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Testimony Reveals FBI Official in Charge of Clinton, Trump Probes Was Excluded From Key Meetings, Decisions

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Closed-door testimony by former head of counterintelligence Bill Priestap reveals handpicked group ran the investigations outside of his control

Bill Priestap, the high-ranking FBI official responsible for overseeing both the Clinton email investigation and the agency’s counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign appeared to not have been in real control of his own investigations.

In closed-door testimony before congressional lawmakers in June last year, Priestap, who served as the head of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, acknowledged it was mostly FBI agent Peter Strzok and FBI analyst Jonathan Moffa who were “driving the train.”

Talking to lawmakers, Priestap described the unusual circumstances under which he inherited the team in January 2016, saying the members had been previously handpicked by an unknown high ranking official at the FBI.Continue Reading

Clinton Campaign Relied on Former Spy’s Web of Connections to Frame Trump

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How Christopher Steele and Fusion GPS used their connections to spread the Trump dossier

Information paid for by the Clinton campaign targeting Donald Trump made its way to the highest levels of the FBI and the State Department, with a sophisticated strategy relying on the personal connections of hired operatives.

At the center of the multi-pronged strategy to disseminate the information were Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson and former British MI6 spy Christopher Steele. The operation was funded by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

Simpson and Steele not only used their contacts at the FBI to feed information directly to the bureau, but also used their contacts within other agencies to create additional channels into the FBI. Additionally, they utilized their media connections to create an external distribution channel for the unverified material against Trump and his campaign.Continue Reading

Transcripts of Former Top FBI Lawyer Detail Pervasive Abnormalities in Trump Probe

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Former top FBI attorney James Baker admitted to House lawmakers in October last year that the investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump 2016 presidential campaign and Russia was riddled with abnormalities.

Confronted with a damning summary of abnormalities, bias, and omissions, which transpired during the investigation, Baker told Congress that the investigation indeed was “highly unusual.”

“I had a jaundiced eye about everything, yes. I had skepticism about all this stuff. I was concerned about all of this. This whole situation was horrible, and it was novel and we were trying to figure out what to do, and it was highly unusual,” Baker told lawmakers.Continue Reading

McCabe’s FBI Tried to Re-engage Christopher Steele After Comey Was Fired

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Congressional testimony by DOJ official Bruce Ohr shows FBI went back to disgraced source between Comey’s firing and Mueller’s appointment

In the days following the firing of FBI Director James Comey by President Donald Trump, the FBI, under Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, sought to re-engage with former MI6 spy and author of the Steele dossier, Christopher Steele.

The FBI’s attempts to re-engage Steele, who had been fired by the FBI six months earlier for breaking protocol by talking to reporters, were soon thwarted by the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller.Continue Reading

Transcripts of Lisa Page’s Closed-Door Testimonies Provide New Revelations in Spygate Scandal

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Transcripts of two closed-door testimonies by Lisa Page, the former assistant general counsel at the FBI, have provided new insights into the actions of the FBI, DOJ, and others—including CIA Director John Brennan—regarding their investigation into Donald Trump.

Included in the transcripts provided to us is information suggesting Brennan was aware of the so-called Steele dossier in early August 2016, and that he included information regarding the dossier in a briefing given to then-Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

Other key points in Page’s testimony before Congress:Continue Reading

String of Indictments by DOJ Point to Multiple Global Operations

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The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces program was established in 1982 as a means to combat increasingly organized drug traffickers.

The OCDETF program is an unusually broad coalition that, as noted by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, “brings together just about every federal law enforcement agency there is. It’s the Swiss Army knife of law enforcement.”

The program’s strategy, which currently operates under the direction of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, aims to “focus federal drug resources on reducing the flow of illicit drugs and drug proceeds by identifying and targeting the major trafficking organizations, and eliminating the financial infrastructure of drug organizations.”Continue Reading

Were Events Surrounding Flynn’s Moscow Visit Intentionally Misframed?

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Gen. Michael Flynn, a former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, was interviewed on Jan. 24, 2017, by FBI agents Peter Strzok and Joe Pientka about two December 2016 conversations that Flynn had with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak.

Details of the phone conversation had leaked to the media. Flynn ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of lying to the FBI regarding his conversations with Kislyak. It remains unknown to this day who leaked Flynn’s classified call—a far more serious felony violation.

The Washington Post reported in January 2017 that the FBI had found no evidence of wrongdoing in Flynn’s actual call with the Russian ambassador. The call, and the matters discussed in it, broke no laws. Why Flynn would lie to the FBI agents about a perfectly legal call isn’t immediately clear.Continue Reading

Departing Investigators Highlight Flaws in FBI, DOJ Actions, Request Second Special Counsel

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Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, are retiring effective Jan. 3, 2019, when the new Congress convenes.

Gowdy has been personally entrusted by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, with handling all reviews of classified documents and information. Goodlatte has been one of the most active members of Congress in uncovering Spygate and has worked in concert with Nunes’s investigations.

During 2018, Goodlatte and Gowdy, and their respective committees, formed a joint investigation into decisions made—and not made—by the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2016 and beyond.Continue Reading

Why Did Foreign Intel Agencies Leak Info on Alleged Cohen Prague Visit Now?

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Michael Cohen denies prague article, says “Mueller Knows Everything”

The narrative that President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, had visited Prague has proven to be spectacularly enduring.

Despite numerous previous failed attempts by media to prove that Cohen was in Prague, McClatchy reporters Peter Stone and Greg Gordon published a story on Dec. 27th saying that a cell phone signal placed Cohen outside of Prague in “late summer 2016.”Continue Reading