Justin Smith writes about how FISA warrants violate the Constitution’s
Fourth Amendment:
The right of the people to be
secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable
searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but
upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly
describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Justin is absolutely correct. On a personal level, I feel
during war that security overrides Rights. Friends we have been in a state of
war with Islamic terrorists since September 11, 2001.
NOW! I have found myself modifying my perspective of the
Patriot Act and FISA warrants. Once it has become apparent that Executive
Administration of President Barack Hussein Obama weaponized FISA warrants in an
effort to maintain a Left-Wing government under Crooked Hillary, I have begun
to re-think my concept of the usage of FISA warrants used without probable cause
against U.S. citizens. Incidentally, FISA Warrants were not designed for U.S.
citizens but rather against non-citizens that might pose a terrorist threat
against Americans.
In FISA abuses the FBI, Intelligence Agencies, the State
Department and probably more from the Executive Branch; used back door unmasking to spy on American citizens
as well as potential dangerous foreign entities.
These FISA abuses under Obama (who also weaponized the IRS and
what else?) have made America a Leftist police state with the full cooperation
of the MSM that pro-Leftist in influencing America.
Well that is enough of me. Read Justin Smith’s take on how
the Fourth Amendment has been unconstitutionally annulled.
One's liberty is the most precious thing next to life
itself, and Americans must stop standing in silence, while Presidents, past and
present, and Congressmen erode and trample our Fourth Amendment Right, no
matter their intentions, through Orwellian legislation that directly
contravenes it. Everyone must vociferously and fiercely oppose and counter
these so-called "leaders" and their illegal violations of the Constitution,
by replacing all those, who recently voted for the FISA Reauthorization Act of
2017, because no one, even in the name of national security, has any right or
authority to take our liberty.
The FISA Reauthorization Act passed
in the House, 256 to 164, on January
11th, and it passed by 65 - 34 vote[Blog Editor: Justin’s original text
said the FISA reauthorization succeeded by only one vote. I did not find that
vote, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t occur. Many votes often occur until a
final vote is taken which often appears different than previous votes for
constituents who agree with the majority vote.] in the Senate [S. 139], on January 18th; and,
through the House vote on Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act, the House
rejected the USA Rights Act, 233 to 183, and its requirement
that officials must obtain warrants before searching and reading Americans'
emails, after they are acquired in any surveillance operation.
Bulk surveillance on all Americans without a warrant,
heretofore known to be unConstitutional, is now deemed acceptable by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
and the U.S. Congress, but incredulously, they do make one exception. A warrant
is required for the emails of the subject in an open criminal investigation,
where no national security concerns exist, thus providing criminals more rights
than normal, law-abiding everyday U.S. citizens.
One must also be shocked by House Joint Resolution 76,
which was passed by this Congress and signed by President Trump on August 22,
2017. It allows the searches of homes and businesses
without any warrant, in areas adjacent to the Washington [D.C.]
Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and extending miles outward in all
directions, and far into nearby regions of Maryland and Virginia.
All of the aforementioned goes against the Fourth Amendment, which states that Americans' rights
"to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against
unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated, and no warrants shall
issue, but upon probable cause."
The serious nature of these developments is further
highlighted by new evidence exposed by House Intelligence Committee Chairman
Devin Nunes, who has deep insight through a "top secret" clearance.
He charged on January 18th, that seen through the prism of overt pro-Hillary
bias and anti-Trump prejudice exhibited by the CIA, FBI and other agencies and their
use of National Security Agency secret information for political purposes, they
were all untrustworthy with our information and the nation's intelligence
secrets. The many abuses under the Obama Administration exposes the danger of
giving too much power to our intelligence agencies, who seem far too
willing to use stored metadata for harassment, blackmail and to further their
own political agendas.
FBI Director Christopher Wray viewed Nunes's classified
House Intelligence Memo on Sunday January 21st. The next day Deputy Director
Andrew McCabe announced his "retirement". McCabe was named in the
memo, as the person who used the unverified Steele Dossier to illegally obtain
a FISA warrant against President Trump.
The House Intelligence Committee Memo released
on February 2nd shows that a presidential campaign was spied on. An
unverified dossier, that nobody will stand by under oath was used in an illegal
manner to obtain a FISA warrant. And yet, with this knowledge in hand seven
days before the House vote, Representative Nunes and twenty-one other House
committee members kept over five-hundred of their colleagues in the dark, about
domestic spying abuses, while the debate on that very issue was ongoing, and
they voted to expand the power of those who abused it.
Surely the expansion of FISA would never have passed the
Senate, if the damning information contained in the House Intelligence
Committee Memo had been released seven days earlier. If just one conscientious
senator had known of the NSA and FBI abuses concealed by the House Intelligence
Committee, and changed his vote, the expansion would have failed.
Any American paying attention is now asking, "What is
going on with our government?" They know that the Fourth Amendment has
been abrogated, gutted, by the very representatives and senators who swore an
oath to preserve, protect and defend our U.S. Constitution.
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) had vowed to fight reauthorization
of Section 702 without reforms. Just prior to the vote on the USA Rights Act, he stated: "Our Founders
gave us the Fourth Amendment to prevent a tyrannical government from invading
our privacy, and we are fools to relinquish that hard-won right because of
fear. The Founders did not include the Fourth Amendment in the Bill of Rights
as a suggestion."
Significantly, on January 11th, President Trump noted that
Section 702 was used to "badly surveil and abuse the Trump campaign",
as he expressed skepticism regarding FISA. At the very least, this should have
withheld his signature, until FISA was reformed. He would have served America
better, if he had followed his initial gut instinct.
After signing the bill, President Trump falsely told America
that it only targeted foreigners. Is this another case of Trump being easily
manipulated by his advisors, or is it one more instance of his own lack of
knowledge and preparation on an issue?
The FISA Reauthorization Act is now in place until 2024.
Each day from this point on, all of us must demand it be rescinded, and before
we allow its renewal, it must be reformed.
Liberty is the essence of our natural state, so when
Congress acts to limit our liberty in favor of greater security, obtained
through a FISA operation with highly questionable results in the war on
terrorism, they are philosophically, historically and constitutionally wrong.
Our liberty is of infinitely greater worth to us, than the security we have
instructed Congress to ensure.
Congress's recent actions are moves to permanently destroy
our right to privacy, exalting safety over liberty and providing neither. And
in the process, limited government is being undone, right before our eyes.
As Ludwig von Mises reminds us, government
is essentially the negation of liberty. If anyone truly believes that
monitoring everyone in America is the least restrictive way to keep us safe,
let that person surrender his own privacy. The rest of us will retain ours and
provide for our own safety.
I did not consent to the abrogation of my Fourth Amendment
Right, and I don't imagine most of America did either. Our rights are
inalienable and cannot be separated from us, not by Congress, not by anyone.
By Justin O. Smith
________________
Edited by John R. Houk
Text embraced by brackets and all source links are by the Editor.
I found an awesome video that begins by quoting Senator
McCain accusing President Trump of subverting the rule of law by tainting the
FBI. It is idiot statements like that which make me feel ashamed I voted for
that RINO in 2008. I mean, my GOD! Doesn’t McCain realize that Obama’s
Administration directed these unconstitutional/treasonous actions against Trump?
I am stupefied about McCain because it closet comrade Obama that defeated him
for the Office of President in 2008!
Just a small note of criticism about the video: the narrator
briefly says "Fusion GSP" when the actual nefarious organization's
name is Fusion GPS. Also, this Black Pigeon Speaks video is best watched
in full screen to get the full impact of the narrator’s explanation of the
details of the FISA Memo.
TRUMP REACTS TO FISA MEMO: "I
Think It's Terrible. I Think It's a Disgrace What's Happening in Our
Country"
When you read the FISA Memo you must realize it was
sanitized to allegedly protect sources and methods of investigation. Even so,
it is not a difficult stretch to understand the nefarious nature that Donald
Trump was targeted before and after the November 2016 election by Obama
Administration leadership (probably including Obama himself). The
weaponized police state of Obama, the Dems AND Crooked Hillary tried to feloniously
steal the election and failing that, STILL use false and/or fake data to
impeach a duly elected President.
AND the American free press (aka the Leftist MSM) have been
full participants in disseminating the falsified/fake data to an American
public of which many believe the Mainstream Media is still a credible source of
news.
So, this is what I’m going to do for my blog readers. First,
I am posting a Fox News’ Catherine Herridge report. Second, the FISA Memo
sourced from the Western Journal. WJ leaves out the intro on the original Memo
so I am extracting from a pdf downloaded from SCRIBD courtesy of the fake
news channel CNBC.com. Last but not least – third, BPR review article
entitled, “7
biggest takeaways from the FISA memo that was just released”.
Chairman, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
United States Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:
On January 29, 2018, the House Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence (hereinafter “the Committee”) voted to disclose publicly a
memorandum containing classified information provided to the Committee in
connection with its oversight activities (the “Memorandum,” which is attached
to this letter). As provided by clause 11(g) of Rule of the House of
Representatives, the Committee has forwarded this Memorandum to the President
based on its determination that the release of the Memorandum would serve the
public interest.
The Constitution vests the President with the authority to
protect national security secrets from it disclosure. As the Supreme Court has
recognized, it is the President’s responsibility to classify, declassify, and
control access to information bearing on our intelligence sources and methods
and national defense. See, e.g., Dep’t of Navy v. Egan, 484 US. 518, 527
(1988). In order to facilitate appropriate congressional oversight, the
Executive Branch may entrust classified information to the appropriate
committees of Congress, as it has done in connection with the Committee’s
oversight activities here. The Executive Branch does so on the assumption that
the Committee will responsibly protect such classified information, consistent
with the laws of the United States.
The Committee has now determined that the release of the
Memorandum would be appropriate. The Executive Branch, across Administrations
of both parties, has worked to accommodate congressional requests to declassify
specific materials in the public interest.1 However, public release of classified
information by unilateral action of the Legislative Branch is extremely rare
and raises significant separation of powers concerns. Accordingly, the
Committee’s request to release the Memorandum is interpreted as a request for
declassification pursuant to the President’s authority.
The President understands that the protection of our
national security represents his highest obligation. Accordingly, he has
directed lawyers and national security staff to assess the
_________________________________
1 See, e.g. S. Rept. 114-8 at 12 (Administration of Barack Obama)
(“On April 3, 2014 . . . the Committee agreed to send the revised Findings and
Conclusions, and the updated Executive Summary of the Committee Study, to the
President for declassification and public release”); H. Rept. 107-792
(Administration of George W. Bush) (similar); E.O. 12812 (Administration of
George H.W. Bush) (noting Senate resolution requesting that President provide
for declassification of certain information Via Executive Order).
_________________________________
declassification request, consistent with established
standards governing the handling of classified information, including those
under Section 3.1(d) of Executive Order 13526. Those standards permit declassification
when the public interest in disclosure outweighs any need to protect the
information. The White House review process also included input from the Office
of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Justice.
Consistent with this review and these standards, the President has determined
that declassification of the Memorandum is appropriate.
Based on this assessment and in light of the significant
public interest in the memorandum, the President has authorized the declassification
of the Memorandum. To be clear, the Memorandum reflects the judgments of its
congressional authors. The President understands that oversight concerning
matters related to the Memorandum may be continuing. Though the circumstances
leading to the declassification through this process are extraordinary, the
Executive Branch stands ready to work with Congress to accommodate oversight
requests consistent with applicable standards and processes, including the need
to protect intelligence sources and methods.
Sincerely,
Donald F. McGahn II
Counsel to the
President
Here’s the Full Text of the FISA Memo Written by Rep.
Devin Nunes
In all cases, any typographical
emphasis — whether bold type, italics or underline — is original to the memo.
Our goal here was to provide as accurate a representation of the original
document as possible while still making it a little easier to read than the
facsimile versions currently available online. — Ed. Note
January 18, 2018
To: HPSCI Majority Members
From: HPSCI Majority Staff
Subject: Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Abuses at the
Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Purpose
This memorandum provides Members an update on significant
facts relating to the Committee’s ongoing investigation into the Department of
Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and their use of the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) during the 2016 presidential
election cycle. Our findings, which are detailed below, 1) raise concerns with
the legitimacy and legality of certain DOJ and FBI interactions with the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), and 2) represent a troubling
breakdown of legal processes established to protect the American people from
abuses related to the FISA process.
Investigation Update
On October 21, 2016, DOJ and FBI sought and received a FISA
probable cause order (not under Title VII) authorizing electronic surveillance
on Carter Page from the FISC. Page is a U.S. citizen who served as a volunteer
advisor to the Trump presidential campaign. Consistent with requirements under
FISA, the application had to be first certified by the Director or Deputy
Director of the FBI. It then required the approval of the Attorney General,
Deputy Attorney General (DAG), or the Senate-confirmed Assistant Attorney
General for the National Security Division.
The FBI and DOJ obtained one initial FISA warrant targeting
Carter Page and three FISA renewals from the FISC. As required by statute (50
U.S.C. §,1805(d)(l)), a FISA order on an American citizen must be renewed by
the FISC every 90 days and each renewal requires a separate finding of probable
cause. Then-Director James Comey signed three FISA applications in question on
behalf of the FBI, and Deputy Director Andrew McCabe signed one. Then-DAG Sally
Yates, then-Acting DAG Dana Boente, and DAG Rod Rosenstein each signed one or
more FISA applications on behalf of DOJ
Due to the sensitive nature of foreign intelligence
activity, FISA submissions (including renewals) before the FISC are classified.
As such, the public’s confidence in the integrity of the FISA process depends
on the court’s ability to hold the government to the highest
standard—particularly as it relates to surveillance of American citizens.
However, the FISC’s rigor in protecting the rights of Americans, which is
reinforced by 90-day renewals of surveillance orders, is necessarily dependent
on the government’s production to the court of all material and relevant facts.
This should include information potentially favorable to the target of the FISA
application that is known by the government. In the case of Carter Page, the
government had at least four independent opportunities before the FISC to
accurately provide an accounting of the relevant facts. However, our findings
indicate that, as described below, material and relevant information was
omitted.
1) The “dossier” compiled by Christopher Steele (Steele
dossier) on behalf of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Hillary
Clinton campaign formed an essential part of the Carter Page FISA application.
Steele was a longtime FBI source who was paid over $160,000 by the DNC and
Clinton campaign, via the law firm Perkins Coie and research firm Fusion GPS,
to obtain derogatory information on Donald Trump’s ties to Russia.
a) Neither the initial application
in October 2016, nor any of the renewals, disclose or reference the role of the
DNC, Clinton campaign, or any party/campaign in funding Steele’s efforts, even
though the political origins of the Steele dossier were then known to senior
DOJ and FBI officials.
b) The initial FISA application
notes Steele was working for a named U.S. person, but does not name Fusion GPS
and principal Glenn Simpson, who was paid by a U.S. law firm (Perkins Coie)
representing the DNC (even though it was known by DOJ at the time that
political actors were involved with the Steele dossier). The application does
not mention Steele was ultimately working on behalf of—and paid by—the DNC and
Clinton campaign, or that the FBI had separately authorized payment to Steele
for the same information.
2) The Carter Page FISA application also cited extensively a
September 23, 2016, Yahoo News article by Michael Isikoff,
which focuses on Page’s July 2016 trip to Moscow. This article does not
corroborate the Steele dossier because it is derived from information leaked by
Steele himself to Yahoo News. The Page FISA application
incorrectly assesses that Steele did not directly provide information to Yahoo
News. Steele has admitted in British court filings that he met with Yahoo
News — and several other outlets — in September 2016 at the direction
of Fusion GPS. Perkins Coie was aware of Steele’s initial media contacts
because they hosted at least one meeting in Washington D.C. in 2016 with Steele
and Fusion GPS where this matter was discussed.
a) Steele was suspended and then
terminated as an FBI source for what the FBI defines as the most serious of
violations—an unauthorized disclosure to the media of his relationship with the
FBI in an October 30, 2016, Mother Jones article by David
Corn. Steele should have been terminated for his previous undisclosed contacts
with Yahoo and other outlets in September — before the
Page application was submitted to the FISC in October — but Steele improperly
concealed from and lied to the FBI about those contacts.
b) Steele’s numerous encounters
with the media violated the cardinal rule of source handling — maintaining
confidentiality — and demonstrated that Steele had become a less than reliable
source for the FBI.
3) Before and after Steele was terminated as a source, he
maintained contact with DOJ via then-Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce
Ohr, a senior DOJ official who worked closely with Deputy Attorneys General
Yates and later Rosenstein. Shortly after the election, the FBI began
interviewing Ohr, documenting his communications with Steele. For example, in
September 2016, Steele admitted to Ohr his feelings against then-candidate
Trump when Steele said he “was desperate that Donald Trump not get
elected and was passionate about him not being president.” (Emphasis
Nunes’.) This clear evidence of Steele’s bias was recorded by Ohr at the time
and subsequently in official FBI files — but not reflected in any of the Page
FISA applications.
a) During this same time period,
Ohr’s wife was employed by Fusion GPS to assist in the cultivation of
opposition research on Trump. Ohr later provided the FBI with all of his wife’s
opposition research, paid for by the DNC and Clinton campaign via Fusion GPS.
The Ohrs’ relationship with Steele and Fusion GPS was inexplicably concealed
from the FISC.
4) According to the head of the FBI’s counterintelligence
division, Assistant Director Bill Priestap, corroboration of the Steele dossier
was in its “infancy” at the time of the initial Page FISA application. After
Steele was terminated, a source validation report conducted by an independent
unit within FBI assessed Steele’s reporting as only minimally corroborated.
Yet, in early January 2017, Director Comey briefed President-elect Trump on a
summary of the Steele dossier, even though it was — according to his June 2017
testimony — “salacious and unverified.” While the FISA application relied on
Steele’s past record of credible reporting on other unrelated matters, it
ignored or concealed his anti-Trump financial and ideological motivations.
Furthermore, Deputy Director McCabe testified before the Committee in December
2017 that no surveillance warrant would have been sought from the FISC without
the Steele dossier information.
5) The Page FISA application also mentions information
regarding fellow Trump campaign advisor George Papadopoulos, but there is no
evidence of any cooperation or conspiracy between Page and Papadopoulos. The
Papadopoulos information triggered the opening of an FBI counterintelligence
investigation in late July 2016 by FBI agent Pete Strzok. Strzok was reassigned
by the Special Counsel’s Office to FBI Human Resources for improper text
messages with his mistress, FBI Attorney Lisa Page (no known relation to Carter
Page), where they both demonstrated a clear bias against Trump and in favor of
Clinton, whom Strzok had also investigated. The Strzok/Lisa Page texts also
reflect extensive discussions about the investigation, orchestrating leaks to
the media, and include a meeting with Deputy Director McCabe to discuss an
“insurance” policy against President Trump’s election.
+++
7 biggest takeaways from the FISA memo that was just
released
By declassifying the memo, President Trump just blew up
Washington, D.C.
The controversial FISA memo, released by
the House Intelligence Committee to the public on Friday, contains a number of
bombshell revelations related to the FBI’s surveillance on the Trump campaign
during the 2016 election.
At least one Republican, Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona,
concluded that the document shows “clear and convincing evidence of treason.”
Here are the biggest takeaways.
1. Andrew McCabe admitted the dossier was used as the
justification to secure a FISA warrant on Carter Page
Former FBI Deputy Director
Andrew
McCabe. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon).
“Deputy Director McCabe testified before the Committee in
December 2017 that no surveillance warrant would have been sought from the FISC
[Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court] without the Steele dossier
information.”
2. The FBI’s probe into the Trump campaign was triggered
by aide George Papadopoulos
“The Papadopoulos information triggered the opening of an
FBI counterintelligence investigation in late July 2016 by FBI agent Pete
Strzok.”
3. The FBI had no evidence of a connection between
Papadopoulos and Page
Former Trump adviser Carter
Page. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite).
“The Page FISA application also mentions information
regarding fellow Trump campaign advisor George Papadopoulos, but there is no
evidence of any cooperation or conspiracy between Page and Papadopoulos.”
4. The FBI knew the DNC and Clinton campaign were behind
the dossier–but didn’t disclose that knowledge to the FISA court
Former FBI Director James
Comey. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File).
“Neither the initial application in October 2016, nor any of
the renewals, disclose or reference the role of the DNC, Clinton campaign, or.
any party/campaign in funding Steele’s efforts, even though the political
origins of the Steele dossier were then known to senior and FBI officials.”
“The initial FISA application notes Steele was working for a
named US. person, but does not name Fusion GPS and principal Glenn Simpson, who
was paid by a US. law firm (Perkins Coie) representing the DNC (even though it
was known by DOI at the, time that political actors were involved with the
Steele dossier).”
5. The FBI paid Christopher Steele to work on the dossier
Christopher
Steele, the former MI6
agent who compiled the Trump dossier. (Photo by Victoria Jones/PA Images via
Getty Images).
“The application does not mention Steele was ultimately
working on behalf of – and paid by – the DNC and Clinton campaign, or that the
FBI had separately authorized payment to Steele for the same information.”
6. Top DOJ official Bruce Ohr met with Steele in 2016 and
told the FBI the British spy had an anti-Trump bias
Glenn
Simpson, co-founder of
Fusion GPS, which paid for the dossier on behalf of the DNC and Clinton
campaign. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais).
“Before and after Steele was terminated as a source, he
maintained contact with DOJ via then-Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce
Ohr, a senior DOJ official who worked closely with Deputy Attorneys General
Yates and later Rosenstein.
“Shortly after the election, the FBI began interviewing Ohr,
documenting his communications with Steele. For example, in September 2016,
Steele admitted to Ohr his feelings against then-candidate Trump when Steele
said he ‘was desperate that Donald Trump not get elected and was passionate
about him not being president.’
“This clear evidence of Steele’s bias was recorded by Ohr at
the time and subsequently in official FBI files, but not reflected in any of
the Page FISA applications.”
7. The memo reveals which officials green-lighted
surveillance on Carter
Deputy Attorney General Rod
Rosenstein. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik).
“As required by statute, a FISA order on an American citizen
must be renewed by the FISC every 90 days and each renewal requires a separate
finding of probable cause.
“Then-Director James Comey signed three
FISA applications in question on behalf of the FBI, and Deputy Director Andrew
McCabe signed one. Sally Yates, then-Acting DAG Dana
Boente, and DAG Rod Rosenstein each signed one or more
FISA applications on behalf of DOJ.”
In response to the memo, President Trump said “it’s a
disgrace what’s happening in our country” and that “a lot of people should
be ashamed of themselves.”
Pres. Trump says GOP memo has been declassified:
"Congress will do whatever they're going to do. But I think it's
a disgrace what's happening in our country...A lot of people should be
ashamed of themselves." https://t.co/OfR9pu29Wopic.twitter.com/wJHEptrGrk
After the State of the Union speech last President Trump was
caught on mike telling South Carolina GOP Rep. Duncan that he is 100% behind
releasing the FISA Memo to the American people. Whether that Presidential
answer was the desire of the President’s heart or an actual made decision, only
time will tell.
President Trump caught on hot Mic
on Tuesday after state of the union speech, He guaranteed Rep. Jeff Duncan
(R-SC) he’ll release a controversial memo by House Intelligence Committee
Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA).
Below is a Fox News report on the hot mike and that is
a computer-generated voice from Youtube channel Today News including the
description.
Rep. Jeff Duncan urges
President Trump to 'release the memo' as he exits the House chamber following
the State of the Union address.
President Donald Trump was overheard telling a GOP lawmaker
Tuesday night that he’s “100 percent” behind releasing a classified Republican
intelligence memo detailing alleged surveillance abuses.
"Don't worry," the president reportedly told U.S.
Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., on the House floor after delivering his first State of the Union address. “One
hundred percent."
Duncan asked Trump to “release the memo,” a controversial
document drafted by U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., chairman of the House
Intelligence Committee.
The House panel voted Monday along party lines to release
the memo, prompting a political fight between Republicans and Democrats and
pitting Congress against the FBI and the Department of Justice, which object to
the release of the four-page document.
Republicans said the memo reveals alleged abuses of
government surveillance powers in the investigation into alleged collusion
between the Trump campaign and Russia. Democrats said the document is
selectively edited in an attempt to thwart the investigation.
House Speaker Paul Ryan came out Tuesday in support of
releasing the memo, but warned against using it to attack special counsel
Robert Mueller. "This is a completely separate matter from Bob Mueller's
investigation and his investigation should be allowed to take its course,"
he said.
Ryan added that the memo shows “there may have been
malfeasance at the FBI by certain individuals” and raise questions “about
whether an American's civil liberties were violated by the FISA process,”
referring to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which was extended for
an additional six years earlier this month.
The Justice Department called the Republican staff memo’s
release “unprecedented” and “reckless.” Assistant Attorney General Stephen E.
Boyd wrote in a Jan. 24 letter that “Though we are currently unaware of any
wrongdoing relating to the FISA process, we agree that any abuse of that system
cannot be tolerated.”
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director
Christopher Wray reportedly advised White House Chief of Staff John Kelly
against releasing the memo, saying such action would set a dangerous precedent
and would not accurately characterize the FBI's investigative practices, the
Washington Post reported.
But two senior FBI officials – one from the bureau’s
counterintelligence division and the other from the legal division – who
reviewed the memo said they “could not point to any factual
inaccuracies,” Fox News reported Tuesday.
The White House has five days to review the content of the
memo and decide whether to release the memo. It said Tuesday that it would
conduct a legal and national security review before making the decision.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Lukas Mikelionis is a reporter for FoxNews.com. Follow
him on Twitter @LukasMikelionis.
After President Donald Trump gave his brilliant State of the
Union address, he was stopped and asked a question about the FISA memo. His
five-word answer has Democrats freaked out, and for good reason.
The House Intelligence Committee voted on Monday, January
29, 2018, to release the FISA memo which many have said will shake the
political world to the core. The damning memo has already claimed one deep
state operative, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. Now, all eyes are on
President Trump to see what he will do next with the FISA memo, and the video
clip of his departure from the State of the Union address reveals exactly what
that is.
According to The Gateway Pundit, President Trump was stopped
by Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) on his way out of the House of Representatives
building. The first thing on Duncan’s mind was the FISA memo and making sure
the President knew that he and others want it released as soon as possible.
In the clip, Duncan can be heard asking Trump if he would
release the FISA memo. Trump’s five-word answer is enough for the Democrats to
start panicking. “Oh yeah, don’t worry, 100%,” Trump responded. Reportedly,
Trump has five days from Monday to decide to release the memo after review.
According to comments made by Congressman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) during an interview
on Fox & Friends, Trump is not likely to take all five days.
CLIP: As President Trump exits the House Chamber,
@RepJeffDuncan asks him to #ReleaseTheMemo. #SOTU#SOTU2018
pic.twitter.com/O1hHYFdPxM
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 31, 2018
In addition to Gowdy’s comments, White House Legislative
Director Marc Short spoke with veteran journalist Stuart Varney Tuesday,
discussing the most recent developments on the secret FISA memo. “Stuart, I
think the president sides on the side of transparency so I think if there were
abuses he wants the American people to know it,” he explained.
“But let me be clear that the president can do this in a responsible
fashion. We only received the document last night. White House counsel began to
review it last night. The National Security Council will be leading the
inter-agency process here to make sure no secrets were divulged and no methods
were divulged. And, so, it will be done in a very responsible manner,” added
Short.
I don’t think President Donald Trump wants to waste any time
getting the FISA memo out. Many Republicans have already viewed the memo and
urged the President to release it to the public. It’s understandable that,
after a year of waiting, American patriots are a little anxious to see heads
start to roll within our corrupt government agencies and departments.
For those who thought that President Trump might read the
FISA memo during the SOTU, that’s not quite his style. Trump’s first SOTU was
unifying and brilliant. The contents of the FISA memo would have had quite the
opposite effect and worked against the message that Trump wanted to deliver. In
addition, I think President Trump wanted to give officials from the FBI time to
review the material before going public with it.
According to Fox News, two high-level officials at the FBI
have reviewed the FISA memo and even they could not point out any factual
inaccuracies. One of the FBI officials is from the bureau’s counterintelligence
division, and the other one is from the legal division. They reportedly looked
at the FISA memo after FBI Director Christopher Wray viewed it on Sunday,
January 28, 2018.
Now that a total of three officials from the FBI have viewed
the FISA abuse memo, the bureau has been strangely quiet about it and has yet
to even release a statement on the departure of former FBI Deputy Director
Andrew McCabe. In my opinion, McCabe was just a good start, but many others within
the FBI’s top ranks need to be dismissed and then prosecuted for their crimes.
After SOTU, Trump Says 5 Words To Congressman That Has Democrats
FREAKED OUT
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The theme of Justin Smith’s essay is #ReleaseTheMemo.
Most notably, Justin goes over the facts about FBI, DOJ and Dem Party (yup,
that includes Barack Hussein Obama and Crooked Hillary) “apparatchiks” (as Justin calls the Marxist comrades – Russian origin details) determined
first to prevent a Trump election. Then failing in the first agenda, second is to
bring down President Donald Trump.
"Never can true reconcilement
grow where wounds of deadly hate have pierced so deep." - John Milton
Americans are currently living in some of the most
interesting and dangerous times, that they may ever hope to never see again,
especially once one views the machinations of the corrupt and criminally-minded
high-ranking government officials and intelligence and FBI agents, under the
Obama administration, who weaponized the FBI and the Department of Justice. The
entire system of FISA-702 surveillance and data
collection was weaponized against Donald Trump's
presidential campaign and his subsequent presidency, in a manner
that can only be described as illegal, unconstitutional and sedition, if not
outright treason.
As reported by Sara Carter,
investigative journalist and Fox News contributor, a four-page classified House
Intelligence Committee memo, spearheaded by House Intelligence Committee
Chairman Devin Nunes, was made available to all House members on Thursday
January 18th. It outlined extensive abuse of the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act that could lead to several senior officials in the FBI and the
DOJ being fired, along with the end of Robert Mueller's Special Counsel
investigation of President Trump.
"There are four pages of a memorandum prepared by the
intelligence committee that will shock the conscience of the country when it
comes to the horrific abuses that occurred during the last administration and
that I believe continue to pose a threat to Donald Trump's presidency,"
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) stated on Fox News.
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said that he was sickened by the
memo. He said the information it contained showed behavior by the Obama
administration that was "worse than Watergate".
Until Admiral Rogers blew the whistle, the FBI had been
giving Fusion GPS and CrowdStrike access to the FISA database. They halted
access on April 18, 2016; once they learned of Rogers' investigation, and the
very next day, Mary Jacoby, Glenn Simpson's wife,
went to the White House.
One must also note that Bruce Ohr, who was recently
removed from his position as associate Deputy General at the Justice
Department, met with Christopher Steele during the 2016 campaign. Shortly after
the election, Steele also met with Glenn Simpson, the founder of Fusion GPS.
And Bruce Ohr's wife Nellie was
working for Simpson at the time.
Nellie Ohr is a Stanford University PhD and a subject matter
expert on Russia, speaks Russian and is well versed on CIA operations. Her
skills include building counterintelligence frameworks
to give the appearance of events, that never actually occurred.
Numerous Wall Street Journal and Fox News reports are now
credible, in their assertions that the FBI illegally used false information in
the Steele Dossier to obtain FISA warrants against President Trump and members
of his campaign staff and cabinet, such as Michael Flynn and Carter Page. The
FBI claimed Page, a Trump advisor, was a "Russian agent" and no
source anywhere else made that claim, except for Christopher Steele.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley
(R-Iowa) asked for a criminal investigation of
Steele, on January 25th, for making "false statements".
He also called for the release of the memo.
On January 12th, Sean Hannity (FoxNews) stated: "I spoke to three
people, two congressional members, one person in the DOJ. They all confirmed at
different levels that 100 percent the dossier was used ... [ to get] the FISA
warrant."
This is extremely important considering that FBI agent Peter
Strzok, who was in regular contact with the CIA
and handled counterintelligence operations, was a source for the Steele
Dossier, as was CIA Director John Brennan.
They, along with many others such as Andrew McCabe -- Hillary Clinton
apparatchik, Susan Rice and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, fed the false narrative of
President Trump's so-called "collusion" with Russia.
Please recall that Susan Rice illegally unmasked General
Michael Flynn, which set in motion events leading to his
resignation as President Trump's Director of National Intelligence. Her
information came through the illegally obtained FISA warrant, which makes Rep.
Paul Gosar's statement ever more significant, as he recently exclaimed: "If
you don't think the unmasking has something to do with the weaponization of our
Department of Justice and our intelligence services, think again.
In addition, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Session's Justice
Department investigation, of this criminal FISA abuse, uncovered texts between
former counterintelligence expert Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, his mistress and
FBI attorney, in which they spoke of an "insurance policy" and a
seeming plot to undermine President
Trump's administration. Both of them served briefly on Special Counsel
Mueller's investigation into Russian interference; but Strzok also led the FBI
probe into Hillary Clinton's private email server and he was involved in
opening the 2016 investigation into election meddling. And the day after the
election, one finds a text between Strzok and Page saying, "Perhaps this
is the first meeting of the secret society"
Looking at the texts, at one point, Strzok writes Page: "I
want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy's [Andrew
McCabe?] office that there is no way he gets elected. But I'm afraid we can't
take that risk. It's like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die
before you're forty."
The FBI's investigation into Russian government interference
in the election began in July 2016, just weeks before Strzok's text. This looks
increasingly like a plan was already in place to sink the Trump presidency, if
he won, even though they thought any Trump victory would be unlikely. This was
their motivation and the smoking gun that illustrates FBI corruption and bias
against President Trump.
More importantly, despite FBI Counterintelligence Director Bill Priestap's "suggestion"
not to notify Congress,
shouldn't FBI Director James Comey have told Congressional oversight that he
was investigating presidential candidate Trump, as protocol dictates? Or, was
Comey too hiding the fact that the FBI was running a counterintelligence
operation against a presidential candidate, president - elect Donald Trump and
then a sitting President of the United States Donald Trump?
The known facts alone speak of such egregious crimes against
America and the people's sacred trust, that they warrant lengthy prison
sentences and even executions, depending on one's degree of complicity. All of
these conspirators must be identified and punished accordingly, made to face a
day of reckoning, and this does not end well for America until this is done.
Representative Matt Gaetz correctly observed: "I
believe there are people who will go to jail. You don't get to try to undermine
our country, undermine our elections, and then simply get fired."
In 1961, President Kennedy stated:
"The very word 'secrecy' is repugnant in a free and open society; and we
are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to
secret oaths and to secret proceedings ... Even today, there is little value in
insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with
it."
Dangerous times demand serious answers for America, which is
under assault by domestic enemies. Evil men and women, aspiring dictators and
apparatchiks of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, without any respect for our
U.S. Constitution and America's founding principles, have actively sought to
usurp the will of the American people and a duly elected U.S. president. Their
intents and purposes could not have been executed without Obama's imprimatur
and specific orders, as they cast the die and betrayed America, and, down to
the last conspirator, they must be ruthlessly exposed, by releasing the memo,
if we are to save our Republic.
