quote:

Originally posted by TXJIM:
Nads needs to go.....

GoNads, Go!

From THE HILL by John Solomon on 5/9/2019:

FBI's Steele story falls apart: False intel and media contacts were flagged before FISA

>>> https://thehill.com/opinion/wh...ontacts-were-flagged

James Baker was the FBI General Counsel under Comey.

He resigned from the FBI in May 2018.

Baker just published a strange article in Lawfare ( a blog that is very supportive of James Comey)

https://www.lawfareblog.com/wh...ot-hate-donald-trump

Why I Do Not Hate Donald Trump
by James Baker

Many people would probably believe me justified in hating Donald Trump.

While I was general counsel of the FBI, I watched the president fire my boss and friend, Jim Comey. I’ve read and heard the many false statements that the president and his supporters have made about him. I’ve also read many of the president’s harsh and erroneous statements about the FBI, the Department of Justice and the people who work at both of those places. The Mueller report describes troubling conduct by the president concerning the Justice Department. I fear the short- and long-term damage such statements and actions will have on those institutions to which I have dedicated most of my professional life; I fear the consequences for the rule of law itself in the United States.

more blah blah blah

But I do not and will not respond to Donald Trump with hatred. To the contrary, I have come to believe that the best approach for me regarding President Trump—the only approach—is love. I will try to love him.

I will try to love him as a human being. I will try to love his family. And most importantly, I will try to love his supporters—all of them. Loving Donald Trump and loving his supporters is the best way for me to love America and to honor those who sacrificed so much for my freedom.

all these FBI people who pulled so many dirty tricks to bring down Donald Trump sure do have some noble thoughts. or maybe they are prodigious liars

I admit that loving Donald Trump is a challenge for me. But my journey over the past several years has convinced me that I must try

Many people would probably believe me justified in hating Donald Trump.

While I was general counsel of the FBI, I watched the president fire my boss and friend, Jim Comey. I’ve read and heard the many false statements that the president and his supporters have made about him. I’ve also read many of the president’s harsh and erroneous statements about the FBI, the Department of Justice and the people who work at both of those places. The Mueller report describes troubling conduct by the president concerning the Justice Department. I fear the short- and long-term damage such statements and actions will have on those institutions to which I have dedicated most of my professional life; I fear the consequences for the rule of law itself in the United States.

On an even more personal level, I was removed from my job as FBI general counsel after serving under Director Chris Wray for a few months. The president has tweeted and spoken about me personally, uncharitably and by name, on several occasions. Some people who support the president also have said negative things about me publicly. All of that attention impacted me negatively in numerous ways—both personally and professionally—over the past few years.

I wonder why you were removed. ???

But I do not and will not respond to Donald Trump with hatred. To the contrary, I have come to believe that the best approach for me regarding President Trump—the only approach—is love. I will try to love him.

I will try to love him as a human being. I will try to love his family. And most importantly, I will try to love his supporters—all of them. Loving Donald Trump and loving his supporters is the best way for me to love America and to honor those who sacrificed so much for my freedom.

I recognize that this view will strike some people as naive, even foolish. I know it may sound weak. But the love I am speaking of is not submission, acquiescence, obedience or deference. Love is strong, it is bold, and it can be defiant. Love resists evil, hatred, bigotry, and all other forces that dehumanize, oppress, victimize or degrade others. Love is the opposite of those values. It is the most powerful resistance to those forces. Loving someone does not mean that you approve of or condone his or her words and deeds.

I admit that loving Donald Trump is a challenge for me. But my journey over the past several years has convinced me that I must try.

Before saying more about that personal journey, I first want to address some of the public criticism of me and of the FBI itself, much of which has come in the context of the FBI’s investigation of Russian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential campaign. I want to make clear that my argument for love in no sense represents an acknowledgment that the investigation is fundamentally defective. Indeed, the various charges brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his report show clearly that it is not.


A lot of the criticism seems to be driven by the notion that the FBI’s investigation was, and is, an effort to undermine or discredit President Trump. That assumption is wrong.

I don't think it is wrong at all

The FBI’s counterintelligence investigation regarding the 2016 campaign fundamentally was not about Donald Trump but was about Russia.

BS. The Mueller report has a single purpose - provide the political enemies of the President w a road map for impeachment

next Baker goes on for a while on Martin Luther King

The Dalai Lama says that “[w]orld peace can only be based on inner peace. If we ask what destroys our inner peace, it’s not weapons and external threats, but our own inner flaws like anger. This is one of the reasons why love and compassion are important, because they strengthen us. This is a source of hope.”

I also recognize that my situation is very different from that of many others who have suffered under the president much more than I have. I was not at Charlottesville, I am not Muslim and I have not been separated from my children at the border.

But I did hold a high-ranking position at the FBI—an organization that I love—and I have seen colleagues mistreated. And the president of the United States has made negative public comments about both the bureau and me. Notwithstanding all that, I am refusing to choose hate as a response. I am choosing love, even if I don’t fully understand what I mean by that right now. I am choosing that path because I think that is what is best for America.

The path you choose is up to you. But remember that the path we take defines each of us and will impact, to one degree or another, the country we all love.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I posted this because Baker seems to live in a mental state similar to Comey talking to trees. Baker talks of loving Donald Trump, and then takes cheap shot after cheap shot at the President.

^^^^^^^

Wow! That is extraordinary ......

I wonder how many others in the FBI are as "different" as Baker and Comey?

related to the post above about Baker trying to love Donald Trump



Comey - Baker - Wittes - Lawfare blog

Don't believe anything coming out of Lawfare

There sure looks like a full court press to set up defenses from the whole Comey "community" in anticipation of the upcoming Horowitz report and the declassified 302s, texts, and FISA warrants

To hell w grace, I want to know what TRUTH looks like.

They keep coming across as teen age SJWs. Hard to believe the senior bureaucracy actually attracts and promotes people who are so strange and out of touch with reality.

quote:

Originally posted by sdy:
related to the post above about Baker trying to love Donald Trump



Comey - Baker - Wittes - Lawfare blog

Don't believe anything coming out of Lawfare

There sure looks like a full court press to set up defenses from the whole Comey "community" in anticipation of the upcoming Horowitz report and the declassified 302s, texts, and FISA warrants

To hell w grace, I want to know what TRUTH looks like.

^^^^^
This
"There sure looks like a full court press to set up defenses from the whole Comey "community" in anticipation of the upcoming Horowitz report and the declassified 302s, texts, and FISA warrants"

These guys must really be scared!

Senator Lindsey Graham interview w Maria Bartiromo

https://www.breitbart.com/clip...ore-senate-subpoena/

A few things Graham said:

1. There is a classified document he wants to get released. It goes thru the Steele dossier page by page and has a vertical side bar that provides "verification".

There is no verification other than media reports by reporters who had received the dossier.

2. Graham flat out says he thinks Joseph Mifsud was a plant "by our own people" to set up Geo Papadopoulos. That is a big deal because that is why the FBI claims they started the counterintel operation.

3. Regarding the Burr subpoena of DT Jr:

“If I were Donald Trump Jr.’s lawyer, I would tell him, you don’t need to go back into this environment anymore. You’ve been there for hours and hours and nothing being alleged here changes the outcome of the Mueller investigation.” “I would call it a day.”

He's 'Nervous'... and should be 'Nervous' ...


Top Lawyer For Obama-Era FBI 'Nervous' About DOJ Inspector General Investigation

James Baker, a career government attorney who wound up as the the FBI's top lawyer (general counsel) in 2014, says he's 'nervous' about DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz's internal investigation into FBI/DOJ conduct surrounding the 2016 US election.

Sitting down at the Brookings Institute with Lawfare's Benjamin Wittes, Baker made clear that he wanted to speak "as openly as I possibly can" about the origin of the FBI's investigation into Donald Trump - "to reassure the American people that it was done for lawful, legitimate reasons, and was apolitical," reports the Washington Examiner's Jerry Dunleavy.

For those keeping track, we've gone from "there was no spying," to "the FBI used an informant on the Trump campaign, just don't call him a spy," to "ok there were multiple informants - still not spying."

And so while Obama-era officials have scrambled to perform damage control ahead of negative potential outcomes, Attorney General William Barr, James Clapper, and the CIA's former chief of counterintelligence (among others) have concluded that the Obama admin absolutely spied on Donald Trump and his campaign.

Barr, meanwhile, has launched a wide-ranging investigation into FBI conduct during the 2016 election, making him public enemy #1 to the left. Consequently, Democrats are now working overtime to discredit him less than three months after he 'sailed through' his confirmation hearings (on the Kavanaugh scale) due to his distinguished career in Washington. Barr currently sits in contempt of the House Judiciary Committee after refusing to turn over an unredacted version of the Mueller report - despite the fact that not one Democrat has viewed the 98.5% redacted version the DOJ made available to members of Congress.

After Barr's "spying" bombshell, former FBI Director James Comey said he had "no idea what the heck he's (Barr) talking about," while last week Comey said he thinks Barr has acted "less than honorable," and has "lost most of his reputation."

And in in what appears to be the latest in an attempt to get ahead of the narrative, James Baker - the Obama/Comey FBI's top lawyer, sat down with Benjamin Wittes at Brookings to defend the agency's conduct.

And Baker is nervous.

Asked by Wittes "So, how nervous are you about the IG"? in reference to Inspector General Horowitz's FISA investigation, Baker responded that he's "always nervous about the IG," and that "they’re coming in after the fact to look at what we did."

Baker added that during the chaotic 2016 election, the FBI was "trying to do it in real time and having the pressure to deal with these threats as they were coming," while dealing with the backdrop of alleged Russian hacking of Democratic emails.

He also stuck with the official story as to what predicated the FBI's counterintelligence operation on the Trump campaign, dubbed "Crossfire Hurricane" -- On May 10, 2016 Trump adviser George Papadopoulos told Clinton ally and Australian diplomat, Alexander Downer, that Russia had 'dirt' on Hillary Clinton. Downer told Aussie intel, which told the FBI, which launched Operation Crossfire Hurricane.

Nowhere did Baker mention Joseph Mifsud, a Maltese professor and self-professed member of the Clinton Foundation who is the genesis of the Russian 'dirt' rumor - planted it with Papadopoulos several weeks after returning from a trip to Moscow.

While the Mueller report paints Mifsud as a Russian agent, evidence points to him being in league with Western intelligence - which raises the notion of entrapment if Papadopoulos was set up by a Clinton ally, later to be pumped for information by a 'five-eyes' Clinton ally at a London Bar, which officially launched the investigation.

Last week, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) has requested a wide swath of documents about Mifsud from several federal agencies. As the Washington Examiner noted, Nunes - the House Intelligence Committee ranking member, "seeks information about who Mifsud was working for at the time and wrote in a letter that special counsel Robert Mueller “omits any mention of a wide range of contacts Mifsud had with Western political institutions and individuals" in his report on Russian interference in the 2016 election."

No wonder Baker is feeling a bit on edge.

When asked about how confident he is that the FBI opened the Trump investigation for legitimate reasons and not a 'coup,' Baker maintained that everything was on the up and up, and that there was "no way in hell" he would have allowed a 'coup attempt' against Trump.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news...oj-inspector-general

quote:

Most of them wait until they go to prison to find Jesus.

quote:

Originally posted by sdy:
Senator Lindsey Graham interview w Maria Bartiromo

https://www.breitbart.com/clip...ore-senate-subpoena/

A few things Graham said:

1. There is a classified document he wants to get released. It goes thru the Steele dossier page by page and has a vertical side bar that provides "verification".

There is no verification other than media reports by reporters who had received the dossier.

2. Graham flat out says he thinks Joseph Mifsud was a plant "by our own people" to set up Geo Papadopoulos. That is a big deal because that is why the FBI claims they started the counterintel operation.

3. Regarding the Burr subpoena of DT Jr:

“If I were Donald Trump Jr.’s lawyer, I would tell him, you don’t need to go back into this environment anymore. You’ve been there for hours and hours and nothing being alleged here changes the outcome of the Mueller investigation.” “I would call it a day.”

^^^^ This is an excellent interview. It covers a lot of information very efficiently (46 min.). The link given above is to the Breitbart report on the intervies. My link below goes to the You Tube Video of the actual interview.

>>> Strongly Recommended

(5/12/2019) Fox Sunday Morning Futures w/ Maria Bartiromo (47 min.) - Two Interviews with members of House Judiciary Committee.

1. Lindsey Graham (R-SC Chairman) on Russia Probe, Illegal Immigrants, Cuba, Venezuela, China Trade.

2. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) - on Nadler's Barr Contempt Hearings, FBI Dossier, FISA Warrants, Christopher Steele, Jim Comey.

>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRJ-bo2zJ1k

AP source: A US attorney has been appointed to examine the origins of the Russia probe


U.S. Attorney John Durham
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT

By MICHAEL BALSAMO | Associated Press | Published: May 13, 2019

WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr has appointed a U.S. attorney to examine the origins of the Russia investigation and determine if intelligence collection involving the Trump campaign was "lawful and appropriate," a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Monday.

Barr appointed John Durham, the U.S. attorney in Connecticut, to conduct the inquiry, the person said. The person could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

Durham's appointment comes about a month after Barr told members of Congress he believed "spying did occur" on the Trump campaign in 2016. He later said he didn't mean anything pejorative and was gathering a team to look into the origins of the special counsel's investigation.

Barr provided no details about what "spying" may have taken place but appeared to be alluding to a surveillance warrant the FBI obtained on a former Trump associate, Carter Page, and the FBI's use of an informant while the bureau was investigating former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos.

Trump and his supporters have seized on both to accuse the Justice Department and the FBI of unlawfully spying on his campaign.

The inquiry, which will focus on whether the government's methods to collect intelligence relating to the Trump campaign were lawful and appropriate, is separate from an investigation by the Justice Department's inspector general. The agency's watchdog is also examining the Russia probe's origins and Barr has said he expects the watchdog report to be done in May or June.

Congressional Republicans have also indicated they intend to examine how the investigation that shadowed Trump's presidency for nearly two years began and whether there are any legal concerns.

The recently concluded investigation from special counsel Robert Mueller did not find a criminal conspiracy between the campaign and the Kremlin to tip the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

Durham is a career prosecutor who was nominated for his post as U.S. attorney in Connecticut by Trump. He has previously investigated law enforcement corruption, the destruction of CIA videotapes and the Boston FBI office's relationship with mobsters.

In nominating him, the White House said Durham and other nominees for U.S. attorney jobs share Trump's vision for "making America safe again."

Durham was unanimously confirmed by the Senate in 2018. At the time, Connecticut's two Democratic senators, Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, called Durham a "fierce, fair prosecutor" who knows how to try tough cases.

In addition to conducting the inquiry, Durham will continue to serve as the chief federal prosecutor in Connecticut.

https://www.stripes.com/news/u...john-durham-1.580904

quote:

Originally posted by feersum dreadnaught:
In nominating him, the White House said Durham and other nominees for U.S. attorney jobs share Trump's vision for "making America safe again."

Durham was unanimously confirmed by the Senate in 2018. At the time, Connecticut's two Democratic senators, Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, called Durham a "fierce, fair prosecutor" who knows how to try tough cases.

Uh huh. Big, empty words, such as "James Comey is the most ethical man in Washington", which TV pundits and politicians all were saying in the first half of 2016.

PROVE IT

I don't want to hear any further premature praise for some bureaucrat who is presumed to be highly ethical and non-partisan. I've heard enough of this empty bullshit to last me ten lifetimes.

Stow the bold talk and PROVE IT.

***^^^^^E X C E L L E N T

"WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr has appointed a U.S. attorney to examine the origins of the Russia investigation and determine if intelligence collection involving the Trump campaign was "lawful and appropriate," a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Monday.

This just made my day.

At least we are off to a start- I hope productivity will be evident soon.....

quote:

He has previously investigated law enforcement corruption, the destruction of CIA videotapes and the Boston FBI office's relationship with mobsters.

And were there any prosecutions? Anyone held accountable? Or were these more of the same predetermined, empty, protect the establishment at all costs fake investigations?

I certainly do not trust a carreer DOJ employee to do the right thing when it comes to the law.

Granted it's from Wikipedia:

In December 2000, Durham revealed secret FBI documents that convinced a judge to vacate the 1968 murder convictions of Enrico Tameleo, Joseph Salvati, Peter Limone and Louis Greco because they had been framed by the agency.

In 2002, Durham helped secure the conviction of retired FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr., who was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal racketeering charges

Durham's task force also gathered evidence against retired FBI agent H. Paul Rico who was indicted in Oklahoma on state charges

Durham also led a series of high-profile prosecutions in Connecticut against the New England Mafia and corrupt politicians, including former governor John G. Rowland

He didn't find anything in the CIA case to warrant prosecutions, but it appears that he's no stranger to charging those at the FBI when they get caught acting up.

The proof is in the pudding.

I've been fooled too many times. When I see results, then he'll get praise.

Has Christopher Steele revealed his high level Russian Sources ?

John Solomon had a report about October 2016 notes from State Dept Kathleen Kavalec.

She met w Christopher Steele on 11 Oct 2016.
The meeting was set up by Clinton water carrier Jonathan Winer.

The FBI had redacted most of Kavalec's typed note.

But they have now released a much less redacted version:

https://www.scribd.com/documen...c-Less-Redacted-Memo

In addition, Kavalec's hand written notes have been released:

https://www.scribd.com/documen...h-Christopher-Steele

Some observations from the handwritten notes:

She writes that

[/url]


blogger Undercover Huber posted that the second source name may be Former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov.

Surkov is currently an advisor to Putin.

The first source name is hard to decipher. I made a guess and came up with:

Vyacheslov Trubnikov

Trubnikov has worked as the Director of Foreign Intelligence Service (Russia) and currently is a First Deputy of Foreign Minister of Russia (Wiki)

When Kavalec typed her notes she included this line:

"Presidential advisor Vladislov Surkov and Vyacheslov Trubnikov (former head of Russian External Intelligence Service - SVR) are also involved."

She didn't say in the typed note that Steele identified them as sources.

In the hand written notes, she says Steele told her that he was managing 4 things simultaneously:

- client needs
- FBI
- Wash Post and NYT
- source protection

Steele said the Russians had a plant in the DNC

Kavalec has a cryptic hand written note:

"sharing w IC"

?? Is Steele saying hs is sharing with the Intelligence Community?

Her hand writing is bad and it is hard to understand a lot of what is there.

There are multiple other interesting things in the notes, but the above items really caught my attention.

^^^ kind of like blurry pictures of Bigfoot? Almost proof of something but just can't bring it in to sharp focus to know exactly what it is you're looking at. This entire circus is designed to go on into infinity. Constantly waiting another investigation to end, a report to be released, a few more bits of unredacted information, another attorney appointed to investigate something that will yield some incomplete redacted report a year from now. It is never ending and the joke is on us.

quote:

Originally posted by sdy:
Has Christopher Steele revealed his high level Russian Sources ?

John Solomon had a report about October 2016 notes from State Dept Kathleen Kavalec.

She met w Christopher Steele on 11 Oct 2016.
The meeting was set up by Clinton water carrier Jonathan Winer.

The FBI had redacted most of Kavalec's typed note.

But they have now released a much less redacted version:

https://www.scribd.com/documen...c-Less-Redacted-Memo

In addition, Kavalec's hand written notes have been released:

https://www.scribd.com/documen...h-Christopher-Steele

Some observations from the handwritten notes:

She writes that

[/url]


blogger Undercover Huber posted that the second source name may be Former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov.

Surkov is currently an advisor to Putin.

The first source name is hard to decipher. I made a guess and came up with:

Vyacheslov Trubnikov

Trubnikov has worked as the Director of Foreign Intelligence Service (Russia) and currently is a First Deputy of Foreign Minister of Russia (Wiki)

When Kavalec typed her notes she included this line:

"Presidential advisor Vladislov Surkov and Vyacheslov Trubnikov (former head of Russian External Intelligence Service - SVR) are also involved."

She didn't say in the typed note that Steele identified them as sources.

In the hand written notes, she says Steele told her that he was managing 4 things simultaneously:

- client needs
- FBI
- Wash Post and NYT
- source protection

Steele said the Russians had a plant in the DNC

Kavalec has a cryptic hand written note:

"sharing w IC"

?? Is Steele saying hs is sharing with the Intelligence Community?

Her hand writing is bad and it is hard to understand a lot of what is there.

There are multiple other interesting things in the notes, but the above items really caught my attention.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

sdy -

I think you are spot on!

I am not a handwriting analyst, but I will wager that when one is assigned to decode the note it will EASILY be resolved.

Good information sdy, thanks