Julian Assange of WikiLeaks was charged with conspiring to obtain national security secrets in what prosecutors have described as one of the largest compromises of classified information in U.S. history. They filed 18 new charges against Assange, which include allegations that he aided and abetted former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning’s efforts to leak classified documents to the anti-secrecy group. Prosecutors alleged that Assange did so with reason to believe that the information would be used to injure the United States or help a foreign country.
The charges include one count of conspiracy to receive national security information, seven counts of obtaining it, nine counts of disclosing it and one count of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion. They also have argued that Assange also revealed the names of intelligence sources in Afghanistan, China, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. Naturally, they would love to imprison him for life, but will probably give him a number like 50 to 80 years so he remains there until he dies.
Assange was not charged for simply receiving classified documents like a journalist. They claim that no responsible journalist would release the classified names of intelligence sources. Therefore, they are seeking to distinguish him to avoid any claim of a journalist and First Amendment rights.
Now that we are aware Trey Gowdy had written a letter to AG Eric Holder about the DOJ assembling research files on political targets in 2012, and then seemingly did nothing about it, his downstream commentary is even more, well, interesting.
In this interview, Trey Gowdy is discussing the current self-interested positioning of former FBI Director James Comey; and contrasts Comey’s current sanctimony against the reality of what FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok expressed.
All of the same deep state actors/manipulators keep surfacing and resurfacing, like a game of whac-a-mole, as sunlight gets closer to revealing their corrupt behavior.
In the most recent example the familiar Senate Intelligence Committee Vice-Chairman Mark Warner pops his head-up to write a letter to the intelligence community telling them to defy the executive branch declassification directive, and turn to democrats in the legislative branch to defend them:
(Via AP) […] Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, in a letter obtained by The Associated Press, said he fears Trump is giving Barr “the right to selectively declassify certain information for purposes of political gain.” He asked that the leaders of the nation’s spy agencies contact lawmakers if Barr’s investigation threatens their work. (read more)
Laughably, predictably, and certainly not coincidentally, former FBI Director James Comey jumps quick to the typeset and writes a supportive op-ed for the Washinton Post:
As director, I was determined that the work would be done carefully, professionally and discreetly. We were just starting. If there was nothing to it, we didn’t want to smear Americans. If there was something to it, we didn’t want to let corrupt Americans know we were onto them. So, we kept it secret. That’s how the FBI approaches all counterintelligence cases.
Blah, blah, blah… squeal, squeal, squeal.
[…] We investigated. We didn’t gather information about the campaign’s strategy. We didn’t “spy” on anyone’s campaign. We investigated to see whether it was true that Americans associated with the campaign had taken the Russians up on any offer of help. By late October, the investigators thought they had probable cause to get a federal court order to conduct electronic surveillance of a former Trump campaign adviser named Carter Page. Page was no longer with the campaign, but there was reason to believe he was acting as an agent of the Russian government. (read more)
So the most ‘competent’ investigative unit in the U.S. apparatus, had “reason to believe” Carter Page was an agent of the Russian government (he wasn’t/isn’t) and yet couldn’t figure that out after six months of investigative review?
That’s his story and Comey is sticking to it… “By-the-book” etc.
Ridiculous.
Embarrassing.
And let us not forget, the FBI -led by Christopher Wray- is still fighting to keep the memos written by James Comey hidden from public review:
Following the conclusion of the Mueller probe, FBI Agent David Archey was moved. Effective March 8, 2019, Archey became head of the Richmond, VA, FBI field office. (link) Due to the corrupt nature of the special counsel, this is somewhat concerning. I digress…
The first three pages of the filing consist of David Archey explaining to the court that some of the material can be released, but other material must be withheld. He then goes on to reference two prior sealed attachments outlined as “Exhibit A” and “Exhibit B”.
“Exhibit A” is a filing from the FBI on January 31st, 2018, essentially supporting an earlier “in camera ex parte declaration” requesting continuance of a prior court order to keep the background material sealed from public view. In essence, the FBI didn’t want the public to know what was/is contained within the Comey memos (including the scale thereof).
“Exhibit B” is where the action is.
This is the original declaration outlining to the court on October 13th, 2017, why the Comey memos must be sealed. It is inside this exhibit where we discover there are many more memos than previously understood, and the content of those memos is far more exhaustive because James Comey documented the FBI investigation.
In essence Comey created these memos to cover his ass. (pg 13):
FBI Agent Archey then goes on to explain what is inside the memos: It is in this section where we discover that Comey made notes of his meetings and conversations with investigators.
Along with writing notes of the meetings and conversations, apparently Comey also made notes of the sources and methods associated with the investigation. Why would Comey generate classified information in these notes (sources and methods) unless he was just covering his ass because he knew the investigation itself was a risk…
The content of the memos seems rather exhaustive; it appears Comey is keeping a diary for use in the event this operation went sideways. (page #14, exhibit B)
All of those investigative elements would likely be contained in official FBI files and notes by the investigative agents. There is no need for a contemporaneous personal account of meeting content unless Comey was constructing memos for his own protection. These memos appear to be motivated by the same mindset that caused Susan Rice to generate her email to self on inauguration day.
In the next section FBI Agent David Archey explains the scale of the memos. There are obviously far more than previously discussed or disclosed publicly. Additionally, look carefully at the way the second part is worded.
Archey is saying Comey’s written recollections should be withheld because it might affect the testimony of people familiar with the “memorialized conversations”. (page #15, Exhibit B)
This is an October 2017 filing, Comey was fired May 9th. FBI Agent Archey is outlining Trump as the target who might have adjusted his testimony. Again, more evidence of the special counsel focus being motivated by the obstruction case they were hoping to build. [Reminder, Comey was still FBI director at the time these memos were written]
The next section gets to the heart of why the FBI wants to keep the Comey memos hidden and not released.
In this section Archey outlines how FBI Director James Comey wrote down who the sources were; what code-names were assigned; how those confidential sources engaged with FISA coverage initiated by the FBI; what foreign governments were assisting with their effort; and what the plans were for the investigation.
Again, why memorialize all of this classified information unless the Comey memos were intended as CYA protection for himself?
The good news is that AG William Barr can declassify the Comey Memos. We now know there is a set of documents, a diary of sorts, that could be released.
The Mueller investigation is over. If the FBI was running an honest and genuine investigation; what do they have to fear from the release of the Comey Memos now that the investigation is over.
Reuters is reporting the DNC paid Dossier author, Christopher Steele, is refusing to be questioned by DOJ investigator John Durham. This follows a pattern of Chris Steele refusing to talk to congress and also refusing to talk to Inspector General Michael Horowitz. Obviously, he has multiple somethings to hide….
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The former British spy who produced a dossier describing alleged links between Donald Trump and Russia will not cooperate with a prosecutor assigned by U.S. Attorney General William Barr to review how the investigations of Trump and his 2016 election campaign began, a source with knowledge of the situation said.
Christopher Steele, a former Russia expert for the British spy agency MI6, will not answer questions from prosecutor John Durham, named by Barr to examine the origins of the investigations into Trump and his campaign team, said the source close to Steele’s London-based private investigation firm, Orbis Business Intelligence.
Trump has given Barr broad authority to declassify intelligence materials related to the investigations. Last week Trump ordered the heads of U.S. spy and law enforcement agencies to cooperate with Durham. (read more)
Former U.S. Attorney to the District of Columbia, Joe diGenova, discusses the declassification of intelligence documents relating to political surveillance; and the origin of the database abuses outlined by FISC Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer…
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With President Trump returning from Japan tomorrow (5/28); and with the upcoming state visit to the U.K. coming June 3rd; a declassification “window of opportunity” opens between this Wednesday 5/29 and Saturday 6/2.
Given last weeks visit to Main Justice by congressman Mark Meadows; and considering the visit was specifically to review unredacted Page-Strzok-McCabe messages; it could be surmised the first series of declassified documents might be those communiques. Additionally, John Solomon has stated “Bucket Five” is likely the first release prior to the IG report:
Bucket Five – Intelligence documents that were presented to the Gang of Eight in 2016 that pertain to the FISA application used against U.S. person Carter Page; including all exculpatory intelligence documents that may not have been presented to the FISA Court. Presumably this would include the recently revealed State Dept Kavalac email; and the FBI transcripts from wiretaps of George Papadopoulos (also listed in Carter Page FISA).
Now that we have significant research files on the 2015 and 2016 political surveillance program; which includes the trail evident within the Weissmann/Mueller report; in combination with the Obama-era DOJ “secret research project” (their words, not mine); we are able to overlay the entire objective and gain a full understanding of how political surveillance was conducted over a period of approximately four to six years.
This is likely why there is institutional panic.
Working with a timeline, but also referencing origination material in 2015/2016 – CTH has tried to show how the program operated. The exploitation of government collected information explains an evolution from the IRS Files in 2010 to the FISA Files in 2016.
More importantly, research indicates the modern political exploitation of the NSA database, for weaponized intelligence surveillance of politicians, began mid 2012.
The FISA-702 database extraction process, and utilization of the protections within the smaller intelligence community, was the primary process. We start by reviewing the established record from the 99-page FISC opinion rendered by Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer on April 26th, 2017; and explain the details within the FISC opinion.
I would strongly urge everyone to read the FISC report (full pdf below) because Judge Collyer outlines how the DOJ, which includes the FBI, had an “institutional lack of candor” in responses to the FISA court. In essence, the Obama administration was continually lying to the court about their activity, and the rate of fourth amendment violations for illegal searches and seizures of U.S. persons’ private information for multiple years.
Unfortunately, due to intelligence terminology Judge Collyer’s brief and ruling is not an easy read for anyone unfamiliar with the FISA processes outlined. The complexity also helps the media avoid discussing, and as a result most Americans have no idea the scale and scope of the issues. So we’ll try to break down the language.
For the sake of brevity and common understanding CTH will highlight the most pertinent segments showing just how systemic and troublesome the unlawful electronic surveillance was.
Early in 2016 NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers was alerted to a significant uptick in FISA-702(17) “About” queries; these are searches using the FBI/NSA database that holds all metadata records on every form of electronic communication.
The NSA compliance officer alerted NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers who then initiated a full compliance audit on/around March 9th, 2016, for the period of November 1st, 2015, through May 1st, 2016.
While the audit was ongoing, due to the severity of the results that were identified, Admiral Mike Rogers stopped anyone from using the 702(17) “about query” option, and went to the extraordinary step of blocking all FBI contractor access to the database on April 18, 2016(keep these dates in mind).
Here are some significant segments:
The key takeaway from these first paragraphs is how the search query results were exported from the NSA database to users who were not authorized to see the material. The FBI contractors were conducting searches and then removing, or ‘exporting’, the results. Later on, the FBI said all of the exported material was deleted.
Searching the highly classified NSA database is essentially a function of filling out search boxes to identify the user-initiated search parameter and get a return on the search result.
FISA-702(16) is a search of the system returning a U.S. person (“702”); and the “16” is a check box to initiate a search based on “To and From“. Example, if you put in a date and a phone number and check “16” as the search parameter the user will get the returns on everything “To and From” that identified phone number for the specific date. Calls, texts, contacts etc. Including results for the inbound and outbound contacts.
FISA-702(17) is a search of the system returning a U.S. person (702); and the “17” is a check box to initiate a search based on everything “About” the search qualifier. Example, if you put a date and a phone number and check “17” as the search parameter the user will get the returns of everything about that phone. Calls, texts, contacts, geolocation (or gps results), account information, user, service provider etc. As a result, 702(17) can actually be used to locate where the phone (and user) was located on a specific date or sequentially over a specific period of time which is simply a matter of changing the date parameters.
And that’s just from a phone number.
Search an ip address “about” and read all data into that server; put in an email address and gain everything about that account. Or use the electronic address of a GPS enabled vehicle (about) and you can withdraw more electronic data and monitor in real time. Search a credit card number and get everything about the account including what was purchased, where, when, etc. Search a bank account number, get everything about transactions and electronic records etc. Just about anything and everything can be electronically searched; everything has an electronic ‘identifier’.
The search parameter is only limited by the originating field filled out. Names, places, numbers, addresses, etc. By using the “About” parameter there may be thousands or millions of returns. Imagine if you put “@realdonaldtrump” into the search parameter? You could extract all following accounts who interacted on Twitter, or Facebook etc. You are only limited by your imagination and the scale of the electronic connectivity.
As you can see below, on March 9th, 2016, internal auditors noted the FBI was sharing “raw FISA information, including but not limited to Section 702-acquired information”.
In plain English the raw search returns were being shared with unknown entities without any attempt to “minimize” or redact the results. The person(s) attached to the results were named and obvious. There was no effort to hide their identity or protect their 4th amendment rights of privacy:
But what’s the scale here? This is where the story really lies.
Read this next excerpt carefully.
The operators were searching “U.S Persons”. The review of November 1, 2015, to May 1, 2016, showed “eighty-five percent of those queries” were unlawful or “non compliant”.
85% !! “representing [redacted number]”.
We can tell from the space of the redaction the number of searches were between 1,000 and 9,999 [five digits]. If we take the middle number of 5,000 – that means 4,250 unlawful searches out of 5,000.
The [five digit] amount (more than 1,000, less than 10,000), and 85% error rate, was captured in a six month period.
Also notice this very important quote: “many of these non-compliant queries involved the use of the same identifiers over different date ranges.” So they were searching the same phone number, email address, electronic “identifier”, or people, repeatedly over different dates. Specific people were being tracked/monitored.
Additionally, notice the last quote: “while the government reports it is unable to provide a reliable estimate of” these non lawful searches “since 2012, there is no apparent reason to believe the November 2015 [to] April 2016 coincided with an unusually high error rate”.
That means the 85% unlawful FISA-702(16)(17) database abuse has likely been happening since 2012. (Again, remember that date, 2012) Who was FBI Director? Who was his chief-of-staff? Who was CIA Director? ODNI? etc. Remember, the NSA is inside the Pentagon (Defense Dept) command structure. Who was Defense Secretary? And finally, who wrote and signed-off-on the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment?
Tens of thousands of searches over four years (since 2012), and 85% of them are illegal. The results were extracted for?…. (I believe this is all political opposition use; and I’ll explain why momentarily.)
OK, that’s the stunning scale; but who was involved?
Private contractors with access to “raw FISA information that went well beyond what was necessary to respond to FBI’s requests“:
And as noted, the contractor access was finally halted on April 18th, 2016.
[Coincidentally (or not), the wife of Fusion-GPS founder Glenn Simpson, Mary Jacoby, goes to the White House the next day on April 19th, 2016.]
None of this is conspiracy theory.
All of this is laid out inside this 99-page opinion from FISC Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer who also noted that none of this FISA abuse was accidental in a footnote on page 87: “deliberate decisionmaking“:
This specific footnote, if declassified, would be key. Note the phrase: “([redacted] access to FBI systems was the subject of an interagency memorandum of understanding entered into [redacted])”, this sentence has the potential to expose an internal decision; withheld from congress and the FISA court by the Obama administration; that outlines a process for access and distribution of surveillance data.
Note: “no notice of this practice was given to the FISC until 2016“, that is important.
Now, consider this footnote, and then reference THIS from 2012:
December 17, 2012
The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.
Attorney General of the United States
United States Department of Justice
Washington, DC 20530
Dear General Holder:
Recently, the “Wall Street Journal” (WSJ) reported you granted the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) new powers to store dossiers on United States citizens, even if said citizens are not suspected of any criminal activity.
With these new powers, the NCTC would have the ability to copy entire government databases holding information on flight records, casino-employee lists, the names of Americans hosting foreign-exchange students, as well as other data.
The WSJ goes on to report the new rules allow the NCTC to keep data about innocent United States citizens for up to five years and to analyze it for suspicious patterns of behavior. Previously, both were prohibited.
If the WSJ report is accurate, these new powers represent a sweeping departure from past practices, which barred the NCTC from storing information about ordinary Americans unless a person was a terror suspect or the information sought was related to an investigation.
If the WSJ report is accurate, it raises numerous concerns and questions. As elected Representatives and members of the House Judiciary Committee, we are concerned such sweeping, fundamental changes would be made to existing policy without public input and Congressional approval. Changes, which fundamentally alter the relationship between the government and the governed, should only be made with input from the people by and through their elected Representatives. (more)
Summary of this aspect: The FISA court identified and quantified tens-of-thousands of search queries of the NSA/FBI database using the FISA-702(16)(17) system. The database was repeatedly used by persons with contractor access; who unlawfully searched and extracted the raw results without redacting the information; and shared it with an unknown number of entities.
The outlined process certainly points toward a political spying, surveillance, and file-building operation; and we are not the only one to think that’s what this system is being used for.
Back in 2017 when House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes was working to reauthorize the FISA legislation, Nunes wrote a letter to ODNI Dan Coats about this specific issue:
SIDEBAR: To solve the issue, well, actually attempt to ensure it never happened again, NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers eventually took away the “About” query option permanently in 2017. NSA Director Rogers said the abuse was so inherent there was no way to stop it except to remove the process completely. [SEE HERE] Additionally, the NSA database operates as a function of the Pentagon, so the Trump administration went one step further. On his last day as NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers -together with ODNI Dan Coats- put U.S. cyber-command, the database steward, fully into the U.S. military as a full combatant command. [SEE HERE]
There is little doubt the FISA-702(16)(17) database system was used by Obama-era officials, from 2012 through April 2016, as a way to spy on their political opposition. Quite simply there is no other intellectually honest explanation for the scale and volume of database abuse that was taking place.
When we reconcile what was taking place and who was involved, then the actions of the exact same principle participants take on a jaw-dropping amount of clarity.
All of the action taken by CIA Director Brennan, FBI Director Comey, ODNI Clapper and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter make sense. Including their effort to get NSA Director Mike Rogers fired.
Everything after March 9th, 2016, was done to cover up the weaponization of the FISA database. [Explained Here] Spygate, Russia-Gate, the Steele Dossier, and even the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (drawn from the dossier and signed by the above) were needed to create a cover-story and protect themselves from discovery of this four year weaponization, political surveillance and unlawful spying. Even the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel makes sense; he was FBI Director when this began.
The beginning decision to use FISA(702) as a domestic surveillance and political spy mechanism appears to have started in/around 2012. Perhaps sometime shortly before the 2012 presidential election and before John Brennan left the White House and moved to CIA. However, there was an earlier version of data assembly that preceded this effort.
Political spying 1.0 was actually the weaponization of the IRS. This is where the term “Secret Research Project” originated as a description from the Obama team. It involved the U.S. Department of Justice under Eric Holder and the FBI under Robert Mueller. It never made sense why Eric Holder requested over 1 million tax records via CD ROM, until overlaying the timeline of the FISA abuse:
The IRS sent the FBI “21 disks constituting a 1.1 million page database of information from 501(c)(4) tax exempt organizations, to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.” The transaction occurred in October 2010 (link)
Why disks? Why send a stack of DISKS to the DOJ and FBI when there’s a pre-existing financial crimes unit within the IRS. All of the evidence within this sketchy operation came directly to the surface in early spring 2012.
The IRS scandal was never really about the IRS, it was always about the DOJ asking the IRS for the database of information. That is why it was transparently a conflict when the same DOJ was tasked with investigating the DOJ/IRS scandal. Additionally, Obama sent his chief-of-staff Jack Lew to become Treasury Secretary; effectively placing an ally to oversee/cover-up any issues. As Treasury Secretary Lew did just that.
Lesson Learned – It would appear the Obama administration learned a lesson from attempting to gather a large opposition research database operation inside a functioning organization large enough to have some good people that might blow the whistle.
The timeline reflects a few months after realizing the “Secret Research Project” was now worthless (June 2012), they focused more deliberately on a smaller network within the intelligence apparatus and began weaponizing the FBI/NSA database. If our hunch is correct, that is what will be visible in footnote #69:
Additionally, Matt Gaetz appears to have seen “a memo held in the Congressional Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) that contained previously-undisclosed information involving the Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI) and Department of Justice (DOJ).” [LINK] Which sounds like the MOU in the footnote, and the memo that Trey Gowdy and Jason Chaffetz inquired about.
How this all comes together in 2019
Fusion GPS was not hired in April 2016 to research Donald Trump. As shown in the evidence provided by the FISC, the intelligence community was already doing surveillance and spy operations. The Obama administration already knew everything about the Trump campaign, and were monitoring everything by exploiting the FISA database.
However, after the NSA alerts in/around March 9th, 2016, and particularly after the April 18th shutdown of contractor access, the Obama intelligence community needed Fusion GPS to create a legal albeit ex post facto justification for the pre-existing surveillance and spy operations. Fusion GPS gave them that justification in the Steele Dossier.
That’s why the FBI small group, which later transitioned into the Mueller team, are so strongly committed to and defending the formation of the Steele Dossier and its dubious content. The Steele Dossier contains the cover-story and justification for the pre-existing surveillance operation.
During a rather innocuous podcast discussion panel April 12th, 2019, one of President Trump’s personal lawyers Jay Sekulow mentioned the FBI had three FISA applications denied by the FISA court in 2016. [Podcast Here – Note comment at 25:05] The denials were always suspected; however, until now no-one in/around the administration has ever confirmed.
If Sekulow is accurate, this adds additional context to the actions of the FBI in the aftermath of Admiral Mike Rogers and an increased urgency in gaining legal justification for surveillance and spy operation unlawfully taking place. A valid FISA warrant would help the FBI cover-up the surveillance. The likely targets were Manafort, Flynn and Papadopoulos…. but it appears the DOJ/FBI were rebuked.
These FISC denials would then initiate institutional panic dependent on the election outcome. An insurance policy would be needed. The Steele Dossier becomes the investigative virus the FBI wanted inside the system. To get the virus into official status, they used the FISA application as the delivery method and injected it into Carter Page. The FBI already knew Carter Page; essentially Carter Page was irrelevant, what they needed was the FISA warrant and the Dossier in the system {Go Deep}.
Fusion GPS was not hired to research Trump, the intelligence community was already doing surveillance and spy operations. The intelligence community needed Fusion GPS to give them a plausible justification for already existing surveillance and spy operations.
Fusion-GPS gave them the justification they needed for a FISA warrant with the Steele Dossier. Ultimately that’s why the Steele Dossier is so important; without it, the DOJ and FBI are naked with their FISA-702 abuse as outlined by John Ratcliffe.
No-one really knows the extent of the current documents and/or information that may be subject to the AG Bill Barr declassification. However, this is the original list as outlined in September 2018, and the agencies who would be involved in the declassification process:
All versions of the Carter Page FISA applications (DOJ) (DoS) (FBI) (ODNI).
All of the Bruce Ohr 302’s filled out by the FBI. (FBI) (ODNI)
All of Bruce Ohr’s emails (FBI) (DOJ) (CIA) (ODNI), and supportive documents and material provided by Bruce Ohr to the FBI. (FBI)
All relevant documents pertaining to the supportive material within the FISA application. (FBI) (DOJ-NSD ) (DoS) (CIA) (DNI) (NSA) (ODNI);
All intelligence documents that were presented to the Gang of Eight in 2016 that pertain to the FISA application used against U.S. person Carter Page; including all exculpatory intelligence documents that may not have been presented to the FISA Court. (CIA) (FBI) (DOJ) (ODNI) (DoS) (NSA)
All unredacted text messages and email content between Lisa Page and Peter Strzok on all devices. (FBI) (DOJ) (DOJ-NSD) (ODNI)
The originating CIA “EC” or two-page electronic communication from former CIA Director John Brennan to FBI Director James Comey that started Operation Crossfire Hurricane in July 2016. (CIA) (FBI) (ODNI)
♦ President Trump can prove the July 31st, 2016, Crossfire Hurricane counterintelligence operation originated from a scheme within the intelligence apparatus by exposing the preceding CIA operation that created the originating “Electronic Communication” memo. Declassify that two-page “EC” document that Brennan gave to Comey. [The trail is found within the Weissmann report and the use of Alexander Downer – SEE HERE]
♦ Release and declassify all of the Comey memos that document the investigative steps taken by the FBI as an outcome of the operation coordinated by CIA Director John Brennan in early 2016. [The trail was memorialized by James Comey – SEE HERE]
♦ Reveal the November 2015 through April 2016 FISA-702 search query abuse by declassifying the April 2017 court opinion written by FISC Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer. Show the FBI contractors behind the 85% fraudulent search queries. [Crowdstrike? Fusion-GPS? Nellie Ohr? Daniel Richman?] This was a weaponized surveillance and domestic political spying operation. [The trail was laid down in specific detail by Judge Collyer – SEE HERE]
♦ Subpoena former DOJ-NSD (National Security Division) head John Carlin, or haul him in front of a grand jury, and get his testimony about why he hid the abuse from the FISA court in October 2016; why the DOJ-NSD rushed the Carter Page application to beat NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers to the FISA court; and why Carlin quit immediately thereafter.
♦ Prove the Carter Page FISA application (October 2016) was fraudulent and based on deceptions to the FISA Court. Declassify the entire document, and release the transcripts of those who signed the application(s); and/or depose those who have not yet testified. The creation of the Steele Dossier was the cover-up operation. [SEE HERE]
♦ Release all of the Lisa Page and Peter Strzok text messageswithout redactions. Let sunlight pour in on the actual conversation(s) that were taking place when Crossfire Hurricane (July ’16) and the FISA Application (Oct ’16) were taking place. The current redactions were made by the people who weaponized the intelligence system for political surveillance and spy operation. This is why Page and Strzok texts are redacted!
♦ Release all of Bruce Ohr 302’s, FBI notes from interviews and debriefing sessions, and other relevant documents associated with the interviews of Bruce Ohr and his internal communications. Including exculpatory evidence that Bruce Ohr may have shared with FBI Agent Joseph Pientka. [And get a deposition from this Pientka fella] Bruce Ohr is the courier, carrying information from those outside to those on the inside.
♦ Release the August 2nd, 2017, two-page scope memo provided by DAG Rod Rosenstein to special counsel Robert Mueller to advance the fraudulent Trump investigation, and initiate the more purposeful obstruction of justice investigation. Also Release the October 20th, 2017, second scope memo recently discovered. The Scope Memos are keys to unlocking the underlying spy/surveillance cover-up. [SEE HERE and SEE HERE]
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has called a snap election after disappointing results from his party in the European Elections. His Syriza party was estimated to have received just 23.94% of votes in the elections, trailing behind its main opposition party New Democracy, which received 33.28%. A far-right party in Italy’s of Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has come out on top in Italy’s European parliamentary elections based on the exit polls. It certainly appears that Nigel Farage will come out on top in the UK. So far, we are looking at truly a sea-change in Europe.
Nevertheless, the European People’s Party in the European Parliament has influence in all the EU’s institutions and it will most likely remain with the greatest number of seats probably around 23%. It has been the largest political group in the European Parliament since 1999. In the European Council, 9 out of 28 Heads of State and Government belong to the EPP family and in the European Commission, 13 out of 27 Commissioners come from EPP parties. The EPP looks to be losing more than 40 seats.
The parties who seem to want reform should combine about 200 seats against about 540 seats. The question that will rise is how will Brussels react? Ignore it and push on or reform? It appears that there will not be a reform movement and Brussels will most likely try to paint this as a temporary populace fluke as did Washington Republicans with Trump
When President Trump announced the futility of attempting an infrastructure bill with Pelosi and Schumer as they simultaneously tried to impeach him, the president certainly knew he was going to issue a declassification memo within hours.
The declassification directive to AG Bill Barr creates a dynamic ensuring Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer will align with the former intelligence officials and further attack the offices of the President and Attorney General; they have few options.
Those who participated in the creation of Russia-Gate or Spy-Gate have few options except to manufacture a narrative shield and accuse the President of unethical, immoral and criminal conduct. See: Pelosi’ recent “cover-up” charge.
By advancing even stronger attacks against the president, the ‘small group’ position any investigation into their wrong-doing as political retaliation. Their best defense is to build a deeper foundation for their political retaliation claim. Therefore a House impeachment investigation, in some manner or form, is more likely than ever.
The legal risk for participants in ‘Russia-Gate’/’Spy-Gate’ seems very real. The best defense against that risk is political. Speaker Pelosi and Senator Schumer know how to lead the defense by saying any evidence discovered by AG Barr is merely weaponized retaliation from the Trump DOJ. The media are already supporting that cause.
Speaker Pelosi needs to protect John Brennan, James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Sally Yates and the participating small group writ large, if she is to retain her gavel and power. Minority leader Chuck Schumer knows the play; and the media are already fully circling the wagons as part of their three-year ongoing participation.
As this stage in the sunlight process; and with a mountain of visible evidence locked-in to the record of what took place; there is no evidence anyone inside the Washington Field Office of the FBI was not a participant.
There may be decent “rank-and-file” FBI agents in various positions throughout the country, but there is no honorable “rank-and-file” in the Washington DC Field Office. The entire apparatus is full of corrupt investigators, manipulative liars, participating schemers, and agents/officials who went along with three years of politically motivated investigations; there’s no recovery from the scale of their involvement.
Interestingly the FBI alignment with Pelosi and Schumer is now similar to the FBI alignment with Feinstein and Harris in the Blasey-Ford fraud (Brett Kavanaugh hearings/fiasco). The weaponization of the FBI around Washington DC is a feature, not a flaw; nothing is a surprise now.
Careerists within the intelligence apparatus (CIA, FBI, DOJ etc.) will continue to fall in line with the political objectives of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer because it is in their own best interests. Schumer and Pelosi will defend the former corruption because they have no political option to retain power; this is their ideological crew.
The day after President Trump authorized AG Bill Barr to declassify documents relating to 2016 political activity by the intelligence apparatus, House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler appeared to almost collapse when he slumped and said he was not well as he sat beside New York mayor Bill de Blasio at a press conference.
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The 71-year-old congressman was put on a stretcher and taken to a waiting ambulance for transfer to a local hospital. A representative for Nadler told NBC4 News he was ‘responsive and receiving a check-up.’ He was taken to the hospital for medical attention and later tweeted that he was ‘feeling much better.’ Media Report
There was a DC rumor that “a website” was “surprisingly spot-on” when CTH posted the likely declassification structure, agency process and timing… [Here and Here and Here]
Tonight, President Trump signs a declassification memo that identifies the intelligence units, and issues guidelines therein:
WHITE HOUSE: “Today, at the request and recommendation of the Attorney General of the United States, President Donald J. Trump directed the intelligence community to quickly and fully cooperate with the Attorney General’s investigation into surveillance activities during the 2016 Presidential election.
The Attorney General has also been delegated full and complete authority to declassify information pertaining to this investigation, in accordance with the long-established standards for handling classified information. Today’s action will help ensure that all Americans learn the truth about the events that occurred, and the actions that were taken, during the last Presidential election and will restore confidence in our public institutions.” (read more)
MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE
THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY
THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY
THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
SUBJECT: Agency Cooperation with Attorney General’s Review of Intelligence Activities Relating to the 2016 Presidential Campaigns
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby direct the following:
♦Section 1. Agency Cooperation.
The Attorney General is currently conducting a review of intelligence activities relating to the campaigns in the 2016 Presidential election and certain related matters. The heads of elements of the intelligence community, as defined in 50 U.S.C. 3003(4), and the heads of each department or agency that includes an element of the intelligence community shall promptly provide such assistance and information as the Attorney General may request in connection with that review.
♦Sec. 2. Declassification and Downgrading.
With respect to any matter classified under Executive Order 13526 of December 29, 2009 (Classified National Security Information), the Attorney General may, by applying the standard set forth in either section 3.1(a) or section 3.1(d) of Executive Order 13526, declassify, downgrade, or direct the declassification or downgrading of information or intelligence that relates to the Attorney General’s review referred to in section 1 of this memorandum. Before exercising this authority, the Attorney General should, to the extent he deems it practicable, consult with the head of the originating intelligence community element or department. This authority is not delegable and applies notwithstanding any other authorization or limitation set forth in Executive Order 13526.
♦Sec. 3. General Provisions.
(a) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) The authority in this memorandum shall terminate upon a vacancy in the office of Attorney General, unless expressly extended by the President.
(d) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
(e) The Attorney General is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
♦First, I did not anticipate the Secretary of Treasury [likely related to Papadopoulos money tracking and/or, Clinton Foundation, and/or CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), and/or all the above. Second, I also did not anticipate the Secretary of Energy [likely related to Uranium One and Clinton] that’s interesting.
However, for the rest of it, here’s what all this means [Backstory]. There is a formal process that must be followed. President Trump has now authorized that process:
♦The declassification of documents central to previous congressional inquiry, that also encompasses the Inspector General review of the Carter Page FISA application, is the subject of great interest and speculation. However, it would make sense for President Trump to authorize the declassification of documents in advance of the IG report release.
Likely Inspector General Michael Horowitz has reviewed all of the documents in question. If Horowitz wants to include the classified content in his draft report for principle review; and later within the final report; those documents would need to be declassified or else they would be held back, footnoted and outlined in a classified appendix.
If the DOJ and President Trump want the information more broadly available to the public and media, it would make sense to declassify the documents – pending the review and approval of the participating intelligence agencies (DOJ, DOJ-NSD, CIA, NSA, State Dept., FBI, ODNI, DoD, etc.)
♦ The process without controversy – First, each of the executive branch intelligence agencies will have to sign-off on the declassification request, and/or explain to the Chief Executive (that’s Trump), through the ODNI, why their specific intelligence product should not be made public.
Generally speaking, now that the Mueller investigation is complete; and if there is no substantive risk to national security; the intelligence agencies will adhere/defer to the request of the executive. This is where the alignment and support from U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr is critically important.
If AG Bill Barr supports the declassification request, there would be limited room for any intelligence unit to justify blocking the release.
In recent reporting Bill Barr has been outlined in discussions with the CIA and ODNI during his own intelligence review. It is almost certain those media reports are referencing contact and discussion about the IG report and declassification content.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) Dan Coats is in charge of the executive declassification process overall. The ODNI is the intelligence hub that all requests and approvals flow through. If any intelligence unit or compartment has an argument against declassification their argument/justification against release (or redaction removal) is made to the ODNI.
The DOJ is one intelligence agency within the process; however, in this specific example the declassification directive will be targeted to fulfill the DOJ-OIG investigative framework of the inspector general. [Assuming this is the goal of President Trump] Therefore the DOJ will have increased weight and responsibility for coordination and support for the declassification request.
If all cabinet members of the executive branch are working toward full transparency; and assuming the current FBI doesn’t try to block any release; the process for declassification follows normal guidelines to notify any intelligence units that might be impacted by public release.
In this example, again assuming the list of classified documents is similar to those previously anticipated, there are possible foreign governments and intelligence units that would need advanced notification. In turn, those foreign agencies may request time to organize their intelligence interests and impacts.
ODNI Dan Coats would be responsible for working with DoS (Pompeo), CIA (Haspel), FBI (Wray), DOJ-NSD (Barr) and NSA (Nakasone). Each of those intelligence officers are then responsible for notifying their foreign counterpart of any information that might pertain to their interest(s). [Assuming the declassification touches on foreign interests.]
If everyone within the executive agrees, then likely Inspector General Michael Horowitz will be allowed to outline the declassified content in the main body of his report and not hidden within a classified index unavailable to the public.
If the declassified material extends beyond the interests of the executive, in this case it likely does, then the ODNI may select participating intelligence members to brief the congressional gang-of-eight on the material being declassified.
This is not always needed, but given the political interest in this example this will likely happen. The current Gang of Eight includes: Nancy Pelosi, Kevin McCarthy, Adam Schiff, Devin Nunes, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, Richard Burr and Mark Warner.
If the declassified material extends beyond the interests of the executive and the legislative, in this case it is possible vis-a-vis FISA, then the ODNI may also brief the Chair and ranking member of the house and Senate Judiciary Committees on the material being declassified. ie: Jerry Nadler, Doug Collins, Lindsey Graham and Dianne Feinstein.
Additionally, there is also a possibility the full Carter Page FISA application is being declassified. If so, there could be notification to the U.S. Judicial branch SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts and/or FISA Court Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer.
So you can see this is a rather engaged and lengthy process as each participating interest is notified, and allowed time to provide feedback if they have any adverse interests to the release which may need to be considered. This is not as simple as President Trump saying “do it.” A declassification request is a process.
Yes, the President of the United States can unilaterally declassify any document he/she deem is in the national interest. However, that is never done. If you want to see how it is possible to do [READ THIS].
The President has the unilateral ability to declassify anything because he/she is often engaged in discussions with leaders of foreign governments, if the POTUS had to worry about his ability to discuss classified intelligence the President would be unable to engage in open discussion on interests of importance to the United States. Therefore the laws that allow the President his authority, are designed so that a President cannot violate any classified intelligence issue.
That’s the basis for the President’s ability to unilaterally declassify intelligence information and/or documents. Any previously classified material the president shares is considered declassified subject to the classification authority of the recipient.
In the example of declassifying documents the executive deems are of public interest, there is an assumption of no inherent national security urgency. Therefore the process to allow advanced review of those documents by all stakeholders is always followed.
You can imagine the political backlash if a president, any president, was making unilateral decisions to declassify material without going through the process to ensure national security interests were evaluated. Heck, even though President Trump is going through the lengthy and structured process, we will likely see his political opposition make this absurd claim anyway. [Keep that in mind]
All of that said, no-one really knows the documents and/or information that may be subject to this current declassification request. This was the original list as outlined in 2018:
All versions of the Carter Page FISA applications (DOJ) (FBI) (ODNI).
All of the Bruce Ohr 302’s filled out by the FBI. (FBI) (ODNI)
All of Bruce Ohr’s emails (FBI) (DOJ) (CIA) (ODNI)
All relevant documents pertaining to the supportive material within the FISA application. (FBI) (DOJ-NSD ) (DoS) (CIA) (DNI) (NSA) (ODNI);
All supportive documents and material provided by Bruce Ohr to the FBI. (FBI)
All intelligence documents that were presented to the Gang of Eight in 2016 that pertain to the FISA application used against U.S. person Carter Page; including all intelligence documents that may not have been presented to the FISA Court. (CIA) (FBI) (DOJ) (ODNI) (DoS) (NSA) Presumably this would include the recently revealed State Dept Kavalac email; and the FBI transcripts from wiretaps of George Papadopoulos (also listed in Carter Page FISA).
All unredacted text messages and email content between Lisa Page and Peter Strzok on all devices. (FBI) (DOJ) (DOJ-NSD) (ODNI)
The originating CIA “EC” or two-page electronic communication from former CIA Director John Brennan to FBI Director James Comey that started Operation Crossfire Hurricane in July 2016. (CIA) (FBI) (ODNI)
However, in the months since September 2018, there are more documents that may have been added to the list; specifically if they have been reviewed by Inspector General Horowitz and citations contained within the upcoming draft report on FISA abuse.
Also keep in mind, Mark Meadows outlined President Trump has never seen the documents or the information that would be contained within the documents. [More Here] Many people who do not know how the executive branch works have falsely stated that President Trump knows what is in those declassification documents. He doesn’t.
The Office of the Presidency is a system, not a person. The system is designed to protect the occupant of the office. In this specific example it would be against the direct interests of the President to have full knowledge of the material inside the declassification requests because the President was potentially a target and carries an inherent conflict of interest.
The President is reliant upon the trust of advisers to inform him of the value – or lack thereof – along with the legal and political risks therein; without any specific conversation about the content.
In short, President Trump may declassify material as requested, but other than general briefings, he likely has no independent idea what material is inside or behind the redactions. Again, understanding this process helps to explain procedural delays, and frustration from those without familiarity with all the roles attached to the executive.
Lastly, CTH doesn’t traffic in ‘hope-porn’. While we have presented a more detailed list of documents and material that we hope would be declassified, there’s almost no likelihood all of this material would be approved for release. However, I hope we are wrong:
♦ President Trump can prove the July 31st, 2016, Crossfire Hurricane counterintelligence operation originated from a scheme within the intelligence apparatus by exposing the preceding CIA operation that created the originating “Electronic Communication” memo. Declassify that two-page “EC” document that Brennan gave to Comey. [The trail is found within the Weissmann report and the use of Alexander Downer – SEE HERE]
♦ Release and declassify all of the Comey memos that document the investigative steps taken by the FBI as an outcome of the operation coordinated by CIA Director John Brennan in early 2016. [The trail was memorialized by James Comey – SEE HERE]
♦ Reveal the November 2015 through April 2016 FISA-702 search query abuse by declassifying the April 2017 court opinion written by FISC Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer. Show the FBI contractors behind the 85% fraudulent search queries. [Crowdstrike? Fusion-GPS? Nellie Ohr? Daniel Richman?] This was a weaponized surveillance and domestic political spying operation. [The trail was laid down in specific detail by Judge Collyer – SEE HERE]
♦ Subpoena former DOJ-NSD (National Security Division) head John Carlin, or haul him in front of a grand jury, and get his testimony about why he hid the abuse from the FISA court in October 2016; why the DOJ-NSD rushed the Carter Page application to beat NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers to the FISA court; and why Carlin quit immediately thereafter.
♦ Prove the Carter Page FISA application (October 2016) was fraudulent and based on deceptions to the FISA Court. Declassify the entire document, and release the transcripts of those who signed the application(s); and/or depose those who have not yet testified. The creation of the Steele Dossier was the cover-up operation. [SEE HERE]
♦ Release all of the Lisa Page and Peter Strzok text messageswithout redactions. Let sunlight pour in on the actual conversation(s) that were taking place when Crossfire Hurricane (July ’16) and the FISA Application (Oct ’16) were taking place. The current redactions were made by the people who weaponized the intelligence system for political surveillance and spy operation. This is why Page and Strzok texts are redacted!
♦ Release all of Bruce Ohr 302’s, FBI notes from interviews and debriefing sessions, and other relevant documents associated with the interviews of Bruce Ohr and his internal communications. Including exculpatory evidence that Bruce Ohr may have shared with FBI Agent Joseph Pientka. [And get a deposition from this Pientka fella] Bruce Ohr is the courier, carrying information from those outside to those on the inside.
♦ Release the August 2nd, 2017, two-page scope memo provided by DAG Rod Rosenstein to special counsel Robert Mueller to advance the fraudulent Trump investigation, and initiate the more purposeful obstruction of justice investigation. Also Release the October 20th, 2017, second scope memo recently discovered. The Scope Memos are keys to unlocking the underlying spy/surveillance cover-up. [SEE HERE and SEE HERE]
It’s doubtful the intelligence apparatus would ever permit the public to see the 99-page FISA opinion written by FISC Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer. It would be too damaging to the objective of future FISA authorization.
However, we could also to see material that is not included in any of the declassification lists; such as the fully unredacted Kavalec email and notes, and the transcripts of the engagements with George Papadopoulos. Time will tell.
If CTH is accurate with the purpose of the declassification timing, the “Principle Draft Review” phase for the Inspector General report may soon be coming. The draft review allows each of the people identified within the report the opportunity to submit any response or counter to the information as presented by the reference-check phase.
Each of the recipients of the draft report must sign an NDA; however, the NDA only covers the content of the report, not the general submission/appearance of the draft report itself.
The IG may choose to include response(s) from the principles in the draft report, or the IG may not; some of that depends on the advice of the person or group who fulfilled the reference check. Usually if the IG adds the principle comment, the IG will rebut the comment with additional information and citation (from the referencer).
Once we hear about the draft report (media will mention it), it will be around a month to full public release of the final report that everyone will see.
The U.S. Department of Justice announces an 18-count superseding indictment (full pdf below) against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Criminal prosecution of Assange is being sought under the espionage act.
(Via U.S. DOJ) […] The superseding indictment alleges that Assange was complicit with Chelsea Manning, a former intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army, in unlawfully obtaining and disclosing classified documents related to the national defense.
Specifically, the superseding indictment alleges that Assange conspired with Manning; obtained from Manning and aided and abetted her in obtaining classified information with reason to believe that the information was to be used to the injury of the United States or the advantage of a foreign nation; received and attempted to receive classified information having reason to believe that such materials would be obtained, taken, made, and disposed of by a person contrary to law; and aided and abetted Manning in communicating classified documents to Assange.
[…] The superseding indictment alleges that beginning in late 2009, Assange and WikiLeaks actively solicited United States classified information, including by publishing a list of “Most Wanted Leaks” that sought, among other things, classified documents. Manning responded to Assange’s solicitations by using access granted to her as an intelligence analyst to search for United States classified documents, and provided to Assange and WikiLeaks databases containing approximately 90,000 Afghanistan war-related significant activity reports, 400,000 Iraq war-related significant activities reports, 800 Guantanamo Bay detainee assessment briefs, and 250,000 U.S. Department of State cables.
Many of these documents were classified at the Secret level, meaning that their unauthorized disclosure could cause serious damage to United States national security. Manning also provided rules of engagement files for the Iraq war, most of which were also classified at the Secret level and which delineated the circumstances and limitations under which United States forces would initiate or conduct combat engagement with other forces. (read more)
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This is a library of News Events not reported by the Main Stream Media documenting & connecting the dots on How the Obama Marxist Liberal agenda is destroying America
Julian Assange of WikiLeaks was charged with conspiring to obtain national security secrets in what prosecutors have described as one of the largest compromises of classified information in U.S. history. They filed 18 new charges against Assange, which include allegations that he aided and abetted former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning’s efforts to leak classified documents to the anti-secrecy group. Prosecutors alleged that Assange did so with reason to believe that the information would be used to injure the United States or help a foreign country.
Centinel2012 