The former president alleges the rumors and uncorroborated information in a report by the British ex-spy were false and harmed his reputation.

The post Trump sues Christopher Steele over dossier containing ‘shocking and scandalous claims’ first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

President Trump on Tuesday said he has “fully authorized the total Declassification of any & all documents” related to the Russia investigation and the FBI’s investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.

“I have fully authorized the total Declassification of any & all documents pertaining to the single greatest political CRIME in American History, the Russia Hoax. Likewise, the Hillary Clinton Email Scandal. No redactions!” The president tweeted Tuesday night.

Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump
I have fully authorized the total Declassification of any & all documents pertaining to the single greatest political CRIME in American History, the Russia Hoax. Likewise, the Hillary Clinton Email Scandal. No redactions!

Paul Sperry@paulsperry_
When all the documents are finally declassified, and all the redactions removed from reports, the nation will see that the FBI and CIA not only knew the Russia “collusion” allegations against Trump were a political dirty trick, but that they were in on the trick.

Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump
“All Russia Hoax Scandal information was Declassified by me long ago,” Trump tweeted. “Unfortunately for our Country, people have acted very slowly, especially since it is perhaps the biggest political crime in the history of our Country.”

He added: “Act!!!”

Last year, the president gave Attorney General Bill Barr authority to declassify any documents related to surveillance of the Trump campaign in 2016. Trump, at the time, also ordered members of the intelligence community to cooperate with Barr’s probe.

Allies of the president, including Republicans on Capitol Hill leading their own investigations into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, have criticized officials like FBI Director Christopher Wray and CIA Director Gina Haspel, claiming that the directors have been blocking the release of documents.

The president’s tweets come after Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe declassified documents that revealed former CIA Director John Brennan briefed former President Obama on Hillary Clinton’s purported “plan” to tie then-candidate Donald Trump to Russia as “a means of distracting the public from her use of a private email server” ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

DNI DECLASSIFIES BRENNAN NOTES, CIA MEMO ON HILLARY CLINTON ‘STIRRING UP’ SCANDAL BETWEEN TRUMP, RUSSIA

Fox News first reported that Ratcliffe declassified Brennan’s handwritten notes – which were taken after he briefed Obama on the intelligence the CIA received – and a CIA memo, which revealed that officials referred the matter to the FBI for potential investigative action.

“Today, at the direction of President Trump, I declassified additional documents relevant to ongoing Congressional oversight and investigative activities,” Ratcliffe said in a statement to Fox News Tuesday.

A source familiar with the documents explained that Brennan’s handwritten notes were taken after briefing Obama on the matter.

“We’re getting additional insight into Russian activities from [REDACTED],” Brennan notes read. “CITE [summarizing] alleged approved by Hillary Clinton a proposal from one of her foreign policy advisers to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service,” Brennan’s notes read.

The notes state “on 28 of July.” In the margin, Brennan writes “POTUS,” but that section of the notes is redacted.

“Any evidence of collaboration between Trump campaign + Russia,” the notes read.

The remainder of the notes are redacted, except in the margins, which reads: “JC,” “Denis,” and “Susan.”

The notes don’t spell out the full names but “JC” could be referring to then-FBI Director James Comey, “Susan” could refer to National Security Adviser Susan Rice, and “Denis” could refer to then-Obama chief of staff Denis McDonough.

The declassification comes after Ratcliffe, last week, shared newly-declassified information with the Senate Judiciary Committee which revealed that in September 2016, U.S. intelligence officials forwarded an investigative referral on Hillary Clinton purportedly approving “a plan concerning U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering U.S. elections” in order to distract the public from her email scandal.

That referral was sent to Comey and then-Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Peter Strzok.

“The following information is provided for the exclusive use of your bureau for background investigative action or lead purposes as appropriate,” the CIA memo to Comey and Strzok stated.

“This memorandum contains sensitive information that could be source revealing. It should be handled with particular attention to compartmentation and need-to-know. To avoid the possible compromise of the source, any investigative action taken in response to the information below should be coordinated in advance with Chief Counterintelligence Mission Center, Legal,” the memo, which was sent to Comey and Strzok, read. “It may not be used in any legal proceeding—including FISA applications—without prior approval…”

“Per FBI verbal request, CIA provides the below examples of information the CROSSFIRE HURRICANE fusion cell has gleaned to date,” the memo continued. ““An exchange [REDACTED] discussing US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s approval of a plan concerning US presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering US elections as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private email server.”

The memo is heavily redacted.

Ratcliffe informed the committee last week that the Obama administration obtained Russian intelligence in July 2016 with allegations against Clinton, but cautioned that the intelligence community “does not know the accuracy of this allegation or the text to which the Russian intelligence analysis may reflect exaggeration or fabrication.”

According to Ratcliffe’s letter, the intelligence included the “alleged approval by Hillary Clinton on July 26, 2016, of a proposal from one of her foreign policy advisers to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by Russian security services.”

Nick Merrill, Clinton’s spokesperson, called the allegations “baseless b———t” last week. A spokesman for Clinton did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment on the declassified documents.

But Ratcliffe, in a statement released after the information was made public, pushed back on the idea he was advancing “Russian disinformation.”

DURHAM ASSUMED PARTS OF HUBER’S CLINTON INVESTIGATION

“To be clear, this is not Russian disinformation and has not been assessed as such by the Intelligence Community,” Ratcliffe said in a statement to Fox News. “I’ll be briefing Congress on the sensitive sources and methods by which it was obtained in the coming days.”

A source familiar with the documents told Fox News on Tuesday that the allegation was “not disinformation.”  “This is not Russian disinformation. Even Brennan knew, or he wouldn’t be briefing the president of the United States on it,” the source said. “There is a high threshold to orally brief the president of the United States and he clearly felt this met that threshold.”

Another source familiar with the documents told Fox News that “this information has been sought by hundreds of congressional requests for legitimate oversight purposes and was withheld for political spite—and the belief that they’d never get caught.”

The source added that the Brennan notes are significant because it is “their own words, written and memorialized in real time.”

Meanwhile, last week, during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Comey was asked whether he received an investigative referral on Clinton from 2016, but he said it didn’t “ring any bells.”

“You don’t remember getting an investigatory lead from the intelligence community? Sept. 7, 2016, U.S. intelligence officials forwarded an investigative referral to James Comey and Strzok regarding Clinton’s approval of a plan [about] Trump…as a means of distraction?” Graham asked Comey.

“That doesn’t ring any bells with me,” Comey said.

Graham questioned “how far-fetched is that,” citing the fact that Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee, through law firm Perkins Coie, hired Fusion GPS and ex-British intelligence officer Christopher Steele to author and compile information for the controversial and unverified anti-Trump dossier.The Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee, through law firm Perkins Coie, hired Fusion GPS and ex-British intelligence officer Christopher Steele to author and compile information for the controversial and unverified anti-Trump dossier.

The dossier contains claims about alleged ties between Donald Trump and Russia that served as the basis for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants obtained against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.

Attorney General Bill Barr last year appointed U.S. Attorney of Connecticut John Durham to investigate the origins of the FBI’s Russia probe shortly after special counsel Robert Mueller completed his years-long investigation into whether the campaign colluded with the Russians to influence the 2016 presidential election.

It is unclear whether this information will be considered part of Durham’s investigation, or whether the president’s declassification will affect Durham’s investigation.

Last month, Fox News reported, though, that Durham had assumed aspects of U.S. Attorney John Huber’s investigation into the Clinton Foundation.

A source familiar with Durham’s investigation told Fox News last month that parts of what Huber was investigating in 2017 — involving the Clinton Foundation — have been incorporated in Durham’s investigation.

In November 2017, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions directed Huber, the U.S. attorney for Utah, and other senior prosecutors to evaluate “certain issues” involving the sale of Uranium One, and other dealings related to the Clinton Foundation. Sessions tapped Huber after requests by congressional Republicans, who had been calling for the appointment of a special counsel to review the matters. Huber was also tasked with reviewing the FBI’s handling of the Clinton email probe, including allegations that the Justice Department and FBI “policies or procedures” were not followed.

It has been unclear, for years, the status of Huber’s investigation, but another source told Fox News Thursday that Huber has faced mounting criticism from the Justice Department and White House over his progress.

It is unclear whether any aspects of the Clinton email investigation were included in Huber’s review.

Brooke Singman is a Politics Reporter for Fox News. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeSingman.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-authorizes-declassification-of-all-russia-collusion-hillary-clinton-email-probe-documents

The post Trump authorizes declassification of all Russia collusion, Hillary Clinton email probe documents first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Republicans, for years, have attempted to draw a stark distinction between how the FBI and Mueller pursued allegations against President Trump and his campaign during the 2016 presidential election and how they reviewed alleged misconduct by prominent Democratic figures and those associated with them.

MUELLER SAYS HE IS ‘NOT FAMILIAR’ WITH FUSION GPS, THE FIRM BEHIND STEELE DOSSIER

On Wednesday, during the first round of Mueller’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, GOP lawmakers repeatedly confronted the former special counsel with that accusation — with lines of questioning meant to illustrate a double standard.

At one point, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., asked if he can say whether the controversial anti-Trump dossier “was not part of Russia’s disinformation campaign.”

“No – as I said in my opening statement, I-uh, I, that part of the … building of the case predated me by at least 10 months,” Mueller replied.

Gaetz noted such reasoning did not stop prosecutors from going after Trump’s former campaign chairman. “Paul Manafort’s alleged crimes regarding tax evasion predated you but you didn’t have a problem charging him,” he said.

Gaetz and Mueller went back-and-forth over the anti-Trump dossier, which was authored and compiled by ex-British intelligence officer Christopher Steele. The dossier was created on behalf of Fusion GPS—the firm that was hired to conduct opposition research funded by the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign through law firm Perkins Coie. The dossier “formed an essential part” of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants approved to surveil then-Trump campaign associate Carter Page, according to a House GOP memo alleging government surveillance abuse during 2016.

Gaetz complained Wednesday that concerns about Fusion and Steele were largely not in the report, and figures associated with them were not charged.

“When people associated with Trump lie, you throw the book at them. When Christopher Steele [lies], nothing,” he said.

Mueller on Wednesday claimed he was “not familiar” with Fusion GPS, despite Steele’s reporting being referenced in his report. He also continued to state that the Steele matter is “beyond my purview.”

Gaetz fired back: “No — that’s directly in your purview Mr. Mueller and here’s why. Either Steele made this whole thing up and there were never any Russians telling him of this vast criminal conspiracy that you didn’t find, or, Russians lied to Steele.”

MUELLER REFUSED TO DISCUSS RUSSIA PROBE ORIGINS, STEELE DOSSIER IN TESTIMONY

“Now if Russians were lying to Steele to undermine our confidence in our newly elected president, that would be precisely in your purview because you stated in your opening that the organizing principle was to fully and thoroughly investigate Russian interference. But you weren’t interested in whether the Russians interfered through Steele—and if Steele was lying, then you should have charged him with lying like you charged a variety of other people,” Gaetz continued.

The bulk of charges against Trump associates in Mueller’s investigation were based on false statements made either during the probe or to Congress. Six Trump campaign associates indicted in Mueller’s sprawling investigation were all charged with violating U.S.C. 1001—or making false statements.

They include former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates; former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen; former Trump adviser Roger Stone; former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn; and former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos.

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, directly questioned Mueller on his decisions to charge those “around the president” with false statements, and not several other key figures who played a central role in launching the investigation as a whole.

Jordan referenced Maltese professor Joseph Mifsud, who in 2016 told Papadopoulos that the Russians had dirt in the form of emails that could damage Clinton’s presidential campaign. Papadopoulos then told Australian diplomat Alexander Downer of the new information. Downer reported Papadopoulos’ comments to him to the FBI and effectively launched the bureau’s original investigation into the Trump campaign and coordination with the Russian government, according to reports.

DIPLOMAT WHO HELPED LAUNCH RUSSIA PROBE SPEAKS OUT, DEFENDS ROLE

“Three times Mifsud lied to the FBI and you didn’t charge him with a crime. He lied three times—you pointed it out in the report—why didn’t you charge him with a crime?” Jordan asked.

Mueller replied: “I can’t get into internal deliberations with regard to who would or would not be–.”

“You charged a lot of other people with making false statements. Let’s remember this, in 2016, the FBI did something they probably haven’t done before. They spied on two American citizens associated with a presidential campaign—George Papadopoulos and Carter Page,” Jordan said. “With Page, they went to the FISA court and used the now-famous dossier to get a warrant. With Papadopoulos, they didn’t go to court—they used human sources—from the moment Papadopoulos joined the Trump campaign, you got people all around the world starting to swirl around him.”

Jordan went on to list Downer and Mifsud, among others.

“Mifsud is the guy who told Papadopoulos [about Russian dirt], he was the guy who started it all, yet when the FBI interviews him, he lies three times. You don’t charge him,” Jordan said. “The guy who starts the country through this saga—for three years we’ve been going through this now—he lies, you guys don’t charge him, and I’m curious to why.”

The post Republicans confront Mueller with allegations of double standard in Russia probe first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Yahoo News’ Michael Isikoff, an early public conduit for Christopher Steele’s anti-Trump dossier, now says the former British spy’s sensational Russia collusion charges lack apparent evidence and are “likely false.”

As Election Day loomed in September 2016, Mr. Isikoff was the first Washington journalist to write about Mr. Steele’s memos. He focused on Mr. Steele’s contention that Trump campaign volunteer Carter Page met with nefarious operatives of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a publicly announced trip to Moscow in July 2016.

As reported by the Daily Caller, Mr. Isikoff this month told Mediaite columnist John Ziegler: “When you actually get into the details of the Steele dossier, the specific allegations, we have not seen the evidence to support them, and in fact, there is good grounds to think that some of the more sensational allegations will never be proven and are likely false.”

Mr. Isikoff is best friends with Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson, who hired Mr. Steele in May and June 2016 with money funneled through a law firm from the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Mr. Isikoff was one of a handful of mainstream journalists who met with Mr. Steele in Washington as arranged by Mr. Simpson.

Mother Jones magazine’s David Corn wrote the second Washington dossier story based on an interview with Mr. Steele, who acknowledged he was desperate to stop the Trump campaign and prompt the FBI to ratchet up its investigation.

Mr. Isikoff and Mr. Corn would team up on a March 2018 best-selling book, “Russian Roulette.” It told Mr. Steele’s story in a favorable light amid a narrative on Moscow’s direct election interference by hacking Democratic Party computers.

The book helped Mr. Steele attract a large liberal following on social media that loyally attested to the dossier’s accuracy.

Mr. Steele also had a big fan in Rep. Adam B. Schiff, California Democrat, who read his charges at a March 2017 hearing of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Mr. Schiff assumes the committee’s chairmanship in January. Republicans speculate that he will continue to collect and research Fusion GPS’s anti-Trump memos.

It has been 31 months since Mr. Steele submitted his first dossier memo in June 2106 to Fusion GPS; 30 months since the FBI opened an investigation that came to rely heavily on his work; 27 months since Mr. Isikoff wrote the first dossier story; 24 months since BuzzFeed posted the entire dossier; 24 months since the House and Senate intelligence committees opened their separate probes; and 19 months since special counsel Robert Mueller took charge of the Trump-Russia investigation.

The Washington Times looked at Mr. Steele’s core collusion charges to see how they have stood up:

⦁ Accusation: The Trump campaign was a partner in an “extensive conspiracy” with the Kremlin to interfere in the 2016 election.

Today: There is no confirmed public evidence. No Trump person has been charged in such a conspiracy. Mr. Mueller’s office informed President Trump that he isn’t a target.

⦁ Accusation: Then-Trump attorney Michael Cohen secretly traveled to Prague in August 2016 and met with Putin aides to organize cash payments to hush up hackers who infiltrated Democratic Party computers.

Today: There is no confirmed public evidence. Cohen, who has pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges and is cooperating with Mr. Mueller, still vehemently denies he ever went to Prague. No court filings indicate he has any knowledge of Trump collusion, and he has said he doesn’t.

McClatchy news service has published two stories asserting that Mr. Mueller has evidence Cohen went to Prague.

Fusion’s Mr. Simpson told Congress that Cohen could have traveled to Prague by way of a yacht and Russian aircraft.

Daniel Jones, a former Senate Democratic aide, told the FBI in 2017 that he had amassed $50 million from wealthy donors to keep investigating Mr. Trump. He said he hired Fusion GPS and Mr. Steele.

⦁ Accusation: Carter Page met with two Putin operatives and discussed a brokerage fee in return for pushing an end to U.S. sanctions on wealthy Russians and businesses.

Today: Pro-Russia energy investor Mr. Page embarked on perhaps the most suspicious course of action when he traveled to Moscow to deliver a public college speech in July 2106. He once worked in Moscow as a Merrill Lynch banker.

The FBI wiretapped him for one year based largely on the dossier. No evidence has emerged publicly that he ever met with Putin people or discussed bribes. He has told the FBI and Congress that he didn’t. He has not been charged.

⦁ Accusation: Mr. Page and campaign chairman Paul Manafort worked as a team to coordinate election interference with the Kremlin.

Today: No public evidence to support this scenario. The two say they don’t know each other and have never spoken. Manafort stands convicted of tax fraud and other charges. Mr. Mueller has made no court filing that indicates he is involved in a Russian election conspiracy.

Manafort attorney Kevin Downing filed a court paper saying he asked Mr. Mueller for any evidence of his client talking to Russian government officials. There was none, the attorney said.

⦁ Accusation: Mr. Trump actively supported ongoing computer hacking.

Today: No public evidence.

⦁ Accusation: The Trump “team” paid Russian hackers.

Today: No public evidence. Mr. Mueller brought indictments against the Russian intelligence officers who did the hacking and stole emails released by WikiLeaks. There is no indication that the funding came from Trump people.

⦁ Accusation: Mr. Trump maintained an eight-year relationship with Kremlin operatives in quid pro quo intelligence-sharing.

Today: No public evidence.

⦁ Accusation: Russian entrepreneur Aleksej Gubarev, owner of computer server provider XBT Holding, hacked the Democrats under pressure from Moscow intelligence.

Today: No public evidence. Mr. Gubarev’s attorneys say no U.S. authority has asked to interview him. The Mueller indictment against Russian hackers doesn’t mention XBT.

A U.S. District judge dismissed Mr. Gubarev’s libel lawsuit against BuzzFeed but not because the dossier is true. The judge ruled that BuzzFeed, which had published the unverified memos, was protected from libel because the FBI and intelligence agencies were using the dossier in their probes.

Mr. Gubarev is suing Mr. Steele for defamation in a London court. Mr. Steele has signed declarations saying his allegations needed to be investigated further.

‘Absolute dynamite’

In “Russian Roulette,” Mr. Isikoff and Mr. Corn paint a favorable portrait of Mr. Steele and his Orbis Business Intelligence in London.

“Steele was the heart of the operation. … Steele, who possessed a phenomenal memory, was a master of vacuuming up huge amounts of information and analyzing material,” they wrote.

The book says Mr. Steele relied heavily on a Russian “collector” who traveled to Moscow and learned supposed dirt on candidate Trump.

“Two weeks or so later, Steele flew to meet his chief collector in a European city,” the book says. “As Steele listened and took notes, he could scarcely believe what he was hearing. His collector, relaying what he had been told by his contacts, informed Steele that the Russians had been targeting and cultivating Trump for years and had even gathered kompromat on him, specifically tales of weird sexual indiscretions that the collector said ‘were an open secret’ in Moscow.

“Steele was horrified. ‘I thought I had heard and seen everything in my career,’ he told associates. Steele immediately notified Simpson. He had ‘absolute dynamite,’ Steele said, mentioning the sexual kompromat,” the book says.

Mr. Steele would include in the dossier’s June 20 memo a tale of Mr. Trump engaging in sex with Russian prostitutes at Moscow’s Ritz-Carlton hotel. Mr. Trump has denied this and told The Washington Times in April 2017 that the FBI’s reliance on Mr. Steele was a “disgrace.”

“Russian Roulette” was somewhat guarded in endorsing Mr. Steele’s sex charge: “As with Steele’s first report, none of the sources in the memos were identified. Steele later told associates one of the sources for the information was the paramour of a Kremlin insider. In short, it was pillow talk.”

In an interview this month, Mediaite’s Mr. Ziegler asked Mr. Isikoff whether the Steele dossier “has been somewhat vindicated.” Mr. Isikoff said, “No.”

The Times asked Mr. Isikoff which Steele allegation he has come to doubt. He declined to answer, saying he was waiting for Mr. Mueller’s report “like everybody else.”

Mr. Trump tweeted: “Michael Isikoff was the first to report Dossier allegations and now seriously doubts the Dossier claims. The whole Russian Collusion thing was a HOAX, but who is going to restore the good name of so many people whose reputations have been destroyed?”

Five Trump campaign figures have been convicted of crimes not directly related to any Russia election collusion, which was Mr. Mueller’s main task assigned by the Justice Department. Each report of a plea deal has spurred speculation among liberal pundits and politicians that Mr. Trump is doomed.

⦁ George Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign volunteer, pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents about when he joined the campaign and met with a Maltese professor in London. The professor told him he heard that Moscow owned thousands of Hillary Clinton emails. It may have been a reference to 30,000 emails during her tenure as secretary of state that she ordered destroyed.

Papadopoulos has said he never acted on the gossip and never met any Russians. He said he believes the FBI wiretapped him and assigned at least one spy to try to entrap him.

⦁ Paul Manafort was convicted in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, of tax fraud, bank fraud and failure to disclose foreign bank accounts. He pleaded guilty in a D.C. federal court to witness tampering and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

⦁ Rick Gates, Manafort’s onetime business partner, pleaded guilty to making false statements and conspiracy against the United States.

⦁ Retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about intercepted phone calls he conducted with the Russian ambassador during the Trump transition.

⦁ Cohen pleaded guilty to tax evasion on income from a taxicab business, lying to a bank and campaign finance offenses. He later said he lied to Congress about when negotiations ended with the Kremlin on building a Trumphotel.

No court filings indicate that any of the five participated in or witnessed collusion with Russia.

Source: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/dec/30/michael-steeles-russia-dossier-donald-trump-fails-/

The post Dossier fails the test of time; Trump-Russia collusion claims now called ‘likely false’ first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The post “Your IMPEACHMENT Is Coming In 7 Days”, Matt Gaetz Didn’t Give Rosenstein Any Air To Breathe first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Rep. Devin Nunes (right), chairman of the House Permanent Select committee on intelligence, has widened the net in the panel’s investigation into the use of the unconfirmed Russia dossier against Donald Trump. (Associated Press/File)

The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has expanded its 2016 election investigation from a starting point of Russian interference to an end-game that focuses on federal law enforcement and how it conducted a drive to snare President Trump and his people.

Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, California Republican, is accusing the Justice Department and the FBI of misleading him in “a pattern of behavior that can no longer be tolerated.” He charges that Justice claimed it possesses no documents related to the infamous Trump dossier, then, under pressure, produced “numerous” such papers.

Republicans in the first half of 2018 are likely to wind down the starting-point inquiry into Russian hacking of Democrats and whether Trump aides helped.

Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the committee’s top Democrat, already is protesting the likely move. He is pushing an extended list of witnesses he wants summoned by Republicans, who suspect Mr. Schiff would like to see the probe stay active into November’s midterm elections and beyond.

Democrats, including Mr. Schiff, have conceded in recent weeks that their hope of finding an extensive Russia–Trumpconspiracy to jointly attack former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has fallen short at this point.

What could outlive the initial Russia probe are missions undertaken by Mr. Nunes. He has put in place what amounts to a separate investigation of the FBI and the Justice Department hierarchy.

There are three main components:

• Fusion GPS. The Democrat-friendly opposition research firm and Mr. Nunes have squared off in U.S. District Court over access to Fusion’s financial transactions. Fusion funded the infamous Trump–Russia dossier with money from Mrs. Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

• The FBI and the dossier. Republicans want to know how the document’s unconfirmed felony accusations fueled the bureau’s counterintelligence investigation since July 2016.

• Investigative bias. The committee is demanding appearances from Justice officials who seemed out to get Mr. Trumpand/or had ties to the dossier’s distribution.

On Fusion, Mr. Nunes has used his subpoena power to seek records of Fusion’s financial transactions between law firms, journalists and media companies.

Fusion, founded by former Wall Street Journal reporters, notably Glenn Simpson, argues its records are protected by First Amendment rights.

The Washington Examiner reported that a key subpoenaed witness is David Kramer, an associate of Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain, Arizona Republican. Mr. Kramer is one of the few people known to have possessed a hard copy of the dossier.

At the behest of Mr. McCain, Mr. Kramer represented the senator at a Nov. 28, 2016, meeting with Christopher Steele in Surrey, England. A British ex-spy, Mr. Steele compiled the 35 pages of memos making up the dossier based on his paid Kremlin sources, some close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr. Kramer then obtained a copy of the dossier from Fusion GPS. Mr. McCain hand-delivered a copy to then-FBIdirector James B. Comey in December 2016.

Mr. Kramer may be able to disclose the identities of Mr. Steele’s Moscow sources.

Mr. Kramer has been deposed by attorneys for Russian entrepreneur Aleksej Gubarev, who is suing the news website BuzzFeed and Mr. Steele for libel over dossier allegations.

A Gubarev attorney told The Washington Times that they now know who gave the dossier to BuzzFeed but cannot publicly identify the person because of a court gag order.

The Daily Caller asked Mr. McCain in October if he supplied the dossier to BuzzFeed.

“I gave it to no one except for the director of the FBI. I don’t know why you’re digging this up now,” Mr. McCain replied.

The bias element

According to an interview in Mother Jones magazine, Mr. Steele said he supplied his memos — the ones accusing Mr. Trump of a Russia conspiracy — to the FBI in “early July” 2016. Mr. Comey has testified he began the counterintelligence investigation in “late July.”

The early memos (they eventually spanned from June to December) accuse the Trump team of a far-reaching conspiracy with the Kremlin to damage Mrs. Clinton.

Mr. Steele said the FBI asked for more of his memos in early August.

BuzzFeed at some point also obtained a copy and posted it in full on Jan. 10, 2017.

Concerning the FBI, Mr. Nunes wants more information on how the bureau used the document to investigate Trumppeople. He has been in a behind-the-scenes battle to gain access to FBI documents, only to be rebuffed.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, intervened by openly urging the FBI to cooperate. It then showed Mr. Nunes‘ staff a limited amount of information.

An impatient Mr. Nunes on Dec. 28 came close to accusing Justice and the bureau of a cover-up.

In a letter to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Mr. Nunes said the Department of Justice at first said dossier-related FBI interview summaries, known as 302s, “did not exist.”

Weeks later, under an Aug. 24 subpoena, DOJ suddenly located “numerous FD-302s pertaining to the Steele dossier, thereby rendering the initial response disingenuous at best,” the House intel committee chief wrote.

Based on the stonewalling, Mr. Nunes said the committee no longer can accept Justice’s position that it cannot turn over other official investigative forms, called 1032s. They document meetings between the FBI and confidential human sources.

“As a result of the numerous delays and discrepancies that have hampered the process of subpoena compliance, the committee no longer credits the representations made by DOJ and/or the FBI regarding these matters,” Mr. Nuneswrote.

He gave the Justice Department until Wednesday to comply.

“Unfortunately, DOJ/FBI’s intransigence with respect to the August 24 subpoenas is part of a broader pattern of behavior that can no longer be tolerated,” Mr. Nunes wrote. “At this point, it seems the DOJ and FBI need to be investigating themselves.”

A third area of committee inquiry is anti-Trump bias by investigators.

In December, the committee heard closed-door testimony from Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe. He was asked what the bureau confirmed among the dossier’s core collusion charges. He said just one: a trip to Moscow by Trumpcampaign volunteer Carter Page to deliver a public speech to a university.

Mr. McCabe headed the Clinton email investigation after his wife received nearly $700,000 in campaign donations from the Democratic Party and a PAC controlled by a close Clinton ally, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Jill McCabe lost her state Senate race in 2015.

Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz is investigating whether Mr. McCabe should have recused himself from the probe, which did not recommend criminal charges against Mrs. Clinton.

Mr. Nunes also wants testimony from FBI agent Peter Strzok. He headed the Trump inquiry until special counsel Robert Mueller fired him in July over his biased text messages to his FBI lover, Lisa Page. On his FBI-issued phone, Mr. Strzok texted about an unspecified “insurance policy” to keep Mr. Trump from winning the election. Mr. Nunes also demands that Ms. Page to be made available for interviews.

Also on the witness list in 2018 is senior Justice Department lawyer Bruce Ohr. He met with Mr. Steele during the election and with Fusion GPS afterwards. His wife worked as a Russia expert at Fusion, where she may have participated in the company’s anti-Trump campaign behind the scenes.

Source: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jan/1/devin-nunes-expands-russia-probe-use-Trump-dossier/

The post House expands Russia probe to FBI, Justice use of unconfirmed dossier to snare Trump first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Rep. Devin Nunes (right), chairman of the House Permanent Select committee on intelligence, has widened the net in the panel’s investigation into the use of the unconfirmed Russia dossier against Donald Trump. (Associated Press/File)

The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has expanded its 2016 election investigation from a starting point of Russian interference to an end-game that focuses on federal law enforcement and how it conducted a drive to snare President Trump and his people.

Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, California Republican, is accusing the Justice Department and the FBI of misleading him in “a pattern of behavior that can no longer be tolerated.” He charges that Justice claimed it possesses no documents related to the infamous Trump dossier, then, under pressure, produced “numerous” such papers.

Republicans in the first half of 2018 are likely to wind down the starting-point inquiry into Russian hacking of Democrats and whether Trump aides helped.

Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the committee’s top Democrat, already is protesting the likely move. He is pushing an extended list of witnesses he wants summoned by Republicans, who suspect Mr. Schiff would like to see the probe stay active into November’s midterm elections and beyond.

Democrats, including Mr. Schiff, have conceded in recent weeks that their hope of finding an extensive Russia–Trumpconspiracy to jointly attack former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has fallen short at this point.

What could outlive the initial Russia probe are missions undertaken by Mr. Nunes. He has put in place what amounts to a separate investigation of the FBI and the Justice Department hierarchy.

There are three main components:

• Fusion GPS. The Democrat-friendly opposition research firm and Mr. Nunes have squared off in U.S. District Court over access to Fusion’s financial transactions. Fusion funded the infamous Trump–Russia dossier with money from Mrs. Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

• The FBI and the dossier. Republicans want to know how the document’s unconfirmed felony accusations fueled the bureau’s counterintelligence investigation since July 2016.

• Investigative bias. The committee is demanding appearances from Justice officials who seemed out to get Mr. Trumpand/or had ties to the dossier’s distribution.

On Fusion, Mr. Nunes has used his subpoena power to seek records of Fusion’s financial transactions between law firms, journalists and media companies.

Fusion, founded by former Wall Street Journal reporters, notably Glenn Simpson, argues its records are protected by First Amendment rights.

The Washington Examiner reported that a key subpoenaed witness is David Kramer, an associate of Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain, Arizona Republican. Mr. Kramer is one of the few people known to have possessed a hard copy of the dossier.

At the behest of Mr. McCain, Mr. Kramer represented the senator at a Nov. 28, 2016, meeting with Christopher Steele in Surrey, England. A British ex-spy, Mr. Steele compiled the 35 pages of memos making up the dossier based on his paid Kremlin sources, some close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr. Kramer then obtained a copy of the dossier from Fusion GPS. Mr. McCain hand-delivered a copy to then-FBIdirector James B. Comey in December 2016.

Mr. Kramer may be able to disclose the identities of Mr. Steele’s Moscow sources.

Mr. Kramer has been deposed by attorneys for Russian entrepreneur Aleksej Gubarev, who is suing the news website BuzzFeed and Mr. Steele for libel over dossier allegations.

A Gubarev attorney told The Washington Times that they now know who gave the dossier to BuzzFeed but cannot publicly identify the person because of a court gag order.

The Daily Caller asked Mr. McCain in October if he supplied the dossier to BuzzFeed.

“I gave it to no one except for the director of the FBI. I don’t know why you’re digging this up now,” Mr. McCain replied.

The bias element

According to an interview in Mother Jones magazine, Mr. Steele said he supplied his memos — the ones accusing Mr. Trump of a Russia conspiracy — to the FBI in “early July” 2016. Mr. Comey has testified he began the counterintelligence investigation in “late July.”

The early memos (they eventually spanned from June to December) accuse the Trump team of a far-reaching conspiracy with the Kremlin to damage Mrs. Clinton.

Mr. Steele said the FBI asked for more of his memos in early August.

BuzzFeed at some point also obtained a copy and posted it in full on Jan. 10, 2017.

Concerning the FBI, Mr. Nunes wants more information on how the bureau used the document to investigate Trumppeople. He has been in a behind-the-scenes battle to gain access to FBI documents, only to be rebuffed.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, intervened by openly urging the FBI to cooperate. It then showed Mr. Nunes‘ staff a limited amount of information.

An impatient Mr. Nunes on Dec. 28 came close to accusing Justice and the bureau of a cover-up.

In a letter to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Mr. Nunes said the Department of Justice at first said dossier-related FBI interview summaries, known as 302s, “did not exist.”

Weeks later, under an Aug. 24 subpoena, DOJ suddenly located “numerous FD-302s pertaining to the Steele dossier, thereby rendering the initial response disingenuous at best,” the House intel committee chief wrote.

Based on the stonewalling, Mr. Nunes said the committee no longer can accept Justice’s position that it cannot turn over other official investigative forms, called 1032s. They document meetings between the FBI and confidential human sources.

“As a result of the numerous delays and discrepancies that have hampered the process of subpoena compliance, the committee no longer credits the representations made by DOJ and/or the FBI regarding these matters,” Mr. Nuneswrote.

He gave the Justice Department until Wednesday to comply.

“Unfortunately, DOJ/FBI’s intransigence with respect to the August 24 subpoenas is part of a broader pattern of behavior that can no longer be tolerated,” Mr. Nunes wrote. “At this point, it seems the DOJ and FBI need to be investigating themselves.”

A third area of committee inquiry is anti-Trump bias by investigators.

In December, the committee heard closed-door testimony from Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe. He was asked what the bureau confirmed among the dossier’s core collusion charges. He said just one: a trip to Moscow by Trumpcampaign volunteer Carter Page to deliver a public speech to a university.

Mr. McCabe headed the Clinton email investigation after his wife received nearly $700,000 in campaign donations from the Democratic Party and a PAC controlled by a close Clinton ally, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Jill McCabe lost her state Senate race in 2015.

Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz is investigating whether Mr. McCabe should have recused himself from the probe, which did not recommend criminal charges against Mrs. Clinton.

Mr. Nunes also wants testimony from FBI agent Peter Strzok. He headed the Trump inquiry until special counsel Robert Mueller fired him in July over his biased text messages to his FBI lover, Lisa Page. On his FBI-issued phone, Mr. Strzok texted about an unspecified “insurance policy” to keep Mr. Trump from winning the election. Mr. Nunes also demands that Ms. Page to be made available for interviews.

Also on the witness list in 2018 is senior Justice Department lawyer Bruce Ohr. He met with Mr. Steele during the election and with Fusion GPS afterwards. His wife worked as a Russia expert at Fusion, where she may have participated in the company’s anti-Trump campaign behind the scenes.

Source: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jan/1/devin-nunes-expands-russia-probe-use-Trump-dossier/

The post House expands Russia probe to FBI, Justice use of unconfirmed dossier to snare Trump first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Washington (CNN)The Justice Department has agreed to allow congressional investigators to interview a key FBI employee believed to have served as the main contact, or “handler” of, former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele, who compiled the so-called “dossier” of allegations about President Donald Trump’s connections to Russia, according to a department spokesperson.

CNN’s Jeremy Herb and Manu Raju contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/03/politics/justice-department-house-intel-russia-investigation/index.html

The post Justice Dept. offers up key witness in Russia probe as House Intel Chair threatens contempt first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.