When I first saw the released Page FISA documents I knew something was…off.
From, Questions – Carter Page FISA Applications:
Some questions are raised from the release of the heavily-redacted Carter Page FISA Applications.
Not the least of which is this:
How did this come to be released in the first place.
FOIA? After defying Congress for months on end?
I think more is at play.
One question is answered. The Dossier was integral to the Page FISA Warrant.
One thing that immediately surprised.
The FISA Applications appear to be copies made directly from the FISA Court’s documents.
Note the Clerk stamp right on page one. This was unexpected.
There is also a March 17, 2017 Court Clerk stamp with handwritten initials on page 83 certifying a “true and correct copy of the original”.
Interestingly, all dates on Court Clerk stamps are redacted on the Renewals.
I believe the fact this document is a copy of the FISA documents possessed by the FISA Court is significant.
Recall, Goodlatte had previously sent a January 2018 letter to Rosemary M. Collyer, the presiding judge of the FISA Court requesting materials “about potential abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act”:
As the Presiding Judge of the FISC, you must be similarly concerned that the Executive Branch allegedly used an unverified dossier as evidence showing probable cause that someone connected with the Trump campaign, Carter Page, was an agent of a foreign power.
Goodlatte also issued a March 22, 2018 subpoena asking for the very documents that were just released.
I’m not prepared to say anything further at this juncture but I suspect more will come of this.
My suspicions were leaning towards the existence of differing sets of FISA documents and/or a set trap of some sort.
It was that FISA Court Clerk Stamp that really grabbed me.
This FISA release was eerily reminiscent of DNI Dan Coats unsealing of Judge Collyer’s April 26, 2017 FISA Court Ruling. A ruling that revealed some grave Section 702 abuses.
Sundance, at the Conservative Treehouse, put forth an explanation I like. A lot. Give the article a careful read:
If you prefer the quick & dirty twitter version, I’ve embedded Sundance’s thread below.
I’m guessing Sundance has it correct. I also believe the FISA release signifies something more.
A Pivot – back to an offensive posture.
I’d grown increasingly concerned over some rumblings regarding the FISA Court and have alluded to those concerns in some recent posts.
In essence, the FISA Court was (perhaps still is) viewed as too valuable to risk.
Start with that premise and you can begin to appreciate the cap on prosecutions that hierarchical priority could create.
It may have been the over-the-top reactions and misinformation regarding the Trump-Putin Summit. It may have been the ridiculous posturing from the Brennan, Clapper, Yates & Hayden crowd.
It was probably a combination of everything.
But something changed internally:
They pushed too hard. That was a mistake. https://t.co/8ZgJlbJf02
— Jeff @ themarketswork (@themarketswork) July 23, 2018
A second debate was probably had:
I agree. I think there was a lot of internal debate.
Protection of FISA Court was viewed as paramount.
Things have now changed.
The FISA Release – and everything that’s implied in how, when and where it was done.
Offense. https://t.co/Eo2vIQsaR6— Jeff @ themarketswork (@themarketswork) July 23, 2018
We shall see where this goes. As I note, the FISA Court may still be viewed as too valuable to risk.
But it sure feels like something fundamentally changed.
On to the Sundance Thread:
1. OK, Here’s the story that will break in the news cycle, probably starting tomorrow. Senate Staffer James Wolfe sent Ali Watkins an unredacted copy of the @carterwpage FISA Application in 2017. (and a more explosive aspect) pic.twitter.com/eek5OvVnmv
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 23, 2018
3. How do we know this? Because a part of the indictment against James Wolfe tells us what took place. Page #5 of the Wolfe indictment (unsealed in June 2018) describes Reporter #2 Ali Watkins. https://t.co/vfMDlojEy6 pic.twitter.com/zibb3uDQxY
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 23, 2018
4. Page #6 describes one of the leaks; one of the very specific leaks by Wolfe to Watkins. Read carefully. https://t.co/vfMDlojEy6 pic.twitter.com/ijnNGDjlsC
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 23, 2018
5. That document is clearly the FISA application used against Carter Page that was disclosed yesterday. Note the description (previous) and the date of the FISC release disclosed yesterday: FISC CLERK COPY STAMP page 83 https://t.co/vfMDlojEy6 pic.twitter.com/0GPYVWR15G
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 23, 2018
6. Note the FISA application (original first application) is 83 pages, with a blank page. That’s 82 pages total. https://t.co/vfMDlojEy6
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 23, 2018
7. Note page #6 of the Wolfe indictment: https://t.co/cAhjUrVQKd pic.twitter.com/3vyTcay1lY
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 23, 2018
9. Important to note: depending on how the FISA copy was processed by the DOJ, and considering this was to the Senate Intel Committee, it is likely the SSCI copy was not heavily redacted (if at all).
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 23, 2018
11. However, in March 2017, at the time this application was sent to the SSCI, there was also an ongoing Intelligence Community leak investigation taking place. Actually, more like a “leak hunt”.
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 23, 2018
13. From the Wolfe indictment we discover: On December 15th, 2017 James Wolfe was busted; the FBI had him dead-to-rights. However, the grand jury proceedings didn’t start until May 3rd, 2018; and the indictment was sealed until June 7th, 2018.
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 23, 2018
15. It is difficult to gain a search and seizure warrant on a journalist. However, it is noted Reporter #2, Ms. Ali Watkins, was identified and an appropriate search warrant was authorized by the court. Ms. Watkins notified February 13, 2018. https://t.co/xBs0jQsL48 pic.twitter.com/URA22dKDuX
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 23, 2018
17. Here is where it gets interesting. Back to the FISC application released. Remember, you must think of this release in four segments:https://t.co/vfMDlojEy6
Original application – Oct ’16
Renewal – Jan ’17
Renewal – April ’17
Renewal – June ’17 pic.twitter.com/Wi6tlP2fwE— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 23, 2018
18. However, when the FISA application was released publicly, *they* (unknown) released the March 17th, 2017 copy (the one sent to the SSCI) of the original. https://t.co/vfMDlojEy6
Why release (segment #1) from the March 17th copy? pic.twitter.com/9fQb1TdOQX
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 23, 2018
19. The answer to that question goes back to the leak hunting taking place on/around March 17th, 2017, when the FISA application was first released to the SSCI. pic.twitter.com/mXT7yIC5Wi
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 23, 2018
21. So there is something slightly different about the March 17th, 2017, version of the Carter Page FISA application…. than the unmodified original version held at the FISC.
[Presiding FISC Judge Rosemary Collyer pictured] pic.twitter.com/mvNP75HE8B
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 23, 2018
23. Obviously, given the recent arrest of James Wolfe, and the ongoing hunt for more leakers, we can see the justice value in maintaining this process. Indeed there were/are people within the intelligence apparatus that are leaking information. Those leakers are being hunted. pic.twitter.com/6uLmVyJRkH
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 23, 2018
24. A few more issues to button up. Why was the Senate Intel Committee requesting the FISA application in the first place? (Back in March 2017) What was happening around the time the SSCI was making the requests? and why was the IC so willing to comply with the request? pic.twitter.com/oR8TKs1Ly3
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 23, 2018
25. Enter, former SSCI Chairman Dan Coats – now 2017 Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) in charge of the overall IC and stopping dangerous leaks. Who was confirmed two days before the March 2017 FISA application was released to the Senate Intel Committee. pic.twitter.com/GxOaXJzEsL
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 23, 2018
26. In 2017 DNI Dan Coats is VERY closely connected to NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers. Both took/take their responsibilities *very* seriously. You could say, they partnered. Coats and Rogers worked together on *all* the FISA concerns. pic.twitter.com/aisxaDCjTF
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 23, 2018
27. Coats/Rogers collective endeavors led to, and included, the April 2017 release of a brutal 99-page FISC review of FISA abuses. Coats and Rogers made the FISC ruling a matter of public record
[Coincidentally authored by FISC judge Rosemary Collyer]https://t.co/SvQRK9hzjv
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 23, 2018
28. Their nemesis per se’, are corrupt politicians like SSCI Vice-Chairman Mark Warner who, on the same date (March 17th, 2017), was having covert contact with Christopher Steele via lobbyist Adam Waldman and former SSCI staffer Daniel Jones. READ: https://t.co/XmJA0PlYUC pic.twitter.com/CEbEPna6zb
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 23, 2018
30. That March 17th, 2017, leak hunt eventually led to the capture of James Wolfe, who sent reporter Ali Watkins 82 picture text messages (on the day he took custody) distributing the @carterwpage FISA application to the media. /END pic.twitter.com/PpYQ71WfQp
— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) July 23, 2018
For those unfamiliar, Admiral Rogers, DNI Coats & Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joe Dunford had/have a close working relationship.
And it shows:
Reminder from an older post:
Admiral Rogers, DNI Dan Coats and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joe Dunford were/are close.
These three men worked together on, well, everything. https://t.co/Oz56nesaaT
— Jeff @ themarketswork (@themarketswork) July 23, 2018
newer post Tariffs, Trade Deficits & Under-Employment
older post Questions – Carter Page FISA Applications