Senator Grassley’s Referral Memo

Senator Grassley has released the memo that was sent to the DOJ and the FBI, referring Christopher Steele for investigation. However, the memo is heavily redacted, which means that We the People will have to wait to see what Senator Grassley knows that we’re not being allowed to know.

Update 2/6/18: This link goes to a less-redacted version of the memo, approved for release today.

Grassley called for the entire memo, without redactions, to be released to the public:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation signed off on an unclassified version of the criminal referral by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee Chairman Lindsey Graham only after the White House declassified a House Intelligence Committee (HPSCI) Majority memo largely based on the same underlying documents.  Grassley is now calling on the FBI to update the classification of the referral to allow complete disclosure of important context from the documents on which it is based.

“Seeking transparency and cooperation should not be this challenging.  The government should not be blotting out information that it admits isn’t secret, and it should not take dramatic steps by Congress and the White House to get answers that the American people are demanding. There are still many questions that can only be answered by complete transparency.  That means declassifying as much of the underlying documents as possible,” Grassley said.

In a recent article, Sharyl Attkisson explained that the FBI is trying to “suppress” the information; she notably pointed out that there are numerous conflicts of interest should the DOJ/FBI investigate this potential crime (as somebody should):

The Steele criminal referral in essence asks the FBI to investigate a source with whom FBI officials collaborated, and whose evidence they used in a fashion that’s under congressional investigation.

The referral was addressed to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein who himself signed at least one of the questionable wiretap applications using the Steele dossier.

It was also addressed to FBI Director Christopher Wray whose choice for general counsel, Dana Boente, also signed at least one of the wiretap applications. Boente replaced James Baker, a confidante of former FBI Director James Comey, who signed three of the wiretap applications. (Baker was reassigned in December after questions arose about leaks promoting the anti-Trump material in the dossier. Last June, Comey admitted that he secretly orchestrated a leak to the press to prompt a special counsel investigation of any Trump-Russia ties. Robert Mueller was appointed two days later.)

It would seem that the only route available would be for the DOJ to appoint a special counsel. The Senator and the public should demand that special counsel and also the release of the unredacted memo, ASAP.

Feel free to add your analysis of the contents of the memo, such as we can see, in comments below.

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143 responses to “Senator Grassley’s Referral Memo

  1. I’m only now reading the redacted memo. First off, there appear to be some good sources for us to read in the footnotes, such as media articles the referral cites. We’ll be able to read between the lines on those.

    It’s frustrating to read with all the redactions. It’s insulting, too. I suppose their reasoning is that, hey, you don’t want to send evidence to the White House. There’s some information towards the end about how a friend of the Clintons funneled information through the State Dept. to Steele. Sharyl Attkisson explains more about that in her article. This is something that’s next on the House intel committee’s radar–collusion between Russia and the State Dept., and Fusion, and the DOJ/FBI, and the media, etc.

  2. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/02/05/ex-obama-intel-bosses-snipe-at-trump-from-sidelines-amid-concern-over-politicized-agencies.html

    An interesting and pertinent article about how former Obama DOJ/FBI people are losing their vaunted, shall we say, objectivity. Trying to cover their butts, I should guess.

  3. https://truepundit.com/suddenly-msm-realizes-fbi-plotted-to-fck-flynn-true-pundit-told-you-that-10-months-300-days-ago/

    Yes. No bias there! Was that a meeting of the “secret society?” Sounds like it. Was Strzok there?

    “Mere days before Gen. Michael Flynn was sacked as national security advisor, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe gathered more than a dozen of his top FBI disciples to plot how to ruin Flynn’s aspiring political career and manufacture evidence to derail President Donald Trump, according to FBI sources.

    McCabe, the second highest ranking FBI official, emphatically declared at the invite-only gathering with raised voice: “Fuck Flynn and then we Fuck Trump,” according to direct sources. Many of his top lieutenants applauded and cheered such rhetoric. A scattered few did not.

    This was one of several such meetings held in seclusion among key FBI leaders since Trump was elected president, FBI sources confirm. At the congregation where McCabe went off the political rails and vowed to destroy Flynn and Trump, there were as many as 16 top FBI officials, inside intelligence sources said. No lower-level agents or support personnel were present. …”

    https://www.circa.com/story/2017/06/27/nation/did-the-fbi-retaliate-against-michael-flynn-by-launching-russia-probe

    • There’s an important part of the True Pundit story for the timeline. Something I either never knew or forgot. Look at this timing:

      “Comey promoted McCabe to FBI Deputy Director in February 2016. The promotion helped fill a very large void created by the retirement of John Giacalone, who was the supervisor of the bureau’s National Security Branch and also the FBI brains and genesis behind the Clinton email and private server investigation. Since the inception of the case, Giacalone had spearheaded the Clinton investigation, and helped hand select top agents who were highly skilled but also discreet. Many of those agents were concerned when Giacalone abruptly resigned in the middle of the investigation.

      FBI insiders said Giacalone used the term “sideways” to describe the direction the Clinton probe had taken in the bureau. Giacalone lamented privately he no longer had confidence in the direction the investigation was headed. He felt it was simpler to quietly step aside, walk away instead of fight to keep the investigation on its proper track. Giacalone was a true heavyweight agent at FBI. In fact, he likely should have been running the entire show. His pedigree included running and creating FBI divisions in New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and even serving as deputy commander in the Iraqi theater of operations. But in the midst of the Clinton investigation, Giacalone handed the bureau his retirement papers in February 2016.

      The day after Giacalone’s departure, Comey tapped McCabe to help oversee the ongoing Clinton case and personally serve “as the eyes and ears” for Comey, sources confirmed. Since early July 2016, Comey has come under intense fire from critics and the majority of Americans who believe he granted Clinton a get-out-of-jail-free card by refusing to refer the case to the Justice Department for a probable slam-dunk indictment on at least one of potential dozens of criminal charges. …”

      • What’s interesting is how quickly the “investigation” came to a head (at least they thought so) as soon as Giacalone was gone and McCabe appeared on the scene. See this timeline: http://www.thompsontimeline.com/category/clinton-email-server/timeline-short/page/6/

        Already in March they were talking about the investigation ending and would probably be over by May. Then, according to stories linked at that timeline, they would make the decision about whether to charge her. Interestingly enough, also in March stories said “political pressure” was coming on the FBI FROM OBAMA to NOT charge her. Gee, isn’t that “obstruction of justice?” Haven’t we been told and haven’t the media screamed that the FBI is “independent” and it’s obstruction for the president to be involved AT ALL? How could they so blithely report that Obama was pressuring the FBI? And then, check it out. The prediction was the case would wind down in May, and right on cue, in May, Comey and minions began to write the EXONERATION memo, even though he didn’t present the end result until July. And then, of course, he allegedly reopened the investigation in Oct. It certainly seems as if Giacalone was resisting the Obama pressure and he was somehow made to retire and McCabe (Hillary’s friend) took over right in the nick of time.

        You know, that reminds me. February 2016. Wasn’t that when allegedly Strzok and Page were talking about how they can’t go in “loaded for bear” when Hillary might be the next POTUS? The media said this was in regard to who would be best to interview Clinton. I wondered why they were talking about it in February, when she wasn’t interviewed until July, just a few days before her exoneration. Now we can guess that this “skinny group,” with Andy as their new leader, suddenly had control and would be able to pick the few agents who would be “best” to, in STRZOK’S words, ensure the right “outcome.” iow, exoneration of Hillary, interview w/o tape recorder, oath, or even transcript. Kid gloves.

  4. A hero!!

    • Beautiful new avatar, Foxy! He is a hero. He’s ending up out there standing alone.

    • He is SO correct about the precedent. If the Democrats are NOT worried about a president and his administration abusing the FISA court system and the NSA data collection database to spy on opponents’ campaigns, then it’s business as usual! Since it’s of no concern to them, then they ought not worry about Trump’s administration weaponizing the NSA, DOJ, and FBI AGAINST THEM. How about it? Would that be fine?

      Not only is he right about Papadopoulous (if he was such a threat, why didn’t they FISA him?), but there’s also this: IF Page was really on the FBI “radar” since 2013 (when he COOPERATED WITH THE FBI ON AN INVESTIGATION), and if HE was such a threat, then why didn’t they FISA him long before he volunteered on the Trump campaign? iow, why didn’t they get a warrant to spy on him long before Trump was in the picture and why ONLY once he signed onto Trump’s campaign as, imho, a plant? Was Page cooperating here on another FBI sting? Hmm? Since they affirmed to the FISC that Page IS a foreign agent (a spy) and ALSO that he was in the process of committing a crime (per their AFFIDAVIT), then WHY hasn’t he been CHARGED with that crime? What, btw, WAS his crime? I believe all of these guys were planted into the Trump campaign or transition in order to be able to abuse the system and get a warrant to spy ON the Trump people.

      • Ok. Now this is really strange. Sometimes I do believe I pick up things from the ozone, stratosphere, or the collective consciousness. I have no idea why it struck me suddenly that maybe Page was planted, as I suspect was Papadopoulos (who is connected to the Dept. of State, too). I wrote the above mid-afternoon, and now TCTH comes out with evidence that Page was on the FBI payroll, assisting in an investigation into some Russians. That was in March 2016 and just a few months later, the FBI was going to the FISC asking for a warrant to monitor ALL of his communications because suddenly he’s a foreign agent involved in an on-going CRIME. I had no clue about any of this but some little birdie was whispering in my ear that he’s a plant. Why hasn’t he been charged, huh? This explains, also, why they never got a warrant to spy on his communications BEFORE he “joined” as a “volunteer” the Trump campaign! OMG, this is outrageous. And look at the timing. March-May 2016, right after McCabe took over the FBI, as he started winding down Hillary’s investigation so she’d be exonerated. He’d have learned/known about Page. He could easily get him to be a double agent FOR the FBI, against Trump, part of the insurance policy, right? Page is an experienced informant/agent, apparently. This puts the “deep” in Deep State, doesn’t it? Read it and weep: https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/02/05/in-march-2016-carter-page-was-an-fbi-employee-in-october-2016-fbi-told-fisa-court-hes-a-spy/comment-page-1/#comments

        • From their story:

          “Carter Page was an FBI Under-Cover Employee in 2013, and remained the primary FBI witness through May of 2016.

          If Carter Page was working as an UCE (FBI undercover employee), responsible for the bust of a high level Russian agent in 2013 -and remained a UCE- throughout the court case UP TO May of 2016, how is it possible that on October 21st 2016 Carter Page is put under a FISA Title 1 surveillance warrant as an alleged Russian agent?

          Conclusion: He wasn’t. The DOJ National Security Division and the FBI Counterintelligence Division flat-out LIED. …”

          WOW! They have to be right. The FBI/DOJ is USING PAGE as a key witness in court against some Russians and then just months later claiming to the FISC that he’s probably a Russian agent in the course of committing crimes!

        • ~ Lurker2 says: …..^^^^^
          W.T.H. So the bizarre testimony and letter are just an act? They used a phony dossier to secure a phony warrant to monitor one of their own?
          Very clever! Natash and Boris would be so proud.

          Who hooked up Page with Trump? How did Page join the team as an advisor? Likewise Papadopoulos.

          Page joined as an unpaid volunteer as he had some Russian schooling on his resume. <<< ???? …… Who let him in?

          Found this: Page found his way to the Trump team via New York State Republican Party chairman Ed Cox, who said he knew Page from his volunteer work on the 2008 John McCain presidential campaign. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/who-carter-page-what-does-he-have-do-russia-probe-n844821

          So john McCain name comes up again.
          Wanna bet McCain referred him?
          McCain should not have been the one to give the Dossier to the FBI
          in this case… now he is tied to the crap 2X.

          • So is Cox a cock … Nevermind. Is he a never-Trumper? So he volunteered on McCain’s campaign–a certified never-Trumper and Trump hater and original funder of oppo research on Trump. He was always bff’s with Hillary, too. Planted by McCain? Then there’s this connection of Papadopoulos with Hillary.

        • Timing, timing. March 2016: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/the-mystery-of-trumps-man-in-moscow-214283

          Notice when Page joined Trump’s team and do notice when this profile was run and how multiple people told the author that Page had those meetings in the dossier (that he claims he didn’t have) and that he was under investigation by the intel community FOR those activities–this was in Sept. 2016, just as the FISA application was being made. This is another planted story. And pay attention, too, to the Harry Reid connection.

          • They don’t even know where he came from!

            “One source suggested to me that Richard Burt, former U.S. ambassador to Germany, START treaty negotiator, and longtime lobbyist for Alfa Bank, was the nexus. It was Burt who helped draft Trump’s foreign policy speech in April, and had been advising the Trump campaign, via Senator Jeff Sessions, on foreign policy. But when I met Burt at his office at the McLarty Associates lobbying shop, he looked at me and said he had never even met him. “The only person I talked to about Carter Page is this guy at the Washington Post,” Burt told me. “And I told him I’d never met the guy. Let me put it this way: if I have met him, I’ve forgotten. He’s the former Merrill Lynch guy, right?”

            Someone else told me that the Page connection was Rick Dearborn, Sessions’ chief of staff, who hired Page because Dearborn knew nothing about foreign policy but needed to put together a foreign policy staff for Trump’s Alexandria, Virginia, policy shop and he happened to know Page. But Dearborn wouldn’t return my calls, and someone who once worked for that policy shop told me it was neither Dearborn nor Burt, but campaign co-chair Sam Clovis who recruited Page. “If he was part of that original group of people, I can say with 70 percent confidence it was Sam Clovis,” this person told me.

            “I’m not answering your questions,” Clovis told me. He refused to tell me if he was the one who found Page, but Jason Miller, the campaign’s other spokesperson, says, “Carter Page isn’t someone I’ve interacted with.” Which confirmed what a policy staffer on the Trump campaign told me: “Carter is a red herring, not a Rasputin. He’s never met Trump, never briefed him. He has zero influence, none.” …”

  5. Rope a dope! Next up, the committee that oversees COURTS: http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/02/gop-lawmaker-pushing-subpoena-transcripts-fisa-court-hearings-video/

    “Rep Gohmert appeared on Fox News Sunday to talk about the FISA abuse memo which was released Friday. Gohmert also revealed he is requesting the House Judiciary Committee subpoena the FISA court hearing transcripts.

    “I have prepared a letter that I plan to submit to and hopefully have other people sign on with me tomorrow on our Judiciary Committee we have a great Chairman [Bob Goodlatte] on our Judiciary Committee. He wants to get to the facts and what I’m asking him for is that we as the Judiciary Committee subpoena the transcripts from the FISA court hearings, the four different ones at least regarding the dossier…I want to hear everything that was said,” Gohmert said. …”

  6. Heard a name from the past last week: Cody Shearer, and my ears pricked up. Supposedly he had a dossier, too, that might have preceded Steele’s, or was used by Steele to form his. Cody’s twin sister, you might remember. was Brooke Shearer. There’s an older brother, too, Derek. This sibling threesome from SoCal (Personality Parade Lloyd Shearer’s offspring) were early “friends” (Brooke was a kind of body guard for Hillary, before Huma was pressed into service) of Bill and Hillary Clinton, along with fellow Rhodes Scholar Strobe Talbott, who married Brooke and had two sons. Brooke passed away several years ago from cancer; Strobe announced his retirement from the Brookings Institution last January, shortly after Trump’s inauguration, and retired in Oct. 2017.

    I believe he likely has his fingers in this whole Russia collusion project — sort of one last favor rendered to the Clintons — or maybe he’s trying to screw them with all the revelations coming forth. I don’t know, but he is an “international man of mystery” and sort of revels in being a globalist/author/expert on espionage/disarmament in several of his books. He grew up in CLE OH, went to boarding school at Hotchkiss and graduated from Yale in 1968, where he won all the important academic honors. He went to work at TIME Inc. and translated the Krushchev papers from Russian. Some say he patterned himself after TIME founder Henry Luce, same schools, also head of the Yale Daily News. Some say Strobe was compromised and gave the Russians some info that had been classified, i. e. spying. This is why he was not Sec’y of State — the old sow Madeline Albright got to do that job. Anyway, there’s something about the whole Russia Collusion sewage flowing out from the Clinton’s tent that makes me suspect dear old Strobe! Just throwing it out there;-) Let’s see what happens.

    • He’s one of the Clinton people who was feeding dirt to Steele to put into “his” dossier to pass it on to the FBI. It’s all circular. Thanks for the inside dope. Didn’t put him together with Lloyd Shearer. Small world, huh, especially when you’re connected. Strobe Talbott! I seem to remember him in comments recently. So he’s Cody’s brother-in-law? Yikes. Another dynasty. Remember, too, how the Dept. of State is involved in this and Kerry and Mueller were teammates and classmates in college.

  7. My friends ask WHAT do I SEE .. in U ???? ^^^
    But it goes deeper than the eye can view
    Beauty’s only skin deep
    Don’t judge a book by its cover
    She may be fine on the OUT-side
    But so UN-true on the IN-side
    Beauty’s only skin deep ….

  8. Special Guest Don Fredrick With In Depth Analysis On The FISA Memo
    SOOOOOO….. “IS “OBAMA”…. INVOLVED?” ..?????? …^^^^^

    Don Fredrick, investigator and author, will analyze the recently released
    FISA memo. Did our previous administration commit treason? Why were the American people misled? Was the FISA Court warrant obtained illegally?
    Was this an attempt to alter the election? ….. Is Obama involved?

    Some of Don Fredrick’s brilliant work includes:

  9. ~ The Old Chip • ~ WAKE ” U P ” YOUR SAD AZZ’es ^^^^ FOOLS RULE?

    Here’s more of those “Honest”, “Hardworking” people “Looking for a Better Life”. …… ??????

    Jan. 31, 2018 – SOUTA – Sitting alongside the first lady were the parents of two Long Island teenagers who were Killed by (ILLEGAL alien) MS-13 gang members.

    Jan 05, 2018 – 5-Year-Old Raped By ILLEGAL Alien, California Sanctuary Governor Ignores – Law enforcement officers in Southern California are continuing their search for an ILLEGAL alien from El Salvador wanted for
    his heinous sex crimes perpetrated on a 5-year-old girl.

    ILLEGAL alien Emmanuel Jesus Rangel-Hernandez, 19-yo gang member, charged with FOUR murders. He applied for and RECEIVED deferred action under obama’s ILLEGAL Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program; yeah, …… Dream On.

    Xinran Ji, a USC engineering student died in 2014 from a savage beating by 19-yo “Dreamer”, mexican ILLEGAL alien Jonathan DelCarmen, & his thug
    pals Alberto Ochoa, 17, Andrew Garcia, 18, & Alejandra Guerrero, 16, who racially profiled Ji because he was Asian & assumed he “must have money.”

    ABC News had time to ….. mention the illegal Killer tonight.
    Just a B L I P ! . And NO commentary on H O W , “Trump was RIGHT again!”

    The way the Mainstream Media reports, night after night, Trump is the
    enemy …….
    & …… Illegals are just >>>>> “innocent” <<<<<< folks. ???

    Enter B L M in 3…2…1…crickets!

  10. ~ C ~ C ……
    I would like to hear from the Hillary Clinton supporters NOW that the memo was released seeing absolute Proof T O P officials at both the Department of Justice & the FBI conspired alongside the Democratic National Committee & the Clinton campaign to solicit, pay for & distribute lies about the candidate Donald Trump. It is no wonder the Democrats, headed by our very own Adam Schiff, the FBI & the DOJ didn’t want this memo released. It is absolutely damning to our government institutions & what it says about the candidate Hillary Clinton, her campaign & the DNC. The charges are now facts.

    The Clinton Campaign Paid $12 Million ….for a Dossier written by British Spy, Christopher Steele, through the media group Fusion GPS. The purpose of this dossier was to Smear the candidate Donald Trump with Lies Created by unverified Russian sources. The FBI then used this phony dossier to get a federal judge to issue Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court warrants allowing the Obama administration, the DOJ & the FBI to wiretap opposition candidate Donald Trump. These lies were the genesis of the Mueller investigation.

    Funny thing is, without Evidence, the only thing being reported is how Donald Trump himself colluded with the Russians. The congressional investigation, however, has shown us an entirely different picture. All evidence Points to the Fact that there was a Massive constitutional
    crisis in our country. Top officials within our government became so biased against one candidate that they were willing to take the election
    of our president into their own hands. ….
    The only Problem, …… “Hillary”.. LOST!!!

    ~ Don’t let the truth get in the way of your argument, you should be ashamed of yourself. Lies and withholding information in order to get a FISA warrant is illegal. If you want clear evidence of bias in the FBI,
    just read the texts between Peter Strzok, Chief of the Counterespionage Section of the FBI & his Mistress, FBI lawyer, Lisa Page. You wouldn’t learn that by watching CNN & MSNBC. Go ahead deny this fact.
    The noose is tightening but I know the Democrats will not acknowledge seeing something that is right in front of their faces & continue to stick their collective heads in the sand crying in unison, ……
    “Trump colluded with Russia” all without any evidence. Sad.

  11. But what about my rats?, I asked him. How were they getting food? Clearly they were coming up an old toilet pipe from the sewer, & there wasn’t any food in my basement ceiling.

    That’s where it got a little ugly. I was right about the combined sewer system, Corrigan said; it does make it easier for rats to get into toilets. As if to make the point, the day after we capped our toilet pipe, a rat popped up in my next-door neighbor’s toilet.

    Plus, toilet drainage turns out to be a boon for sewer rats. “Lots of food gets flushed,” Corrigan pointed out. (This remains hard for me to fathom, but I do recall a landlord once complaining about a tenant who always flushed chicken bones down the toilet.)

    “Also, if push comes to shove, human feces and dog feces contain undigested food,” Corrigan said.

    “They don’t turn up their nose at anything that floats by.”

    Let’s pause on that for a moment. What Corrigan is saying is that the rats in my basement ceiling were climbing up & down a toilet pipe into the sewer every day, whereupon they ate & quite possibly dragged back up caches of food that may or may not have included human excrement.

    “That’s repulsive to humans, but it’s called coprophagy, & it’s part of the reason rats are so successful,” he said. “They don’t turn up their nose at anything …… that floats by.”
    YEP …. just LOVE ,,,,them DEMO-RATS’ !!!!

  12. The Colin Kaepernick Foundation has Made Donations to more than
    30 organizations with matching gifts by>>> celebrities? such as
    Snoop Dogg,
    Chris Brown,
    Nick Cannon,
    Meek Mill,
    Usher,
    Sean “Diddy” Combs,
    Dr. Dre
    DJ Khaled.
    YEP ….just a few ….of them SEWER ^^^^ RATS!!!!

    • I see that Politico article is NOT written by the more unbiased, Russian-born woman whose story I linked somewhere here yesterday. She says he was basically a cipher, nobody in Russia had heard of him, those who had said he was an “idiot” who overinflated what he did (instead of “meeting” bigshots he was a flunky setting up meetings for people, iirc), and that they especially laughed about him getting meetings with the big shots the dossier claimed he met with. They said that’s basically impossible for a nobody like him, much less people who are far more important and powerful than he. Things to notice when reading this article about Page: The guy OMITS a timeline, making it appear as if Steele HAD BEEN working for Fusion GPS when the Republican entity was paying for oppo research. He WAS NOT. He was HIRED by Fusion AFTER the DNC and Clinton hired them. So, no, Republicans were not paying for this dossier and Steele’s research. Second–isn’t it funny? He mentions the FBI referring to Page as Male-1, but omits the fact that in testimony in court they referred to Page as UCE-1, iow, undercover EMPLOYEE #1. They don’t want it publicly known that Page WORKED FOR the FBI. He was probably paid, too, as an EMPLOYEE would differ from an informant or a volunteer. When Page went to Russia in 2016, was he STILL working FOR the FBI? Is Page’s House intel testimony public record? If not, then how does this writer know what Page said? This story directly contradicts TGP story that says all the FISA judges were appointed by Obama. This story says all the judges who gave FISA warrants to spy on Page were appointed by Republicans. HOW DOES HE KNOW? Has HE read the warrants? Who is leaking classified information to Politico? The warrant was NOT obtained until after Page left the Trump campaign after leaks about him were published in the news.

    • Yep. Slovakia, and Poland, and Hungary. There are others, too, I think. Czech Republic? They’re all, of course, being called racist and the next incarnation of Nazis, ALL BECAUSE THEY WANT TO PRESERVE THEIR OWN WAYS AND CULTURE. What’s wrong with that? We hear all the time about how wonderful discrete cultures are. PBS and the rest of the progressives constantly hype how wonderful different cultures are. Rick Steves? Travel the world. Exposure to different peoples, cultures, religions is the antidote for closed minds. Something like that. And yet, if these Slavic and Christian countries want to preserve their cultures (Scandinavians, too), they’re screamed at and called Hitler. But what is this month about? BLACK HISTORY month. Why isn’t THAT racist?

  13. Wray has apparently allowed Grassley to publish a far less redacted version of his letter: https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2018-02-06%20CEG%20LG%20to%20DOJ%20FBI%20(Unclassified%20Steele%20Referral).pdf

    I’m wallowing in Schadenfreude because this memo reveals that Steele apparently did lie to the FBI about having “briefed” those complicit propaganda news organizations in Sept. BEFORE they applied for the FISA warrant. What’s now apparent and is HILARIOUS, imho, is that the propagandist Isikoff, the useful and willing idiot, has ADMITTED TO THE MEDIA THAT YES, INDEED, HE GOT HIS INFORMATION FROM STEELE FOR HIS SEPT. ARTICLE. Therefore, despite that the FBI continued to claim all the way until JUNE 2017 that Steele was NOT Isikoff’s source, now Isikoff has blown the whistle on him by acting “shocked, shocked” that the news article was so used in a warrant application. I saw a video of Nunes at TCTH where he seemed particularly happy that now it is CONFIRMED that the Yahoo! article by Isikoff was based upon leaks from Steele to news media, BEFORE THE WARRANT WAS APPLIED FOR!

    Do refer to Andrew McCarthy’s analysis of the Nadler memo, wherein he points out that it’s the CREDIBILITY of the ultimate sources (i.e., the RUSSIAN SOURCES) that matters in a warrant application, not the credibility of the person who brings the information to the FBI. iow, it doesn’t matter if Steele is credible. He’s NOT the informant. The Russians are. The FBI is supposed to verify the information’s credibility, not the reputation of the person who’s passing on second- and third-hand information. In addition, they have to demonstrate PROBABLE CAUSE that the person is a foreign agent and is COMMITTING A FEDERAL OFFENSE. They had neither, according to this new memo.

    • Something else revealed:

      Ahkmetshin heard information from the dossier as early as summer 2016. This would be when the dossier was first beginning to be compiled, when they first were briefing the Gang of Eight about “Russians talking to Russians” about Page, and when they were setting up that Trump Tower sting with Trump Jr. and Natalia. Timing, timing, timing. The insurance policy was coming together. Simpson is the U.S. person mentioned in the application admitting that a law firm hired him and he hired Steele. This is in the footnote, apparently supposedly the notice to the FISA court that it’s “political.” In any case, remember that Simpson was compiling the oppo research, and Steele, who hated Trump and would do anything to prevent his election, was compiling the dossier for Simpson and then Simpson meets with Veselnitskaya BEFORE AND AFTER HER MEETING WITH TRUMP JR. All within the same month, this is happening. And also, the same month, the FBI is trying to get a warrant to spy on the Trump campaign. They’re not successful until they get the dossier from Simpson/Steele and, according to McCabe, they wouldn’t have been successful without it.

      There is little doubt left that this ALL was a conspiracy, collusion, to undermine Trump and prevent the WILL OF THE PEOPLE.

      The Democrats colluded with Russians. The Democrats colluded with Clinton, the FBI, the DOJ (iow, the Obama administration), and the media. EVERYTHING THEY ACCUSE TRUMP OF DOING, THEY WERE DOING!

    • ~ Cody Robert Judy

      Re: [Rep. Tom Garrett Jr. (R-VA) likened the allegations into Trump/Russia “collusion” to a hypothetical politically-motivated investigation into Barack Hussein Obama’s “birthplace.”]

      What these guys say “On Air” perhaps can also be interpreted as different than what they mean, as they are Politicians.

      For example – this could be construed as a shot-over-the -bow that if the Dems fight this keeping the Mueller Investigation alive in the direction of Impeaching Trump, its going to cause an Investigation on Obama’s Qualifications and I.D.

      Both the Dossier and Obama’s I.D. Are Fraudulent. We know that. So, comparing the two ties them together in a twisted irony.

      The thing that might hurt President Trump the most would be if the Dems in Hillary Clinton take a right turn and finger Trump as a “point man” in calling for Obama’s Birth Certificate to be released on The View for Favors of the Old Post Office.

      We have to consider this is Leverage against Trump the Dems have but are withholding and Trump doesn’t like it one bit. To out maneuver Dems he declassifies Nunes Memo to paint the Dems in a corner.

      BUT we must consider the totality of the leverage. Who does it implicate, and how long is the leverage “Good for”.

      Current events suggest Hillary is toast reaching her date-of-expiration and Obama’s ” Legacy” isn’t holding up.

      The underlings of the FBI and VIA are being trashed by Trump.

      See recent Tweet of Trump’s trashing Brennon, Clapper, & Comey.
      TWEET
      [Little Adam Schiff, who is desperate to run for higher office, is one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington, right up there with Comey, Warner, Brennan and Clapper! Adam leaves closed committee hearings to illegally leak confidential information. Must be stopped!]

      This is an Amazing Tweet because it brings in the CIA… Officials & what Trump knows they did w Obama”s Docs in the McCain-Clinton-Obama Passport Break-in.

      Also the black out of Air Transport for the week Obama was born.

      The names on Trump’s list far exceeds the Dossier and FBI mental.

      We should consider the Leverages may start a race to release & investigate first. If Trump doesn’t START it and Dems do, Trump loses advantage even though he was a part of it.

      If he starts it first, he may have a “Out” saying he didn’t know until being Elected. But if he waits, these folks could place a pinch on him that will HURT bad in the American Public Eye.

      It could be the straw that breaks the second term protocol. Guess we sit back & watch it unfold. .. & see who gets the tables turned on them faster.

  14. ….PASS the FUDGE CAKE ….ALL AROUND ….

    Judge: Baker has ….. Right to R E -fuse ‘same-sex wedding’ cakes !!!

  15. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/judiciary-chairman-seeks-answers-on-trump-aide-surveillance/2018/02/06/b4d096c0-0bba-11e8-998c-96deb18cca19_story.html

    Goodlatte sent a request to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Jan. 16 for more information about the use of the so-called “Steele dossier” as the basis for a warrant to spy on campaign aide Carter Page. He sent a similar request to the Justice Department last Thursday — a day before Trump approved the release of a Republican memo that the president said “vindicated” him in the ongoing federal Russia probe. …

    “I am shocked by media reports that the FBI may have relied upon an unsubstantiated ‘dossier’ which makes ‘salacious and unverified’ claims against President Trump,” Goodlatte wrote in his letter to Judge Rosemary Collyer, the presiding judge of the court that reviews and vets Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant applications.

    Goodlatte, a Virginia Republcian, also is seeking additional FISA warrants that were based on the dossier by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele. A spokeswoman for Goodlatte did not immediately respond to a question Tuesday night asking if the committee had evidence of additional warrants built off the dossier.
    …”

  16. ~ Three-Pound Sledge …..^^^^
    The apparent attempted coup of the Trump presidency by the DOJ/FBI has its roots in, & has been green-lighted by, the lawlessness of the fraudulent presidency of HUSSEIN Obama.

    The alphabet news media, including FOX News with alleged gag orders, are the combined Josef Goebbels and Soviet Union Pravda rolled up into one massive spearhead to overthrow the Constitutional legitimacy of President Donald J. Trump.

    • We definitely dodged a bullet when Trump was elected.
      I’ll take rude ….. over stupid anyday. …….^^^^^^^
      Amen.

      she is not just stupid but in a ruthless way without a moral compass & knows no bounds to her awful evil ambition … she and Bill make the perfect couple may they burn in Hell

      She definitely won’t be around to see any of these predictions. Why isn’t she in hiding, like her buddy Obama. She is so delusional, that she thinks she can still be President. Whenever she speaks, it’s like she is bringing up campaign issues.

      Well to be honest she is pandering to morons.

      More precisely and completely, she is a dispictable liar & criminal, yet to be arrested, indicted and prosecuted, pandering to morons.

      I knew she was dishonest, but I never realized until now just how Stupid she is. I thought it was all an act…

      Plus a quart of Vodka and of course her ….. Xanax.

      She plays dumb when needed, like when discussing methods of wiping
      a server. The old, “I’m just a Stupid ….. woman” Tactic.

    • One thing, thank God, that we won’t bear the brunt of is having that corrupt harridan as the “first” female president. Wish we could say the same for African-Americans and the albatross hung around their necks by virtue of the “first” (alleged) AA president.

  17. Looks like Congress has, Kicked the can down the road again. 👿

        • Oh, I’m glad you mentioned Valjar today. There’s a fun story going on in IL right now. The Blagojevich tapes? The ones that led to him being sent to jail for trying to “sell” Barry’s vacated Senate seat to the highest bidder? I think a few months back I told y’all that Penny Pritzker’s (remember her?) brother is running for governor of IL. I mentioned it, iirc, in the context of remarking on how his ads show him as a good-ole boy, wearing flannel shirts and khakis, acting like some blue-collar union worker, except I know he’s mega-rich. MEGA-rich ($3.4 billion?), being an heir, like Penny, to the Hyatt Hotel fortune. (How those Dems do love dynasties.) Anyway, current Governor Rauner (a Republican, possibly in name only–can’t expect much, this is IL, after all) has supporters who have dug out the Blagojevich tapes. So many Dems were and could have been implicated in that scandal of selling government positions, quid pro quo, wheeling and dealing, bribery, and corruption. iirc, Jesse Jackson Jr., VALJAR, and Barry were potentially implicated BUT the powers that be and the media protected the guilty. Anyway, now the Chicago Tribune has released the tapes and political opponents of J.B. Pritzker are running ads with excerpts. Very funny ads (but also sad when you consider the corruption) that highlight conversations where J.B. and Blago are discussing J.B. getting various positions in return for, Blago hopes, millions of dollars. Today, there was an equally hilarious (hoist on their own petard) story about how J.B. was caught on tape discussing WHO would be the “least offensive” black person who could possible be even “sort of, like, qualified” to fill various vacancies in state government. So now J.B., crocodile tears in his eyes, had to do a presser surrounded by a bunch of blacks to apologize. Valjar was mentioned on the tape, and REJECTED, I suppose because she was considered by the both of them to be one of those “offensive” blacks (I totally agree). They joked about appointing “Reverend” Wright. It’s so blatant how they casually admit that seats must be filled based upon the color of a person’s skin, as if they’re not supposed to (as they pretend they do) appoint the most qualified candidate. This “covers” Blago on the “African-American thing,” Pritzker says! So freaking racist.

          You know, those FBI wiretaps can be a real bitch.

    • A regular bunch of Opies.

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