Representative Doug Collins appears with Lou Dobbs to discuss the expiring FISA authorization and a push by some in DC for a clean renewal instead of structurally changing the FISA system to prohibit abuse.

Additionally, Mr. Dobbs asks Collins about Mitch McConnell’s back-room effort to block his senate campaign.  McConnell has a well-used playbook he deploys to retain power at all costs and select candidates that will be indebted to his Senate schemes. Doug Collins is up against the same Senate machine readers here are very familiar with:

Initially the DOJ and FBI wanted to include (bury/hide) a FISA renewal effort within the Coronavirus spending bill.  However, facing sunlight and backlash from democrats & republicans in congress, along with push-back from President Trump, that approach appears to have been scrapped. Hence the current timing of a FISC opinion and order.

The FISA Court has responded to the overall reform proposal of the DOJ and FBI [FISC Link Here]. However, in the opinion & order today, written by Presiding Judge Boasberg, the court does not address the ongoing downstream investigative consequences from the fraudulent Carter Page FISA application.  Instead the presiding judge focuses narrowly on the DOJ and FBI proposals for future applications.

The issues of what evidence the FBI/DOJ gathered from the exploitation of the fraudulent warrant is not addressed.  Nor does the court deal with the downstream issues of what cases may have been enhanced with illegally obtained surveillance authority.  Additionally, how the DOJ and FBI are attempting to round-up (“sequester”) any evidence that was gathered as a result of the fraudulent and unlawful FISA application is also not addressed.

Instead, within his opinion & order Judge Boasberg focuses exclusively on the recommendations from Amici Curiae David Kris, the appointed arbiter and liaison between the court and the DOJ, along with the changes proposed by FBI Director Christopher Wray and U.S. AG Bill Barr to the FISA application process.

The FISC opinion and order is embedded below and available in pdf form here.  I would strongly urge everyone to read it and make up your own mind.  From my perspective the 19-page outline is ridiculous.

The only FISC reform proposed, that could dissuade corrupt exploitation of the court, is simply a ruling that no DOJ or FBI official is allowed to participate in the FISA process if they are caught -and under review- for engaging in illicit conduct.   There are no legal consequences upon any DOJ or FBI member for any fraud upon the court in the past, present or future; they just get put in time-out.

The court walks through some of the Carter Page issues that need to be addressed by the FBI to ensure they do not take place again.

The court then asks the obvious question:  How to keep it from happening again?

The court points out that reminding FBI and DOJ officials they are not allowed to falsify information to the FISA court is a little weak… all things considered:

The court also notes, obliquely, that unlawfully accessing a database to acquire evidence to support a FISA application is itself an issue of unlawful application assembly.

Hence the FISC notes the FBI is committed to “short and long-term technological improvements” that might stop the unlawful exploitation of databases containing the private information of Americans….  That’s the unwritten and implied message.

So that’s nice.

The court ends up agreeing mostly that FISA applications are based on the honor system, and in that process the only thing the FISC can suggest/order is for the FBI to have stronger attestations to the truthfulness and fullness of the application itself.

The court revises the language suggested for compliance forms and asks the DOJ and FBI to change the applications to include these more strongly worded promises and affirmations.

However, when there’s no legal punishment (serious prison time) for lying or manipulating the FISA applications, there is no reason to believe that double-dog swearing and promising will mean anything different when it comes to corrupt intents and purposes within the secret court process.

Here’s the opinion and order.  Judge for yourself:

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ps. It should be noted that Judge Boasberg was also the federal judge who blocked the release of the Comey memos and declarations by Mueller’s lead FBI agent David Archey.

Senator Rand Paul reported earlier this evening that he met with President Trump in the White House to discuss the pending FISA reauthorization.  According to Senator Paul President Trump will not support reauthorization without “significant FISA reform”.

Senator Paul appears with Lou Dobbs to discuss the latest developments.  The position being put forth by Rand Paul is exactly correct.  Change the law so that FISA can only be used against foreign actors, and force the DOJ or intelligence apparatus to go to a normal Title-3 court for a search/surveillance warrant against any American. WATCH:

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The Senate is scheduled to go back into recess March 13, 2020.  Additionally, the DOJ/FBI response to the FISA court order (due February 5th) has still not been made public.  If congress is going to reauthorize the controversial FISA provisions, they have nine days.

In November of 2019 buried deep in the congressional budget Continuing Resolution (CR) was a short-term extension to reauthorize the FISA “business records provision”, the “roving wiretap” provision, the “lone wolf” provision, and the more controversial bulk metadata provisions [Call Detail Records (CDR)], all parts of the Patriot Act.  As a result of the FISA CR inclusion the terminal deadline was pushed to March 15, 2020.

Prior to the December 9, 2019, inspector general report on FISA abuse, FISA Court judges Rosemary Collyer (declassified 2017) and James Boasberg (declassified 2019) both identified issues with the NSA bulk database collection program being exploited for unauthorized reasons. For the past several years no corrective action taken by the intelligence community has improved the abuses outlined by the FISA court.

Keep in mind the deadline for the DOJ to respond to the FISA court about the abusive intelligence practices identified in the Horowitz report was February 5th, more than four weeks ago. The responses from the DOJ and FBI have not been made public.

FISA Court Order – FISA Court Notice of Extension.

It appears the DOJ is trying to get the FISA reauthorization passed before the FISC declassifies the corrective action outlined from the prior court order. This response would also include information about the “sequestering” of evidence gathered as a result of the now admitted fraudulent and misrepresented information within the FISA applications.

The FISA “business records provision”, the “roving wiretap” provision, the “lone wolf” provision, and the more controversial bulk metadata provisions [Call Detail Records (CDR)], again all parts of the Patriot Act, must not be reauthorized without a full public vetting of the abuses that have taken place for the past several years.

At a minimum the pending DOJ/FBI response to the FISA court needs to be made public prior to any reauthorization by congress. And to better understand the scale of the issue, the consequences when the system is abused, the upstream sequester material needs to be made public.

Let the American public see what investigative evidence was unlawfully gathered, and let us see who and what was exposed by the fraudulently obtained FISA warrants. At a minimum congress and the American people need to understand the scale of what can happen when the system is wrong – BEFORE that exact same system is reauthorized.

Declassification of existing records would reveal the November 2015 through April 2016 FISA-702 search query abuse as outlined in the April 2017 court opinion written by FISC Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer.  Who exactly are these private sector FBI contractors behind the 85% fraudulent search queries?  This was a weaponized surveillance and domestic political spying operation. [The trail was laid down in specific detail by Judge Collyer – SEE HERE]

The U.S. constitution’s fourth amendment is being violated by the continued abuse of bulk metadata collection, particularly when private contractors and government officials illegally access the system.  The 2016 FISA review (party declassified in 2017) and the 2018 FISA review (party declassified in 2019) both show ongoing and systematic wrongdoing despite all prior corrective action and promises.

This needs to be stopped.

Ohio congressman Jim Jordan appears on Fox News to discuss the current status of FISA reauthorization and the reason why reforms to the process are needed.   Additionally, Jordan outlines why there is partisan resistance to the nomination of John Ratcliffe as Director of National Intelligence (DNI).

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Representatives requesting FISA reform prior to renewal include: Mark Meadows, Jim Jordan, Doug Collins, Jody Rice, Devin Nunes and Steve Scalise. Additionally, Senators Mike Lee, Ted Cruz and Senator Rand Paul are trying to force reform or let the current version expire. AG Bill Barr is requesting a clean FISA renewal with no reforms or revisions. Senate Leader Mitch McConnell and Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham support the AG request.

The Senate is scheduled to go back into recess March 13, 2020.  Additionally, the DOJ/FBI response to the FISA court order (due February 5th) has still not been made public.  If congress is going to reauthorize the controversial FISA provisions, they have ten days.

In November of 2019 buried deep in the congressional budget Continuing Resolution (CR) was a short-term extension to reauthorize the FISA “business records provision”, the “roving wiretap” provision, the “lone wolf” provision, and the more controversial bulk metadata provisions [Call Detail Records (CDR)], all parts of the Patriot Act.  As a result of the FISA CR inclusion the terminal deadline was pushed to March 15, 2020.

AG Bill Barr is requesting a clean FISA renewal with no reforms or revisions. Senate Leader Mitch McConnell and Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham support the AG request.

Representatives requesting FISA reform prior to renewal include: Mark Meadows, Jim Jordan, Doug Collins, Jody Rice, Devin Nunes and Steve Scalise. Additionally, Senators Mike Lee, Ted Cruz and Senator Rand Paul are trying to force reform or let the current version expire. The American people want it scrapped, or, at a minimum strongly revised.

Congress is trying to hide the FISA renewal within the Coronavirus appropriations bill.

Prior to the December 9, 2019, inspector general report on FISA abuse, FISA Court judges Rosemary Collyer (declassified 2017) and James Boasberg (declassified 2019) both identified issues with the NSA bulk database collection program being exploited for unauthorized reasons. For the past several years no corrective action taken by the intelligence community has improved the abuses outlined by the FISA court.

Keep in mind the deadline for the DOJ to respond to the FISA court about the abusive intelligence practices identified in the Horowitz report was February 5th, more than four weeks ago. The responses from the DOJ and FBI have not been made public.

FISA Court Order – FISA Court Notice of Extension.

It appears the DOJ is trying to get the FISA reauthorization passed before the FISC declassifies the corrective action outlined from the prior court order. This response would also include information about the “sequestering” of evidence gathered as a result of the now admitted fraudulent and misrepresented information within the FISA applications.

The FISA “business records provision”, the “roving wiretap” provision, the “lone wolf” provision, and the more controversial bulk metadata provisions [Call Detail Records (CDR)], again all parts of the Patriot Act, must not be reauthorized without a full public vetting of the abuses that have taken place for the past several years.

At a minimum the pending DOJ/FBI response to the FISA court needs to be made public prior to any reauthorization by congress. And to better understand the scale of the issue, the consequences when the system is abused, the upstream sequester material needs to be made public.

Let the American public see what investigative evidence was unlawfully gathered, and let us see who and what was exposed by the fraudulently obtained FISA warrants. At a minimum congress and the American people need to understand the scale of what can happen when the system is wrong – BEFORE that exact same system is reauthorized.

Declassification of existing records would reveal the November 2015 through April 2016 FISA-702 search query abuse as outlined in the April 2017 court opinion written by FISC Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer.  Who exactly are these private sector FBI contractors behind the 85% fraudulent search queries?  This was a weaponized surveillance and domestic political spying operation. [The trail was laid down in specific detail by Judge Collyer – SEE HERE]

The U.S. constitution’s fourth amendment is being violated by the continued abuse of bulk metadata collection, particularly when private contractors and government officials illegally access the system.  The 2016 FISA review (party declassified in 2017) and the 2018 FISA review (party declassified in 2019) both show ongoing and systematic wrongdoing despite all prior corrective action and promises.

This needs to be stopped.

A comprehensively corrupt U.S. intelligence apparatus warns voters that foreign influences are attempting to support any candidate adverse to the interests of a corrupt Intelligence Community. Americans “must remain aware that foreign actors continue to try to influence public sentiment and shape voter perceptions.”

(LINK)

What a Deep State message.  According to the interests who transmit the warning…

It’s not the demonstrably proven history of corrupt political activity by officials running U.S. intelligence agencies that has eroded public trust in these institutions.   Why no, it’s foreign actors who amplify the sunlight upon proven corrupt political activity by officials running the intelligence agencies….. We swear, it’s their fault – Trust us.

President Trump is disrupting decades of multinational financial interests who use the U.S. as a host for their ideological endeavors. President Trump is confronting multinational corporations and the global constructs of economic systems that were put in place to the detriment of the host (USA) ie. YOU. There are trillions at stake; it is all about the economics; all else is chaff and countermeasures.

We are already familiar how China, Mexico and ASEAN nations export our raw materials (ore, coking coal, rare earth minerals etc.). The raw materials are used to manufacture goods overseas, the cheap durable goods are then shipped back into the U.S. for purchase.

It is within this decades-long process where we lost the manufacturing base, and the multinational economic planners (World Trade Organization) put us on a path to being a “service driven” economy.

The road to a “service-driven economy” is paved with a great disparity between financial classes. The wealth gap is directly related to the inability of the middle-class to thrive.

Elite financial interests, including those within Washington DC, gain wealth and power, the U.S. workforce is reduced to servitude, “service”, of their affluent needs.

The destruction of the U.S. industrial and manufacturing base is EXACTLY WHY the wealth gap has exploded in the past 30 years.

Continue reading →

House Intelligence Committee ranking member Devin Nunes appears on Fox News to discuss his outlook on the nomination of John Ratcliffe as Director of National Intelligence.

Additionally, Nunes discusses how the Democrats are attempting to weaponize the Coronavirus scare and information about a new Ukrainian investigation into Joe and Hunter Biden and their corrupt influence scheme surrounding Burisma.

Chopper pressers are the best pressers.  Departing the White House for a rally in South Carolina, the president stopped to answer questions from the press pool.  [Video and Transcript below]

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. I’m going to South Carolina, a big rally. A lot of people — thousands of people outside and it’s going to be very exciting. We have a big day tomorrow, in terms of the Democrats watching. See what happens. And then, on Tuesday, you have a very big day, so it will be interesting to see.

We’re at the same number. A lot of people are getting better. Very much better. The 15 number. Plus we took in, as you know — from Japan, we took in some great American people and citizens and they’re getting better very rapidly. They’re doing very well. All of them are doing well.

The 15 people, likewise, we have them down to a much lower number. They’re in good shape. Most of them are in really good shape. One of the people is — I wouldn’t say “not doing well,” but it’s very — she’s very sick. But she’s hopefully getting better.

But we’re at the same number. We’ve only — so, it — essentially, we’ve only had 15. And a lot of that is because we called it early. We — we were — we made a decision very early to close up our borders to certain areas of the world and we did that. And so we are hopefully getting lower from that number, but let’s see what happens into the future.

Some countries are doing well; some countries are not doing well. You can see that for yourself. And a lot of things are happening. We’re very well organized. We have great talent, great doctors, great — great everyone. There’s tremendous spirit. A lot of spirit.

And, as you know, with the flu, on average, we lose from 26,000 to 78,000 people a year — even more than that, in some cases, some years. We haven’t lost anybody yet. And hopefully, we can keep that intact. We — there have been no deaths in the United States at all. A lot of that is attributable to the fact that we closed the border very early. Otherwise, it could be a different story.

So we’ll — we’ll just keep doing a good job. We’re ordering a lot of supplies. We’re ordering a lot of — a lot of elements that, frankly, we wouldn’t be ordering unless it was something like this. But we’re ordering a lot of different elements of medical. We are working on cures and we’re getting some very good results.

As you know, they’re working as rapidly as they can on a vaccine for the future. And, with that, I think I can head out.

Q Mr. President, what can your administration do to limit the risk of an economic recession?

Q This is the worst week for stocks since the financial crisis. Is this more of an economic or public health crisis?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think it’s just people don’t know. It’s the unknown. You know, they look at it and they say, “How long will this last?” I think they’re not very happy with the Democrat candidates, when they see them. I think that has an impact.

And we think — we think we’re going to win. We think we’re going to win easily, but you never know. It’s an election. I don’t think that’s helping.

But I think that, basically, it’s the unknown a little bit. But I feel very confident and our people are doing a fantastic job.

And again, we haven’t seen an increase and people are getting better. Almost everybody that we see is getting better. And it could be everybody, too.

Q (Inaudible) it is a crisis? And how much time are you spending on it?

THE PRESIDENT: No, I — well, I’m spending a lot of time on it, just in coordination. Mike Tence [sic] — Pence is doing a great job. Dr. Fauci — Dr. Fauci is great. They’re all doing, really, a fanta- — Alex Azar is right on top of it. We’re all watching it very closely. We don’t want any bad surprises.

Q Sir, on Syria — on Syria, do you think NATO should help Turkey in Syria to protect Turkish soldiers in Syria or not?

THE PRESIDENT: What is it?

Q Should NATO be involved in protec- — helping Turkey to protect its soldiers in Syria?

THE PRESIDENT: You’re going to have to speak up. This thing is —

Q Mr. President, will you expand the travel ban to the countries that aren’t allowed in — for example, from Italy?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, we’re looking at that right now and we’re looking at a couple of countries — a few countries that have a little bit disproportionately high number. And we’re going to make that decision very soon.

Q And then, is this a hoax? Your Chief of Staff seemed to suggest that our coverage of this was a hoax. Do you think this is a hoax?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think that the media is — yes, I think that CNN is a very disreputable network. I think they’re doing everything they can to instill fear in people and I think it’s ridiculous. And I think they’re very disreputable.

And some of the Democrats are doing it the way it should be, but some of them are trying to gain political favor by saying a lot of untruths.

The fact is, I made one decision that was a very important decision and that was to close our country to a certain area of the world that was relatively heavily infected. And because of that, we’re talking about 15 — who seem to all be getting better. One is questionable.

And, had that decision not been made, it could be a much different story. So, some people are giving us credit —

Q (Inaudible) the CDC has overestimated the risk?

THE PRESIDENT: Quiet. Some people are giving us credit for that, and some people aren’t. But the only ones that aren’t, they don’t mean it; it’s political. It’s politics.

So, speaking of politics, I’m going to South Carolina. I think we’re going to do fantastically there and it will be very interesting to see what happens tomorrow.

Thank you.

Q Are you talking to CEOs about the stock market, sir?

THE PRESIDENT: Say it?

Q Are you talking to CEOs about the stock market, sir? What are they telling you, the business community?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think the stock market is a reflection of this, plus I also think the people are not happy when they look at what’s running on the other side. You know, it is an election and I think we’re going to do very well in the election, but it still is an election and I don’t think people are very inspired when they see the people running on the other side.

But we’re going to win and that’ll solve that problem. And after we win, you’ll see a rise in the stock market like you haven’t seen before.

Q Have you talked to the Fed about intervening or doing something?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I hope the Fed gets involved. You know, I’m not a big fan of the Fed. You know that. I think they make a lot of mistakes. They’ve made a lot of mistakes. But I hope the Fed gets involved and I hope they get involved soon.

If you look at Germany, they’re putting in a lot of money and they’re probably lowering rates still further. You look at other countries; they’re all stuffing the till. They’re all going in there. They’re putting a lot of money. And our Fed sits there, doesn’t do what they’re supposed to be doing. But that’s up to them. That’s up to them. They’re independent. But they’ve done this country a great disservice.

Thank you very much.

END 4:37 P.M. EST