

Tweet