IG report incoming...

POSTED BY: AURaptor
UPDATED: Thursday, February 13, 2020 03:42
VIEWED: 20502
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AURAPTOR

Friday, October 25, 2019 5:49 AM

Hold on to your butts.

@ShannonBream

BREAKING: DOJ IG Horowitz sends letter to Congressional leaders. Says report is going through declassification ("nearing completion"), is lengthy, and he anticipates few redactions. Doesn't foresee "a need to prepare and issue separate classified and public versions."

6:36 PM · Oct 24, 2019

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Friday, October 25, 2019 6:46 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
Hold on to your butts.

@ShannonBream

BREAKING: DOJ IG Horowitz sends letter to Congressional leaders. Says report is going through declassification ("nearing completion"), is lengthy, and he anticipates few redactions. Doesn't foresee "a need to prepare and issue separate classified and public versions."

6:36 PM · Oct 24, 2019

Libtards puckering.

1KIKI

Friday, October 25, 2019 7:06 AM

I just hope it's thorough, so there are no unanswered questions left.

SECOND

Friday, October 25, 2019 7:17 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Libtards puckering.

You have been watching too much FOX News, JewelStaiteFan. Libtards don't watch.

On Monday morning, Fox News published a story asking where the FISA report was. “Anticipation builds as DOJ watchdog still hasn’t released review,” the headline proclaimed.

To those outside the conservative news bubble, “the FISA report” might not mean much—let alone be “highly anticipated,” as the story described it. But those who watch Fox News have been primed to think of this report as something that will show that the FBI and Justice Department were reckless, or even acted illegally, in their efforts to undermine Donald Trump.

More at https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/10/inspector-general-fisa-rep
ort-carter-page-russia-investigation.html

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz informed Congress on Thursday that the Justice Department and the FBI's classification review of the report on alleged Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuses is "nearing completion."

A letter sent to House and Senate leaders said the draft report is "lengthy" and "concerns sensitive national security and law enforcement matters."

More at www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/doj-inspector-general-says-report-on-a
lleged-fisa-abuses-nearing-completion

The report will eventually show up at the Office of the Inspector General
U.S. Department of Justice: https://oig.justice.gov/reports/all.htm

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

6IXSTRINGJACK

Friday, October 25, 2019 9:12 AM

There will be no end to my laughing if Trump and his team set all of this up to embarrass a LOT of people.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

AURAPTOR

Friday, October 25, 2019 4:44 PM

Two schools of thought here... We're being told that, much like with the Mueller report ( and the transcript w/ Ukraine's President ) there will be few redactions. Which means everything will be out on the table could mean there's very little of substance there to begin with,

OR

IG isn't playing around.

Also, there's this -

DOJ opens criminal investigation of Russia probe; impending IG report ‘will shed light on why’

U.S. Attorney John Durham’s probe into the origins of the Russia investigation has now shifted to a criminal inquiry, two sources familiar with the matter told The New York Times which indicated that the move would give the prosecutor “the power to subpoena for witness testimony and documents, to impanel a grand jury and to file criminal charges.”

https://www.bizpacreview.com/2019/10/25/doj-opens-criminal-investigati
on-of-russia-probe-impending-ig-report-will-shed-light-on-why-843674

THG

Friday, October 25, 2019 5:59 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Libtards puckering.
You have been watching too much FOX News, JewelStaiteFan. Libtards don't watch.

On Monday morning, Fox News published a story asking where the FISA report was. “Anticipation builds as DOJ watchdog still hasn’t released review,” the headline proclaimed.

To those outside the conservative news bubble, “the FISA report” might not mean much—let alone be “highly anticipated,” as the story described it. But those who watch Fox News have been primed to think of this report as something that will show that the FBI and Justice Department were reckless, or even acted illegally, in their efforts to undermine Donald Trump.

T

THG

Friday, October 25, 2019 6:03 PM

Russian spy Maria Butina, 30, will be released from jail on Friday and escorted by two ICE agents back to Moscow

Russian spy Maria Butina will be released from prison on Friday and will be escorted back to Moscow, Russia, her lawyer revealed.

Butina worked as a pro-gun activist who infiltrated conservative political circles in the U.S. on behalf of the Kremlin around the 2016 election.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/russian-spy-maria-butina-30-will-be-
released-from-jail-on-friday-and-escorted-by-two-ice-agents-back-to-moscow-after-serving-16-months-of-her-18-month-sentence-as-her-life-behind-bars-of-five-mile-runs-and-working-at-the-prison-cafeteria-is-revealed/ar-AAJjRp5?ocid=spartanntp

T

6IXSTRINGJACK

Friday, October 25, 2019 6:34 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by THG:
Russian spy Maria Butina, 30, will be released from jail on Friday and escorted by two ICE agents back to Moscow

Russian spy Maria Butina will be released from prison on Friday and will be escorted back to Moscow, Russia, her lawyer revealed.

Butina worked as a pro-gun activist who infiltrated conservative political circles in the U.S. on behalf of the Kremlin around the 2016 election.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/russian-spy-maria-butina-30-will-be-
released-from-jail-on-friday-and-escorted-by-two-ice-agents-back-to-moscow-after-serving-16-months-of-her-18-month-sentence-as-her-life-behind-bars-of-five-mile-runs-and-working-at-the-prison-cafeteria-is-revealed/ar-AAJjRp5?ocid=spartanntp

T

So... ICE are the good guys now, right T?

Do Right, Be Right. :)

CAPTAINCRUNCH

Friday, October 25, 2019 8:06 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
Two schools of thought here... We're being told that, much like with the Mueller report ( and the transcript w/ Ukraine's President ) there will be few redactions. Which means everything will be out on the table could mean there's very little of substance there to begin with,

OR

IG isn't playing around.

Also, there's this -

DOJ opens criminal investigation of Russia probe; impending IG report ‘will shed light on why’

U.S. Attorney John Durham’s probe into the origins of the Russia investigation has now shifted to a criminal inquiry, two sources familiar with the matter told The New York Times which indicated that the move would give the prosecutor “the power to subpoena for witness testimony and documents, to impanel a grand jury and to file criminal charges.”

I hope it's better than the turd Nunes laid in public. Remember his "Memo" that Gaetz said would blow up and start putting Democrats etc in jail? Gawd, what a joke.

This sh*t is another desperate stunt by the GoP. If you were ever a true Republican or Conservative this new group of clownish f-wads should make you want to vomit. I hope you guys get your party back, because real Conservatism has value and is an important push back to some of the over reach many Liberals desire. We need 2 strong, ethical partys.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Friday, October 25, 2019 9:31 PM

You guys keep using the word "desperate".

I think you need to look up the word in the dictionary.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

AURAPTOR

Friday, October 25, 2019 10:54 PM

The mueller investigation wasn’t a massive stunt?

This is the real deal.

Brace for impact.

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

I'm just a red pill guy in a room full of blue pill addicts.

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

SECOND

Saturday, October 26, 2019 12:43 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
The mueller investigation wasn’t a massive stunt?

This is the real deal.

Brace for impact.

It was October 2nd when Trump said he will likely sue some people who were involved in Mueller probe. I certainly hope he does. Trump did not name names but has long expressed frustration at some of the central figures in the investigation such as former FBI Director James Comey. Good. A Republican being sued by a Republican. While Trump is at it, he should sue Attorney General Jeff Sessions, his Deputy Rod Rosenstein, and former FBI Director Mueller, all Republicans involved in the probe. Lock. Them. Up!

The Mueller probe found the Russian state did run a hacking and propaganda operation to disrupt the U.S. election.

www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-whistleblower-lawsuit/trump-says-
he-will-likely-sue-some-people-who-were-involved-in-mueller-probe-idUSKBN1WH29K

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

CAPTAINCRUNCH

Saturday, October 26, 2019 12:59 AM

Neither of you remember the Nunes Memo? Or just trying to forget it?

Do you remember:
Pizzagate? Obama birther joke? Clinton is a pedophile? Benghazi? Clinton's emails? Storming the SCIF? (What a stupid stunt - figures Gaetz would be there). Will you remember Quid Pro Quo? "Russia didn't hack the election - Trump"? Michael Flynn? "pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI." Paul Manafort & Michael Cohen? They got locked up! I can't think of anything with Trump's imprint that hasn't been a total f*ck-up.

You really need to listen to judge Napolitano more.
https://bit.ly/32IvY9b

"Judge Napolitano Schools ‘Fox & Friends’ on Impeachment: Schiff Just ‘Following the Rules’ Written by GOP
Fox News’ judicial analyst disappointed his colleagues by explaining there’s nothing wrong with “secret” impeachment hearings."

If you listen to him you'll be ahead of most GOP congressmen.

Or maybe Gary Kasparov? Someone who knows something about strategy, defend and attack, and Russia, specifically Putin. Also seems to know a lot about Trump:

"As predicted, Trump has moved from using the Justice Department for obstruction to going after opponents. Unable to defend the indefensible, he attacks.

It's a move from obstruction to active. There will likely be criminal cases against whoever gets the most attention. A campaign of destruction, distraction, and to intimidate potential witnesses.

This is a step, a new phase. They are moving from abusing Justice powers to cover up their previous abuses to targeting potential threats to intimidate and discredit them, a new category of abuses."

I think his predictions and understanding is perfect.

SECOND

Saturday, October 26, 2019 1:26 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by captaincrunch:

Do you remember:

My memory goes all the way back to when Trump's lawyer was Roy Cohn, who was also Senator Joe McCarthy's lawyer. McCarthyism was a vociferous campaign against alleged communists in the US government and other institutions carried out under McCarthy in the period 1950–54. Many of the accused were blacklisted or lost their jobs, although most did not in fact belong to the Communist Party. Trump learned lying from Cohn, who learned from McCarthy.

Roy Cohn Is How We Got Trump
www.nytimes.com/2019/09/20/opinion/roy-cohn-trump.html
From McCarthyism to the mob to Trump, Cohn enabled evil. Why did elites embrace him?

Near the beginning of “Where’s My Roy Cohn?” the new documentary about the lawyer and power broker who mentored Donald Trump, an interviewee says, “Roy Cohn’s contempt for people, his contempt for the law, was so evident on his face that if you were in his presence, you knew you were in the presence of evil.” He wasn’t being hyperbolic.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

OLDGUY

Saturday, October 26, 2019 1:57 AM

mcuh as I'd enjoy watching a good house cleaning...I don't expect any major hits...no matter what gang color they wear..all politicians understand that you can't dare try to stain the legacy of our first black president..and all roads eventually lead back to him and his illegit seat as POTUS...so..yeah..they'll make some ugly statements about some whoever that was in some whatever office down in the basement and say it was just plain wrong...but for whatever reason...the actions of the Hilda will never be brought to justice..cause what she did..she did under full cover of folks much too powerful..and if you burn her...and brother she needs a full bbq...then she'll take em down with her like the demons of hell itself grabbing at the legs of the living to pull them into the firey abbys....so.. I don't think I'm even going to pop a bag of ORvilles buttery flavor for this one...rather rewatch an episode of Firefly...

AURAPTOR

Saturday, October 26, 2019 2:11 AM

Nunes is irrelevant to this. Dunno why some keep trying to hang their hat on his theatrics.

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

I'm just a red pill guy in a room full of blue pill addicts.

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

AURAPTOR

Saturday, October 26, 2019 2:40 AM

Quote:
?Pizzagate? Obama birther joke? Clinton is a pedophile? Benghazi? Clinton's emails? Storming the SCIF? (What a stupid stunt - )

I don’t know that any of those aren’t real, in part or in full. Clinton’s 27 flights on AirLolita can’t be ignored, if nothing else.

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

I'm just a red pill guy in a room full of blue pill addicts.

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

1KIKI

Saturday, October 26, 2019 4:33 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by captaincrunch:
Neither of you remember the Nunes Memo? Or just trying to forget it?

Do you remember:
Pizzagate? Obama birther joke? Clinton is a pedophile? Benghazi? Clinton's emails? Storming the SCIF? (What a stupid stunt - figures Gaetz would be there). Will you remember Quid Pro Quo? "Russia didn't hack the election - Trump"? Michael Flynn? "pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI." Paul Manafort & Michael Cohen? They got locked up! I can't think of anything with Trump's imprint that hasn't been a total f*ck-up.

You really need to listen to judge Napolitano more.
https://bit.ly/32IvY9b

"Judge Napolitano Schools ‘Fox & Friends’ on Impeachment: Schiff Just ‘Following the Rules’ Written by GOP
Fox News’ judicial analyst disappointed his colleagues by explaining there’s nothing wrong with “secret” impeachment hearings."

If you listen to him you'll be ahead of most GOP congressmen.

Or maybe Gary Kasparov? Someone who knows something about strategy, defend and attack, and Russia, specifically Putin. Also seems to know a lot about Trump:

"As predicted, Trump has moved from using the Justice Department for obstruction to going after opponents. Unable to defend the indefensible, he attacks.

It's a move from obstruction to active. There will likely be criminal cases against whoever gets the most attention. A campaign of destruction, distraction, and to intimidate potential witnesses.

This is a step, a new phase. They are moving from abusing Justice powers to cover up their previous abuses to targeting potential threats to intimidate and discredit them, a new category of abuses."

I think his predictions and understanding is perfect.

Nunes Memo What memo is that?

LINK NEEDED.

The insane never-Trumpers will be driven even more insane in the wash/rinse/spin/repeat/ cycle they mistake for reality.

AURAPTOR

Saturday, October 26, 2019 7:43 PM

Meh.

CAPTAINCRUNCH

Saturday, October 26, 2019 9:23 PM

As usual, the Trump supporter responses avoid everything I brought up. No explanations, no understanding, just "ignore it." Sorry, Nunes Memo is relevant to this because it is yet another example of the dumb shittery the GOP dreams up as a defense of Trump. I can't imagine how anyone could support this lying sack of shit. He embarrasses our entire country every single day. Come on, we can do better.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Saturday, October 26, 2019 9:36 PM

Because we've been lied to and manipulated for three years.

Nobody gives a shit.

We're just waiting for this all to play out to the eventual conclusion of nothing happening.

Trump 2020.

You lose.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

SIGNYM

Saturday, October 26, 2019 11:02 PM

Barr let Epstein be murdered, and if he didn't he's certainly responsible for a complete investigation that goes all the way up the ladder. So far I haven't seen much action on that front. Like I posted, it looks like its going to end in mumbles and excuses.

Barr is willing to investgate SOME things but other things he won't touch with a 10-ft pole. So I'll be interested to see what comes of this.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

You idiots have been oppressing the entire sexual spectrum as long as you have existed. I can't wait for the day your kind is dead - WISHIMAY

AURAPTOR

Saturday, October 26, 2019 11:54 PM

After the Mueller show, there's PLENTY for objective people to ignore when the Dems and their fake accusations are concerned.

After 3 years you're still asking why America supports Trump ?

It's easy. His policies are more in sync w/ REAL Americans than the socialist unicorn crap the Left keeps pimping.

No on wants it and until #NeverTrumpers wake the hell up, it'll just be more MAGA comin your way.

1KIKI

Sunday, October 27, 2019 1:19 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by captaincrunch:
As usual, the Trump supporter responses avoid everything I brought up. No explanations, no understanding, just "ignore it." Sorry, Nunes Memo is relevant to this because it is yet another example of the dumb shittery the GOP dreams up as a defense of Trump. I can't imagine how anyone could support this lying sack of shit. He embarrasses our entire country every single day. Come on, we can do better.

What memo is that?

LINK NEEDED.

The insane never-Trumpers will be driven even more insane in the wash/rinse/spin/repeat/ cycle they mistake for reality.

THG

Sunday, October 27, 2019 1:38 AM

Company with ties to Trump’s brother Robert awarded $33 million government contract

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/company-with-ties-to-trumps-br
other-robert-awarded-dollar33-million-government-contract/ar-AAJpmRB?ocid=spartandhp

Is this it? Is this the report you Trumpers are waiting on?

T

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Sunday, October 27, 2019 2:15 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
Hold on to your butts.

@ShannonBream

BREAKING: DOJ IG Horowitz sends letter to Congressional leaders. Says report is going through declassification ("nearing completion"), is lengthy, and he anticipates few redactions. Doesn't foresee "a need to prepare and issue separate classified and public versions."

6:36 PM · Oct 24, 2019

But will this interfere with the Witch Hunt Fishing Expedition and Fake Impeachment story arc?

6IXSTRINGJACK

Sunday, October 27, 2019 2:48 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
Hold on to your butts.

@ShannonBream

BREAKING: DOJ IG Horowitz sends letter to Congressional leaders. Says report is going through declassification ("nearing completion"), is lengthy, and he anticipates few redactions. Doesn't foresee "a need to prepare and issue separate classified and public versions."

6:36 PM · Oct 24, 2019
But will this interfere with the Witch Hunt Fishing Expedition and Fake Impeachment story arc?

Are you kidding? Not as long as they can get ad revenue by getting idiots to click their links to fake news.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

THG

Sunday, October 27, 2019 3:54 AM

Is this it? Is this the report you Trumpers are waiting for?
T

1KIKI

Sunday, October 27, 2019 4:28 AM

I'm just really curious what the report will show.

What I HOPE is that there's no loose ends dangling from it. I'd hate to have it rise zombie-like after the fact, like the Mueller report, which DID exonerate Trump of any collusion with Russia.

But speaking of which, as I think about it, the Mueller report WAS a political hack-job. Since they couldn't find anything about Trump / Russia they did take a lot of extra time compiling what may (or may not, Mueller specifically was neutral about any conclusions) have been obstruction. So he created the loose ends that democrats have been trying to grasp for political reasons.

GOOD JOB MUELLER! You couldn't find anything, so you created something!

The insane never-Trumpers will be driven even more insane in the wash/rinse/spin/repeat/ cycle they mistake for reality.

AURAPTOR

Friday, November 1, 2019 2:05 AM

1 + week and … I've not seen it drop.

Maybe tomorrow ?

And in an unrelated development, why has gasoline gone up 22 cents in the past few days ? What'd I miss ?

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Friday, November 1, 2019 6:36 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
1 + week and … I've not seen it drop.

Maybe tomorrow ?

And in an unrelated development, why has gasoline gone up 22 cents in the past few days ? What'd I miss ?

This is horrible that Deep State Criminals are in jeopardy of being investigated.

We should start some Impeachment Resolutions to distract and deflect. Oh, wait....

AURAPTOR

Friday, November 1, 2019 5:21 PM

Bill Clinton wagged the dog by cruise missiling an empty building and killing a night janitor in Iraq.

Deep State is always good for a fake distraction.

SHINYGOODGUY

Thursday, November 7, 2019 12:42 PM

OOOoooo, can't wait!

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
Hold on to your butts.

@ShannonBream

BREAKING: DOJ IG Horowitz sends letter to Congressional leaders. Says report is going through declassification ("nearing completion"), is lengthy, and he anticipates few redactions. Doesn't foresee "a need to prepare and issue separate classified and public versions."

6:36 PM · Oct 24, 2019

SHINYGOODGUY

Thursday, November 7, 2019 12:44 PM

Could you be so kind to remind me....who is the Deep State again? Who runs it?
Is there a decoder ring? Uniforms and the like?

sgg

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
Bill Clinton wagged the dog by cruise missiling an empty building and killing a night janitor in Iraq.

Deep State is always good for a fake distraction.

SHINYGOODGUY

Thursday, November 7, 2019 12:48 PM

OMG, the IG Report.....what ever will we do if the Deep State gets their hands on it? Kiki, quick send up the Bat (shit crazy) signal!

Ha!

sgg

Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
I'm just really curious what the report will show.

What I HOPE is that there's no loose ends dangling from it. I'd hate to have it rise zombie-like after the fact, like the Mueller report, which DID exonerate Trump of any collusion with Russia.

But speaking of which, as I think about it, the Mueller report WAS a political hack-job. Since they couldn't find anything about Trump / Russia they did take a lot of extra time compiling what may (or may not, Mueller specifically was neutral about any conclusions) have been obstruction. So he created the loose ends that democrats have been trying to grasp for political reasons.

GOOD JOB MUELLER! You couldn't find anything, so you created something!

The insane never-Trumpers will be driven even more insane in the wash/rinse/spin/repeat/ cycle they mistake for reality.

1KIKI

Thursday, November 7, 2019 8:10 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
blah blah blah

fify

A billion flies eat shit.

THG

Thursday, November 7, 2019 9:42 PM

T

CAPTAINCRUNCH

Friday, November 8, 2019 1:43 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
Hold on to your butts.

@ShannonBream

BREAKING: DOJ IG Horowitz sends letter to Congressional leaders. Says report is going through declassification ("nearing completion"), is lengthy, and he anticipates few redactions. Doesn't foresee "a need to prepare and issue separate classified and public versions."

6:36 PM · Oct 24, 2019

Can we let go of our butts yet?

6IXSTRINGJACK

Friday, November 8, 2019 2:01 AM

You haven't let go of your butt since February 14th, 2017 when the Countdown thread started.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

AURAPTOR

Friday, November 8, 2019 2:10 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by captaincrunch:

Can we let go of our butts yet?

Is the IG report out yet ?

No?

There's your answer.

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Sunday, November 10, 2019 1:22 AM

Partial content from this link:
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2019/11/07/is-pending-ig-report-o
n-fisa-abuse-being-held-up-to-facilitate-nsa-bulk-data-re-authorization-that-expires-december-15th/

Is Pending IG Report on FISA Abuse Being Held-Up To Facilitate NSA Bulk Data Re-authorization That Expires December 15th?…
Posted on November 7, 2019 by sundance

With impeachment headlines absorbing most attention, there is a quiet background story happening in DC where re-authorization of the USA Freedom Act is needed prior to expiration on December 15th. Techno Fog points out the bulk NSA data collection and FISA(702) surveillance programs are part of this reauthorization.

Just yesterday, November 6th, the Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on the reauthorization. “Senators expressed their displeasure Wednesday with the Trump administration’s inability to answer questions about the National Security Agency’s collection of data records” (link). Which begs the question:

Is the current Inspector General report on FISA abuse being delayed due to the need for congress to reauthorize the very same programs the IG is about to criticize?

For context to this question, and considering the potential for some surprising revelations within the IG report on FISA, it is worth noting the Office of the Director of National Intelligence held back the the findings of FISA Judge James Boasberg that strongly criticized the FISA-702 process for a year.

The Judge Boasberg report was written in September of 2018 but not released (redacted) until last month.

There is a serious problem here…

FISA Court judges Rosemary Collyer (declassified 2017) and James Boasberg (declassified 2019) both identified issues with the NSA database being exploited for unauthorized reasons. We have a large amount of supplemental research to see through most of Collyer’s report and we are now starting the same process for Boasberg. However, an alarming possibility makes it important to outline a rough draft of what appears present.

Initially when Collyer’s report was declassified in April 2017 we were able to start assembling additional circumstantial and direct evidence. Two years of releases allowed us to see a more detailed picture.

Additional documents, direct testimony from NSA Director Mike Rogers, and later connected material from court filings, classified releases and ODNI statements made the understanding much clearer. What became visible was a process of using the NSA database for political surveillance. [SEE HERE]

With the Boasberg report we do not yet have enough supportive material to identify specific purposes. However, directly from the report itself there is a lot of information that shows a continuum of database activity that did not stop after Collyer’s warnings, and the NSA promises. It seems, the political exploitation continues; and with that in mind some recent events are much more troubling.

Boasberg notes the “about” query option that NSA Director Mike Rogers halted, technically didn’t stop. Instead operators used the “to and from” option almost identically as the “about” queries for downstream data review and extraction. The FISA Appellate Court appointed amici curiae to review Boasberg’s opinion and reconcile counter claims by the FBI. Boasberg was never satisfied despite the FISC-R amicus assurances. His opinion reflects valid judicial cynicism within his reluctant re-authorization.

One of the weird aspects to both Collyer and Boasberg is that both FISC judges did not ever seek to ask the “why” question: why are all these unauthorized database searches taking place? Instead, both judges focus on process issues and technical procedural questions, seemingly from a position that all unauthorized searches were done without malicious intent.

Accepting that neither judge had the purpose of benefit to overlay any other information upon their FISA review, their lack of curiosity is not necessarily a flaw but rather a feature of a very compartmentalized problem.

Boasberg and Collyer are only

1KIKI

Sunday, November 10, 2019 1:33 AM

shit

They can think of a million ways to screw us.

SHINYGOODGUY

Sunday, November 10, 2019 2:37 AM

Oooo, clever!

such is the leader; Lord of the Flies!

sgg

Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
Quote:
Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
blah blah blah
fify

A billion flies eat shit.

1KIKI

Sunday, November 10, 2019 3:15 AM

And here is troll #4, launching personal attacks, as always, and completely devoid of anything to say OT.

So, while a billion flies eat shit, SHITTY is a fly, shitting shit.

BTW, it must really 'bug' you - so to speak - that I'm smarter than you.

A billion flies eat shit.

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Monday, November 11, 2019 2:15 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
shit

They can think of a million ways to screw us.

That portion which I posted was apparently less than one tenth of what was on the page at that linky.
I did not read the entirety of info at that link.
Did you?

1KIKI

Wednesday, November 13, 2019 4:21 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
shit

They can think of a million ways to screw us.

Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
That portion which I posted was apparently less than one tenth of what was on the page at that linky.
I did not read the entirety of info at that link.
Did you?

No ... sorry to say I didn't. I'm kinda' a fast reader, but I have my limits as to how much I'll go through.

1KIKI

Wednesday, November 13, 2019 4:31 AM

But speaking of the IG report ...

... here's a prognostication (highly edited - see complete writings at link).

Quote:

https://saraacarter.com/horowitz-report-will-be-damning-criminal-refer
rals-likely/

Horowitz Report Will Be Damning. Criminal Referrals Likely.

Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s much anticipated report on his investigation into the FBI’s probe into President Trump’s campaign is expected to be made public before Thanksgiving and the outcome is alleged to contain several criminal referrals, according to sources who spoke with SaraACarter.com.

Horowitz’s investigation ... will more than likely result in the declassification of documents — requested by senior Republican lawmakers for more than several years. ...

Those documents will contain several classified pages of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act on former Trump campaign advisor Carter Page, exculpatory evidence that was withheld from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the so-called ‘Gang of Eight’ folder (which contained exculpatory information), as well as the email chain between FBI investigators in the Russia probe and then-FBI Director James Comey. ... As previously reported, the email chains will contain information that prove the FBI knew prior to obtaining a warrant to spy on Page that former British spy Christopher Steele’s information in his infamous dossier on Trump could not be proven.

It is also expected to reveal that the FBI knew that Steele was leaking to the media but then used those media reports as separate evidence in their request for a FISA warrant, known as circular intelligence reporting. ...

Horowitz’s report is also going to contain evidence that the FBI handled Hillary Clinton’s campaign differently than that of President Trump’s campaign. It will reveal that she had received a detailed debriefing from the FBI on foreign attempts to make contact with her campaign. It will reveal the deep bias and animus those FBI officials had toward the Trump campaign.

It is the most highly anticipated Horowitz report during the Trump administration’s tenure. Why? Because for more than three years the American people have not had closure or resolution to what exactly warranted the FBI investigation to spy on a presidential campaign, or for that matter on the President.

“It would also fatally undermine the credibility of Schiff, who argued vehemently that there were no FISA abuses — it will mean that, as Intel Committee Chairman, (Schiff's) ignoring severe abuses for purely political purposes.”

Those political purposes lead to the most important question lingering in Horowitz’s investigation: Did senior officials within the FBI and U.S. intelligence apparatus weaponize the system for political purposes against a candidate for the presidency and did they continue to do so after Trump had been elected?

Here’s what to expect: According to several sources the report will be ‘damning’ and will allegedly contain criminal referrals on former FBI officials. The report will apparently have at least two criminal referrals, said two sources, with knowledge. One of those criminal referrals is expected to be Comey. However, the Inspector General’s office has not been providing comments on the report.

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THG

Wednesday, November 13, 2019 4:38 AM

T

Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

Kiki's a child. She doesn't know that in the world of adults the adults can tell when a child is acting out. For instance, kiki only posts about flies to certain people in certain threads. Like a child having a tantrum.

She won't admit it but that is trolling. It doesn't matter what the rest of her post is. Her intent is clearly to troll the person her post is directed to.

As always, the adult has to tolerate the child. It's Ok kiki, we understand.

Quote:
Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
Oooo, clever!

such is the leader; Lord of the Flies!

sgg

Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
Quote:
Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
blah blah blah
fify

A billion flies eat shit.

THG
Wednesday, November 13, 2019 4:53 PM

I don't know, I'm hearing Trump now wants to fire the IG. That can't be good aye guys? Could it be he has seen the report and it isn’t what he wanted?

tick tock IG report...

T

Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

1KIKI

Wednesday, November 13, 2019 11:26 PM

https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2019/09/30/straight_s
hooter_justice_dept_watchdog_has_held_his_fire_on_the_top_brass_120565.html

This news report paints Horowitz as a toady to his old boss Comey.

But nowhere do I find any news that he's about to be fired. THAT must be more THUGGER shit.

A billion flies eat shit.

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Thursday, November 14, 2019 5:42 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
But speaking of the IG report ...

... here's a prognostication (highly edited - see complete writings at link).
Quote:

https://saraacarter.com/horowitz-report-will-be-damning-criminal-refer
rals-likely/

Horowitz Report Will Be Damning. Criminal Referrals Likely.

Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s much anticipated report on his investigation into the FBI’s probe into President Trump’s campaign is expected to be made public before Thanksgiving and the outcome is alleged to contain several criminal referrals, according to sources who spoke with SaraACarter.com.

Horowitz’s investigation ... will more than likely result in the declassification of documents — requested by senior Republican lawmakers for more than several years. ...

Those documents will contain several classified pages of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act on former Trump campaign advisor Carter Page, exculpatory evidence that was withheld from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the so-called ‘Gang of Eight’ folder (which contained exculpatory information), as well as the email chain between FBI investigators in the Russia probe and then-FBI Director James Comey. ... As previously reported, the email chains will contain information that prove the FBI knew prior to obtaining a warrant to spy on Page that former British spy Christopher Steele’s information in his infamous dossier on Trump could not be proven.

It is also expected to reveal that the FBI knew that Steele was leaking to the media but then used those media reports as separate evidence in their request for a FISA warrant, known as circular intelligence reporting. ...

Horowitz’s report is also going to contain evidence that the FBI handled Hillary Clinton’s campaign differently than that of President Trump’s campaign. It will reveal that she had received a detailed debriefing from the FBI on foreign attempts to make contact with her campaign. It will reveal the deep bias and animus those FBI officials had toward the Trump campaign.

It is the most highly anticipated Horowitz report during the Trump administration’s tenure. Why? Because for more than three years the American people have not had closure or resolution to what exactly warranted the FBI investigation to spy on a presidential campaign, or for that matter on the President.

“It would also fatally undermine the credibility of Schiff, who argued vehemently that there were no FISA abuses — it will mean that, as Intel Committee Chairman, (Schiff's) ignoring severe abuses for purely political purposes.”

Those political purposes lead to the most important question lingering in Horowitz’s investigation: Did senior officials within the FBI and U.S. intelligence apparatus weaponize the system for political purposes against a candidate for the presidency and did they continue to do so after Trump had been elected?

Here’s what to expect: According to several sources the report will be ‘damning’ and will allegedly contain criminal referrals on former FBI officials. The report will apparently have at least two criminal referrals, said two sources, with knowledge. One of those criminal referrals is expected to be Comey. However, the Inspector General’s office has not been providing comments on the report.

Quoted so it will be at the top of the page.

THG

Thursday, November 14, 2019 5:54 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2019/09/30/straight_s
hooter_justice_dept_watchdog_has_held_his_fire_on_the_top_brass_120565.html

This news report paints Horowitz as a toady to his old boss Comey.

But nowhere do I find any news that he's about to be fired. THAT must be more THUGGER shit.

A billion flies eat shit.

Trump Considered Firing Intelligence Community IG after He Reported Whistleblower Complaint to Congress: Report

President Trump considered firing Intelligence Community inspector general Michael Atkinson after Atkinson reported the whistleblower complaint that touched off the House’s presidential-impeachment inquiry to Congress, according to the New York Times.

https://news.yahoo.com/trump-considered-firing-intelligence-community-
230048005.html

T

Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

1KIKI

Thursday, November 14, 2019 6:54 AM

AH! I understand your confusion THUGGER!

Signy and I were talking about Horowitz, Inspector General of the United States Department of Justice. THAT WAS THE ONGOING CONVERSATION. He's the IG whose report is completed, but undergoing redaction. He's the IG who's report is the very topic of this thread.

But poor you - you thought there was only 1 IG in the whole government. You didn't know that different departments have their own IGs. And so YOU were talking about somebody else completely, thinking it was the same (and only) one!

Well, now that you know you were wrong, you can apologize.

A billion flies eat shit.

THG

Thursday, November 14, 2019 4:44 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
AH! I understand your confusion THUGGER!

Signy and I were talking about Horowitz, Inspector General of the United States Department of Justice. THAT WAS THE ONGOING CONVERSATION. He's the IG whose report is completed, but undergoing redaction. He's the IG who's report is the very topic of this thread.

But poor you - you thought there was only 1 IG in the whole government. You didn't know that different departments have their own IGs. And so YOU were talking about somebody else completely, thinking it was the same (and only) one!

Well, now that you know you were wrong, you can apologize.

Oh, you mean this report.

https://oig.justice.gov/reports/2019/o1902.pdf

Report of Investigation of Former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey's Disclosure of Sensitive Investigative Information and Handling of Certain Memoranda

T

Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

1KIKI

Saturday, November 16, 2019 7:23 AM

You are such a funny dummy!!

No, dummy, THIS report:

https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/fbi/470333-barr-inspector
-generals-report-on-alleged-fisa-abuses-imminent

The report on an internal watchdog probe into whether the FBI followed the law and its own policies while applying for a warrant to surveil a former Trump campaign aide during the 2016 election is "imminent," Attorney General William Barr said Wednesday.

Flies shit.

THG

Saturday, November 16, 2019 7:08 PM

BREAKING: DOJ IG Report Due Out Friday, Will Cover More Than FISA Abuse
Posted at 5:00 pm on October 13, 2019 by Bonchie

About a month ago, IG Horowitz announced he had finished his report dealing with the Trump-Russia investigation, which most assumed would only cover possible FISA abuse. Now we are getting word it’s coming out this Friday.

“I’m hearing the IG report will be out this upcoming Friday, Oct. 18, and my sources say it’s as thick as a telephone book,” Bartiromo said, adding that it covers “more than just FISA abuse.”

https://www.redstate.com/bonchie/2019/10/13/breaking-doj-ig-report-due
-friday-will-cover-fisa-abuse/

Let us brace ourselves. tick tock

T

Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

THG

Saturday, November 16, 2019 7:46 PM

T

Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

THG

Saturday, November 16, 2019 7:46 PM

Next...

T

Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Sunday, November 17, 2019 2:04 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
You are such a funny dummy!!

No, dummy, THIS report:

https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/fbi/470333-barr-inspector
-generals-report-on-alleged-fisa-abuses-imminent

The report on an internal watchdog probe into whether the FBI followed the law and its own policies while applying for a warrant to surveil a former Trump campaign aide during the 2016 election is "imminent," Attorney General William Barr said Wednesday.

Flies shit.

The dummy thinks there is only one Report from the One Inspector General.
Trolls are so easily confused, you know.

THG

Sunday, November 17, 2019 4:48 AM

Just having some fun here. Sorry to disappoint.

T

Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

THG

Saturday, November 23, 2019 6:23 AM

Russia Inquiry Review Is Said to Criticize F.B.I. but Rebuff Claims of Biased Acts

At the same time, however, the report debunks a series of conspiracy theories and insinuations about the F.B.I. that Mr. Trump and his allies have put forward over the past two years, the people said, though they cautioned that the report is not complete. The New York Times has not reviewed the draft, which could contain other significant findings.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/russia-inquiry-review-is-said-
to-criticize-fbi-but-rebuff-claims-of-biased-acts/ar-BBXbXAX?ocid=spartandhp

Sloppy work is not going to go far guys so don't get your hopes up. I think it is coming out Dec. 9th.

T

Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Saturday, November 23, 2019 6:38 AM

"according to people briefed on a draft."

"the people said."

"according to the people familiar with it."

"they said."

"the people said"

"the people briefed on the draft report said."

"according to the people."

"the people said."

"But the people familiar with the draft "

"the people said."

"The report is also said to "

"according to the people briefed on it."

"Along with evidence from other sources,"

"But the people briefed on the draft said"

"Still, people familiar with questions asked by Mr. Horowitz’s investigators have suggested"

Jesus Christ. This article reads like an impeachment inquiry in 2019 sounds.

Quote:
The New York Times has not reviewed the draft,

Gee. Ya don't say?

Do Right, Be Right. :)

1KIKI

Saturday, November 23, 2019 6:50 AM

My first really extensive look at how different reality was from reporting was based on the Microsoft anti-monopoly trial. (Before then, I had some idea based on particular items.) Someone told me what was REALLY in the trial evidence v what was in the news, so I started looking into it. Whatever was being reported in the media was nothing like the transcripts, evidence, testimony, etc I was reading from the record. I guess had a lot more ambition, energy, and patience back then. Now I just kind of tag along after the fact as time and energy permits. And right now, there are WAAAAAAAAAAaaaaayyyyyyyyy too many things to grade!! The impeachment testimony (which so far is not as reported in the media), the debates ... and now this.

Once this comes out as a pdf or cloud document, I'm probably going to have to let it go by me.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Saturday, November 23, 2019 8:20 AM

I'll make it really easy on you, Kiki.

If ANON is part of your story, it's not even worth vetting. Not only that, but it would be impossible for you to vet anyhow. There is at least a 50/50 chance that the entire article is an outright lie, and there is no way to prove it other than to see if time steps in and proves it is a lie...

And that's only assuming that you remember reading the article in the first place and it hasn't been taken down or you haven't bothered archiving it and saving the address.

How anybody can constantly read articles like this all day long that offer zero credibility is beyond my comprehension. But they do, and it's only apparently getting worse.

The article above might just be the worst one I've read to date.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

1KIKI

Saturday, November 23, 2019 10:24 AM

What I don't understand is, having been lied to about Iraq, having been lied to about RUSSIA!!!RUSSIA!!!RUSSIA!!!, having been lied to about all number of things great and small, how the people here maintain their childish faith that THIS TIME they're being told the truth.

You'd think that a least a teensy eensy leeeetle bit of patience would have seeped its way in, that cautions - wait and see.

Way back when - during the Microsoft trial - I used to post a lot of 'compare and contrast' - narrative v facts - here, under the name Rue - which btw I took a lot of shit for, notably from the free-market right-wingers. As I recall, Signy posted along those lines as well. Later I posted a lot of the Iraq-WMD facts that were at odds with the narrative, that should have made people just a little bit skeptical of the bullshit they were being sold. (I wasn't the only one, but it was a minority of 2 or 3 here, as I recall.) I and the other posters took a lot of shit for that too, also generally from the right-wingers.

But it took the liberaloids to amp the shit-slinging up to coordinated libel over the RUSSIA!!!RUSSIA!!!RUSSIA!!! hoax.

Personally, I'm still interested in finding out exactly how I'm being lied to. I really do want to understand what the facts are. And as long as we can still get what look to be original documents, we're not in thrall to 'The Narrative'. So as many as I find, I'll post here. But my long experience has been that facts don't move people.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Saturday, November 23, 2019 11:06 AM

God bless ya. I know it must be exhausting.

I can do that stuff when it comes to statistics, or looking at things like polling methodology and proving how intentionally slanted and unreliable they'll be compared to actual results because that's fun to me. It doesn't take considerably long to do, and it's like a game.

But don't ask me to read 400+ pages of a bullshit Russia investigation. And definitely don't tell me that anybody here has read it either, let alone anybody I meet in real life.

The amount of people who actually read that document cover to cover are less than people who have actually read the bible cover to cover. You'll hear a lot of people claiming to have done either, but the likelihood that you've ever even met a single person who's read either is slim to none.

I do have my sources that I go to for information. People can tell me all they want the myriad of reasons that this person or that person is full of shit, but I trust them. And sometimes people who I've trusted I've ended up not trusting because in one way or another they have betrayed that trust.

But the ones that I listen to now aren't shills. They've had a long history of being right about things, and they have the integrity to not only admit when they were wrong, but to also explain to the best of their abilities how they came to the wrong conclusion, as if to teach a lesson how not to make the same mistake yourself.

My choice in who I trust for information is in large part why I'm not wrong very much when it comes to how things are going to eventually play out, and why I've become more emboldened about making predictions as time has gone on.

How anybody could listen to somebody like Maddow or Hannity and pretend that they've got legitimate information is something I can't wrap my head around. People like that get paid more in one year than most people will ever make in their life to tell lies that their viewers want to hear in between advertisements for boner pills and car insurance.

Any single event that plays out, you can make an extremely accurate prediction about how either Hannity or Maddow will report on it before you even watch their show. Neither of them are in the business of facts. They're in the business of sustained outrage.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Sunday, November 24, 2019 2:54 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
I'll make it really easy on you, Kiki.

If ANON is part of your story, it's not even worth vetting. Not only that, but it would be impossible for you to vet anyhow. There is at least a 50/50 chance that the entire article is an outright lie, and there is no way to prove it other than to see if time steps in and proves it is a lie...

And that's only assuming that you remember reading the article in the first place and it hasn't been taken down or you haven't bothered archiving it and saving the address.

How anybody can constantly read articles like this all day long that offer zero credibility is beyond my comprehension. But they do, and it's only apparently getting worse.

The article above might just be the worst one I've read to date.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

Good Rule of Thumb: whaever he posts a link to is the worst example that can be found.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Sunday, November 24, 2019 3:41 AM

Seriously though. Did you see how bad that last one was?

I can usually find 1 to 3 ANON quotes in there, but this one had a dozen.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Monday, November 25, 2019 2:13 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Seriously though. Did you see how bad that last one was?

I can usually find 1 to 3 ANON quotes in there, but this one had a dozen.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

It looked the same as all the rest of his posts/links.

You are just soo intent on feeding this Troll that you have not been paying attention to the deluge of crap he's been posting.

I am not a fly. I can detect excrement for what it is, and don't have the urgent undeniable need to sample it for taste.
You have been gobbling his poo up whole pie, and then making attempts to digest it, often whining when it is undigestable. If you weren't in such a hurry to feed this Troll, you might recognize this avalanche of excrement as non-nutritional (or at least unappetizing) and avoid being a proberbial Fly.

I don't know why you insist in eating his sh!t.

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Monday, November 25, 2019 2:16 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
What I don't understand is, having been lied to about Iraq, having been lied to about RUSSIA!!!RUSSIA!!!RUSSIA!!!, having been lied to about all number of things great and small, how the people here maintain their childish faith that THIS TIME they're being told the truth.

You'd think that a least a teensy eensy leeeetle bit of patience would have seeped its way in, that cautions - wait and see.

Way back when - during the Microsoft trial - I used to post a lot of 'compare and contrast' - narrative v facts - here, under the name Rue - which btw I took a lot of shit for, notably from the free-market right-wingers. As I recall, Signy posted along those lines as well. Later I posted a lot of the Iraq-WMD facts that were at odds with the narrative, that should have made people just a little bit skeptical of the bullshit they were being sold. (I wasn't the only one, but it was a minority of 2 or 3 here, as I recall.) I and the other posters took a lot of shit for that too, also generally from the right-wingers.

But it took the liberaloids to amp the shit-slinging up to coordinated libel over the RUSSIA!!!RUSSIA!!!RUSSIA!!! hoax.

Personally, I'm still interested in finding out exactly how I'm being lied to. I really do want to understand what the facts are. And as long as we can still get what look to be original documents, we're not in thrall to 'The Narrative'. So as many as I find, I'll post here. But my long experience has been that facts don't move people.

Do you have links to some of your Micro$haft posts? I don't recall what year that was, I might have missed yours. It was under Rue?

1KIKI

Monday, November 25, 2019 2:54 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
It was under Rue?

Hmm. I thought it was under Rue, but I see Rue only goes back to 2004. http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthreaduser.aspx?u=6022 Rue is River, as I recall my original pix was Book. But I only recollect 2 handles - Rue(River) and 1kiki(Book). I may have forgotten my original handle.

Gosh - I'm sorry about that!

THG

Thursday, November 28, 2019 1:20 AM

Russia Inquiry Review Is Expected to Undercut Trump Claim of F.B.I. Spying

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department’s inspector general found no evidence that the F.B.I. attempted to place undercover agents or informants inside Donald J. Trump’s campaign in 2016 as agents investigated whether his associates conspired with Russia's election interference operation, people familiar with a draft of the inspector general’s report said.

The determination by the inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, is expected to be a key finding in his highly anticipated report due out on Dec. 9 examining aspects of the Russia investigation. The finding also contradicts some of the most inflammatory accusations hurled by Mr. Trump and his supporters, who alleged not only that F.B.I. officials spied on the Trump campaign but also at one point that former President Barack Obama had ordered Mr. Trump’s phones tapped. The startling accusation generated headlines but Mr. Trump never backed it up.

The finding is one of several by Mr. Horowitz that undercuts conservatives’ claims that the F.B.I. acted improperly in investigating several Trump associates starting in 2016. He also found that F.B.I. leaders did not take politically motivated actions in pursuing a secret wiretap on a former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page — eavesdropping that Mr. Trump’s allies have long decried as politically motivated.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/russia-inquiry-review-is-expec
ted-to-undercut-trump-claim-of-fbi-spying/ar-BBXqMKh?&ocid=spartanntp

T

Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Thursday, November 28, 2019 1:43 AM

"people familiar with the draft", huh?

Why doesn't any of the news outlets wait until things are actual legitimate and out for everybody to see to report on them instead of spreading lies ahead of time that the idiots will remember.

Oh that's right. Because the idiots will remember the lies and argue the truth once it comes out.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

THG

Thursday, November 28, 2019 2:03 AM

Trump official who suggested dropping nuclear bombs on Afghanistan now responsible for arms control issues

A former conservative talk radio host and naval intelligence officer who suggested dropping nuclear bombs on Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks now works on arms control issues at the State Department, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

Frank Wuco, a senior adviser at the State Department’s Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, came under scrutiny last year when his past comments involving the promotion of far-right conspiracy theories surfaced.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-official-who-suggested-d
ropping-nuclear-bombs-on-afghanistan-now-responsible-for-arms-control-issues/ar-BBXqMmb?ocid=spartandhp

I have little doubt this will raise red flags with you because as you guys always say, its Hillary Hillary Hillary right?

T

Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Thursday, November 28, 2019 4:07 AM

"...according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter."

Do Right, Be Right. :)

THG

Thursday, November 28, 2019 7:51 PM

T

Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

DOJ report expected to undercut Trump's FBI spying claim

6IXSTRINGJACK

Thursday, November 28, 2019 8:25 PM

Yup. I cover that "story" in great detail here: http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=63401

But I'll quote it too.

Quote:
"sources told The Times"

"a claim the IG's report is also expected to undercut."

"according to the Post"

Only one instance of ANON, speculation, and attempted preemptive passing of the buck if this blows up in their faces in the article Wishy linked.

But wait... There's more.

Here's the articles from the Times and the WaPo that are referenced for the story. (How outright plagiarism passes as "journalism" these days is still a mystery to me, but I guess when you're in the business of making shit up nobody cares about copyright anymore.)

Let's just jump right into it...

Times Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/27/us/politics/fbi-trump-campaign-insp
ector-general.html?smtyp=cur&smid=tw-nytimes

"a highly anticipated inspector general’s report is expected to find."

"people familiar with a draft of the inspector general’s report said."

"is expected to be a key finding in his highly anticipated report"

"according to people familiar with a draft of the report"

"one of the people said."

"A spokeswoman for Mr. Horowitz declined to comment."

"The people familiar with the inquiry cautioned that the draft report was not final."

"The New York Times has not reviewed the draft"

"Mr. Horowitz’s findings are also said to show"

"according to a person familiar with the offer."

"the people familiar with the draft report said"

"former officials said."

"the people said."

"But it is not clear whether Mr. Horowitz uncovered any such instances."

"the people familiar with the draft report said."

"the people familiar with the draft report said."

Yes. This exact same phrasing is used in two paragraphs at this point. Nobody reads this far down, so why bother with mistakes like these?

The WaPo Article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/inspector-generals-re
port-on-fbis-russia-probe-to-be-delivered-dec-9/2019/11/21/6d6d789e-0c70-11ea-8397-a955cd542d00_story.html

"according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter."

"according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss material that has not yet been made public."

"They declined to identify the lawyer."

"people familiar with the matter said."

"two U.S. officials said."

"they said."

"the officials said."

"people familiar with the matter said."

"A spokeswoman for the inspector general declined to comment, as did a spokeswoman for the FBI. A spokeswoman for the Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment."

"according to people familiar with the matter."

Hmmmmmmmmm....

"They" say a lot. Don't "they"?

You know what else the media likes to do? Lie by structure.

Here are two of the last three paragraphs in the WaPo article that Wishy didn't read, and apparently the "journalist" at yahoo news never got around to before writing their stunning bombshell...

Quote:
Conservatives have alleged that a medley of wrongdoing occurred during the investigation, which was eventually taken over by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, and they are likely to seize on any criticism that Horowitz directs at those involved in the probe. Some Trump supporters have referred to the investigation as an attempted “coup.”

Democrats, meanwhile, are hopeful Horowitz will disprove various conspiracy theories that have been offered about the case and refute Trump’s assertion that Mueller’s probe was a “witch hunt” tainted by political bias against the president.

Though it is quite obvio

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THG

Thursday, November 28, 2019 8:30 PM

Ok let's see.

T

Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Thursday, November 28, 2019 11:12 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by THG:
Ok let's see.

T

First thing you've said in weeks that makes any sense.

You're on.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

SECOND

Tuesday, December 3, 2019 5:26 PM

Sneak Preview! Will there be a plot-twist when the IG report is available? We know more about the plot of the not-yet-released Final Episode of Star Wars than we know about this report!

Attorney General William Barr is rejecting a key finding in the Justice Department inspector general’s report on the Russia probe, The Washington Post reported Monday.

People familiar with the matter told The Post that Barr said he does not agree with the report’s finding that the FBI had enough intelligence to initiate an investigation into the Trump campaign in July 2016.

The long-awaited report from Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz is expected to be made public in a week. But a draft is being discussed behind the scenes, and the attorney general reportedly is not persuaded that the FBI investigation was justified.

The draft report is now being finalized and shown to the witnesses and offices investigated by Horowitz.

People familiar with the matter told the newspaper that Barr believes information from other agencies such as the CIA could change Horowitz’s finding that the investigation was warranted.

The Post noted it was unclear how Barr will voice his disagreement with the report's finding. The department typically includes a formal letter response in inspector general reports, but Barr could also speak out publicly.

More at https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/472720-barr-rejects-key-fi
nding-in-report-on-russia-probe-report

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

6IXSTRINGJACK

Tuesday, December 3, 2019 5:33 PM

People familiar with the matter you say?

Do Right, Be Right. :)

SECOND

Tuesday, December 3, 2019 5:47 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
People familiar with the matter you say?

Do Right, Be Right. :)

Trump will fire the Inspector General if the final report does not call it a Witch Hunt. That's not obstruction of justice because when a President does it, it is legal. You can ask the new Attorney General, Barr, who is a replacement for the one who told Trump that not everything is legal.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

THG

Tuesday, December 3, 2019 8:34 PM

Poor Barr; the IG report is going to show he was wrong when he claimed Trumps campaign was spied on. It's not going to show the Mueller investigation was started based on a biased against Trump. That it started without enough evidence to warrant it. It's going to show there was enough evidence. It screams Russia Russia Russia and nothing about Ukraine. Poor Barr; all he is left with is blaming the CIA now.

And while it is going to show one lawyer acted unprofessionally and perhaps even criminally, it isn't going to show the FISA process to be corrupt. In fact, it's going to show the opposite.

Oh well, as I've said. Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals. And unbeknown to some here the IG report proves this to be true. The professionals testifying at the impeachment hearing proves it as well. Thank god for the deep state.

America 1, kiki sig Jack JSF rappy and Russia 0.

T

Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

THG

Wednesday, December 4, 2019 12:46 AM

T

Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

The Trump-Ukraine impeachment inquiry report

https://intelligence.house.gov/report/

As this report details, the impeachment inquiry has found that President Trump, personally and acting through agents within and outside of the U.S. government, solicited the interference of a foreign government, Ukraine, to benefit his reelection. In furtherance of this scheme, President Trump conditioned official acts on a public announcement by the new Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, of politically-motivated investigations, including one into President Trump’s domestic political opponent. In pressuring President Zelensky to carry out his demand, President Trump withheld a White House meeting desperately sought by the Ukrainian President, and critical U.S. military assistance to fight Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine.

The President engaged in this course of conduct for the benefit of his own presidential reelection, to harm the election prospects of a political rival, and to influence our nation’s upcoming presidential election to his advantage. In doing so, the President placed his own personal and political interests above the national interests of the United States, sought to undermine the integrity of the U.S. presidential election process, and endangered U.S. national security.

At the center of this investigation is the memorandum prepared following President Trump’s July 25, 2019, phone call with Ukraine’s President, which the White House declassified and released under significant public pressure. The call record alone is stark evidence of misconduct; a demonstration of the President’s prioritization of his personal political benefit over the national interest. In response to President Zelensky’s appreciation for vital U.S. military assistance, which President Trump froze without explanation, President Trump asked for “a favor though”: two specific investigations designed to assist his reelection efforts.

Our investigation determined that this telephone call was neither the start nor the end of President Trump’s efforts to bend U.S. foreign policy for his personal gain. Rather, it was a dramatic crescendo within a months-long campaign driven by President Trump in which senior U.S. officials, including the Vice President, the Secretary of State, the Acting Chief of Staff, the Secretary of Energy, and others were either knowledgeable of or active participants in an effort to extract from a foreign nation the personal political benefits sought by the President.

The investigation revealed the nature and extent of the President’s misconduct, notwithstanding an unprecedented campaign of obstruction by the President and his Administration to prevent the Committees from obtaining documentary evidence and testimony. A dozen witnesses followed President Trump’s orders, defying voluntary requests and lawful subpoenas, and refusing to testify. The White House, Department of State, Department of Defense, Office of Management and Budget, and Department of Energy refused to produce a single document in response to our subpoenas.

Ultimately, this sweeping effort to stonewall the House of Representatives’ “sole Power of Impeachment” under the Constitution failed because witnesses courageously came forward and testified in response to lawful process. The report that follows was only possible because of their sense of duty and devotion to their country and its Constitution.

Nevertheless, there remain unanswered questions, and our investigation must continue, even as we transmit our report to the Judiciary Committee. Given the proximate threat of further presidential attempts to solicit foreign interference in our next election, we cannot wait to make a referral until our efforts to obtain additional testimony and documents wind their way through the

THG

Wednesday, December 4, 2019 12:49 AM

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Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

I. The President's Misconduct: The President Conditioned a White House Meeting and Military Aid to Ukraine on a Public Announcement of Investigations Beneficial to his Reelection Campaign

The President’s Request for a Political Favor | The President Removed Anti-Corruption Champion Ambassador Yovanovitch | The President’s Hand-picked Agents Begin the Scheme President | Trump Froze Vital Military Assistance | The President Conditioned a White House Meeting on Investigations | The President’s Agents Pursued a “Drug Deal” | President Trump Pressed President Zelensky to Do a Political Favor | The President’s Representatives Ratcheted up Pressure on the Ukrainian President | Ukrainians Inquired about the President’s Hold on Security Assistance | The President’s Security Assistance Hold Became Public | The President’s Scheme Unraveled | The President’s Chief of Staff Confirmed Aid was Conditioned on Investigations

THG

Wednesday, December 4, 2019 12:49 AM

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Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

II. The President's Obstruction of the House of Representatives' Impeachment Inquiry: The President Obstructed the Impeachment Inquiry by Instructing Witnesses and Agencies to Ignore Subpoenas for Documents and Testimony

An Unprecedented Effort to Obstruct an Impeachment Inquiry | Constitutional Authority for Congressional Oversight and Impeachment | The President’s Categorical Refusal to Comply | The President’s Refusal to Produce Any and All Subpoenaed Documents | The President’s Refusal to Allow Top Aides to Testify | The President’s Unsuccessful Attempts to Block Other Key Witnesses | The President’s Intimidation of Witnesses

THG

Wednesday, December 4, 2019 12:50 AM

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Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

I. The President Conditioned a White House Meeting and Military Aid to Ukraine on a Public Announcement of Investigations Beneficial to his Reelection Campaign

The President’s Request for a Political Favor

On the morning of July 25, 2019, President Donald Trump settled in to the White House Executive Residence to join a telephone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. It had been more than three months since President Zelensky, a political neophyte, had been swept into office in a landslide victory on a platform of rooting out corruption and ending the war between his country and Russia. The day of his election, April 21, President Zelensky spoke briefly with President Trump, who had called to congratulate him and invite him to a visit at the White House. As of July 25, no White House meeting had materialized.

As is typical for telephone calls with other heads of state, staff members from the National Security Council (NSC) convened in the White House Situation Room to listen to the call and take notes, which would later be compiled into a memorandum that would constitute the U.S. government’s official record of the call. NSC staff had prepared a standard package of talking points for the President based on official U.S. policy. The talking points included recommendations to encourage President Zelensky to continue to promote anti-corruption reforms in Ukraine, a pillar of American foreign policy in the country as far back as its independence in the 1990s when Ukraine first rid itself of Kremlin control.

This call would deviate significantly from that script. Shortly before he was patched through to President Zelensky, President Trump spoke with Gordon Sondland, who had donated $1 million to President Trump’s 2016 presidential inauguration and whom the President had appointed as the United States Ambassador to the European Union. Ambassador Sondland had helped lay the groundwork for a very different kind of call between the two Presidents.

Ambassador Sondland had relayed a message to President Zelensky six days earlier that “assurances to run a fully transparent investigation” and “turn over every stone” were necessary in his call with President Trump. Ambassador Sondland understood these phrases to refer to two investigations politically beneficial to the President’s reelection campaign: one into former Vice President Joe Biden and a Ukrainian gas company called Burisma, on which his son sat on the board, and the other into a discredited conspiracy theory alleging that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 U.S. election. The allegations about Vice President Biden were without evidence, and the U.S. Intelligence Community had unanimously determined that Russia, not Ukraine, interfered in the 2016 election to help the candidacy of Donald Trump. Despite the falsehoods, Ambassador Sondland would make it clear to Ukrainian officials that the public announcement of these investigations was a prerequisite for the coveted White House meeting with President Trump, an effort that would help the President’s reelection campaign.

The White House meeting was not the only official act that President Trump conditioned on the announcement of these investigations. Several weeks before his phone call with President Zelensky, President Trump ordered a hold on nearly $400 million of congressionally-appropriated security assistance to Ukraine that provided Kyiv essential support as it sought to repel Russian forces that were occupying Crimea and inflicting casualties in the eastern region of the country. The President’s decision to freeze the aid, made without explanation, sent shock waves through the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of State, and the NSC, which uniformly supported providing this assistance to our strategic partner

THG

Wednesday, December 4, 2019 12:51 AM

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Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

The President Removed Anti-Corruption Champion Ambassador Yovanovitch

On April 24, 2019, President Donald Trump abruptly called back to Washington the United States Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie “Masha” Yovanovitch, after a ruthless smear campaign was waged against her. She was known throughout Ukraine and among her peers for aggressively advocating for anti-corruption reforms consistent with U.S. foreign policy and only recently had been asked to extend her stay in Ukraine. Her effectiveness in anti-corruption efforts earned her enemies in Kyiv and in Washington. As Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent testified in praising Ambassador Yovanovitch: “You can’t promote principled anticorruption action without pissing off corrupt people.”

Beginning on March 20, The Hill newspaper published several op-eds attacking Ambassador Yovanovitch and former Vice President Joe Biden, relying on information from a Ukrainian prosecutor, Yuriy Lutsenko, who was widely viewed to be corrupt. Mr. Lutsenko had served as the chief prosecutor in Ukraine under the then-incumbent president who lost to Volodymyr Zelensky in April 2019. Although he would later recant many of his allegations, Mr. Lutsenko falsely accused Ambassador Yovanovitch of speaking negatively about President Trump and giving Mr. Lutsenko a “do-not-prosecute list.”

The attacks against Ambassador Yovanovitch were amplified by prominent, close allies of President Trump, including Mr. Giuliani and his associates, Sean Hannity, and Donald Trump Jr. President Trump tweeted the smears himself just a month before he recalled the Ambassador from Ukraine.

In the face of attacks driven by Mr. Lutsenko and the President’s allies, Ambassador Yovanovitch and other senior State Department officials asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to issue a statement of support for her and for the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. The Secretary declined, fearing that President Trump might publicly undermine those efforts, possibly through a tweet.

Following a ceremony in which she presented an award of courage to the family of a young female anti-corruption activist killed in Ukraine for her work, Ambassador Yovanovitch received an urgent call from the State Department regarding her “security,” and imploring her to take the first plane back to Washington. When she arrived, she was informed that she had done nothing wrong, but that the President had lost confidence in her. She was told to leave her post as soon as possible.

In her place, the President would designate three new agents to spearhead Ukraine policy, political appointees far more willing to engage in an improper “domestic political errand” than an ambassador known for her efforts to fight corruption

THG

Wednesday, December 4, 2019 12:52 AM

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Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

The President’s Hand-picked Agents Begin the Scheme

Just three days before Ambassador Yovanovitch’s abrupt recall to Washington, President Trump had his first telephone call with President-elect Zelensky. During that conversation, President Trump congratulated the Ukrainian leader on his victory, complimented him on his country’s Miss Universe Pageant contestants, and invited him to visit the White House. A White House meeting would help demonstrate the United States’ strong support for Ukraine as it fought a hot war with Russia and attempted to negotiate an end to the conflict with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as to bolster President-elect Zelensky’s standing with his own people as he sought to deliver on his promised anti-corruption agenda. Although the White House’s public summary of the call included some discussion of a commitment to “root out corruption,” President Trump did not mention corruption at all.

Shortly after the conversation, President Trump asked Vice President Mike Pence to attend President Zelensky’s inauguration. Vice President Pence confirmed directly to President Zelensky his intention to attend during a phone conversation on April 23, and Vice President Pence’s staff and the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv began preparations for the trip.

At the same time, President Trump’s personal attorney, Mr. Giuliani, intensified his campaign to pressure Ukraine’s newly-elected President to initiate investigations into Joe Biden, who had officially entered the race for the Democratic nomination on April 25, and the baseless conspiracy theory about Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election. On May 9, the New York Times published an article in which Mr. Giuliani declared that he intended to travel to Ukraine on behalf of his client, President Trump, in order to meddle in an investigation. After public backlash, Mr. Giuliani canceled the trip, blaming “some bad people” around President Zelensky. Days later, President Trump rescinded the plans for Vice President Pence to attend President Zelensky’s inauguration, which had not yet been scheduled. The staff member planning the trip was not provided an explanation for the about-face, but staff in the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv were disappointed that President Zelensky would not receive a “high level” show of support from the United States.

In Vice President Pence’s stead, Secretary of Energy Rick Perry led the American delegation to the Ukrainian President’s inauguration. Ambassador Sondland, Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Ambassador Kurt Volker, and Lt. Col. Vindman also attended. In comments that would foreshadow troubling events to come, Lt. Col. Vindman warned President Zelensky to stay out of U.S. domestic politics to avoid jeopardizing the bipartisan support Ukraine enjoyed in Congress.

The delegation returned to the United States impressed with President Zelensky, especially his focus on anti-corruption reforms. Ambassador Sondland quickly organized a meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office on May 23, attended by most of the other members of the delegation. The three political appointees, who would describe themselves as the “Three Amigos,” relayed their positive impression of President Zelensky to President Trump and encouraged him to schedule the Oval Office meeting he promised in his April 21 phone call with the new leader.

President Trump reacted poorly to the suggestion, claiming that Ukraine “tried to take me down” in 2016. In order to schedule a White House visit for President Zelensky, President Trump told the delegation that they would have to “talk to Rudy.” Ambassador Sondland testified that he understood the President’s instruction to be a directive to work with Mr. Giuliani if they hoped to advance relations with Ukraine. President Trump

THG

Wednesday, December 4, 2019 12:52 AM

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Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

President Trump Froze Vital Military Assistance

For fiscal year 2019, Congress appropriated and authorized $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine: $250 million in funds administered by DOD and $141 million in funds administered by the State Department. On June 18, DOD issued a press release announcing its intention to provide $250 million in taxpayer-funded security assistance to Ukraine following the certification that all legitimate conditions on the aid, including anti-corruption reforms, had been met. Shortly after this announcement, however, both the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and DOD received inquiries from the President related to the funds. At that time, and throughout the next few months, support for Ukraine security assistance was overwhelming and unanimous among all of the relevant agencies and within Congress.

By July 3, OMB blocked a Congressional notification which would have cleared the way for the release of $141 million in State Department security assistance funds. By July 12, President Trump had placed a hold on all military support funding for Ukraine. On July 18, OMB announced the hold to all of the relevant agencies and indicated that it was directed by the President. No other reason was provided.

During a series of policy meetings involving increasingly senior officials, the uniform and consistent position of all policymaking agencies supported the release of funding. Ukraine experts at DOD, the State Department, and the NSC argued that it was in the national security interest of the United States to continue to support Ukraine. As Mr. Morrison testified, “The United States aids Ukraine and her people so that they can fight Russia over there, and we don’t have to fight Russia here.”

Agency officials also expressed concerns about the legality of President Trump’s direction to withhold assistance to Ukraine that Congress had already appropriated for this express purpose. Two OMB career officials, including one of its legal counsels, would resign, in part, over concerns regarding the hold.

By July 25, the date of President Trump’s call with President Zelensky, DOD was also receiving inquiries from Ukrainian officials about the status of the security assistance. Nevertheless, President Trump continued to withhold the funding to Ukraine without explanation, against the interests of U.S. national security, and over the objections of these career experts.

THG

Wednesday, December 4, 2019 12:53 AM

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Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

The President Conditioned a White House Meeting on Investigations

By the time Ukrainian officials were first learning about an issue with the anticipated military assistance, the President’s hand-picked representatives to Ukraine had already informed their Ukrainian counterparts that President Zelensky’s coveted White House meeting would only happen after Ukraine committed to pursuing the two political investigations that President Trump and Mr. Giuliani demanded.

Ambassador Sondland was unequivocal in describing this conditionality, testifying, “I know that members of this committee frequently frame these complicated issues in the form of a simple question: Was there a quid pro quo? As I testified previously with regard to the requested White House call and the White House meeting, the answer is yes.” Ambassadors Sondland and Volker worked to obtain the necessary assurance from President Zelensky that he would personally commit to initiate the investigations in order to secure both.

On July 2, in Toronto, Canada, Ambassador Volker conveyed the message directly to President Zelensky, specifically referencing the “Giuliani factor” in President Zelensky’s engagement with the United States. For his part, Mr. Giuliani made clear to Ambassadors Sondland and Volker, who were directly communicating with the Ukrainians, that a White House meeting would not occur until Ukraine announced its pursuit of the two political investigations. After observing Mr. Giuliani’s role in the ouster of a U.S. Ambassador and learning of his influence with the President, Ukrainian officials soon understood that “the key for many things is Rudi [sic].”

On July 10, Ambassador Bolton hosted a meeting in the White House with two senior Ukrainian officials, several American officials, including Ambassadors Sondland and Volker, Secretary Perry, Dr. Fiona Hill, Senior Director for Europe and Russia at the NSC, and Lt. Col. Vindman. As had become customary each time Ukrainian officials met with their American counterparts, the Ukrainians asked about the long-delayed White House meeting. Ambassador Bolton demurred, but Ambassador Sondland spoke up, revealing that he had worked out an arrangement with Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney to schedule the White House visit after Ukraine initiated the “investigations.” Ambassador Bolton “stiffened” and quickly ended the meeting.

Undaunted, Ambassador Sondland ushered many of the attendees to the Ward Room downstairs to continue their discussion. In the second meeting, Ambassador Sondland explained that he had an agreement with Mr. Mulvaney that the White House visit would come only after Ukraine announced the Burisma/Biden and 2016 Ukraine election interference investigations. At this second meeting, both Lt. Col. Vindman and Dr. Hill objected to intertwining a “domestic political errand” with official foreign policy, and they indicated that a White House meeting would have to go through proper channels.

Following these discussions, Dr. Hill reported back to Ambassador Bolton, who told her to “go and tell [the NSC Legal Advisor] that I am not part of whatever drug deal Sondland and Mulvaney are cooking up on this.” Both Dr. Hill and Lt. Col. Vindman separately reported the incident to the NSC Legal Advisor.

THG

Wednesday, December 4, 2019 12:53 AM

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Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

The President’s Agents Pursued a “Drug Deal”

Over the next two weeks, Ambassadors Sondland and Volker worked closely with Mr. Giuliani and senior Ukrainian and American officials to arrange a telephone call between President Trump and President Zelensky and to ensure that the Ukrainian President explicitly promised to undertake the political investigations required by President Trump to schedule the White House meeting. As Ambassador Sondland would later testify: “Mr. Giuliani was expressing the desires of the President of the United States, and we knew these investigations were important to the President.”

On July 19, Ambassador Volker had breakfast with Mr. Giuliani and his associate, Lev Parnas, at the Trump Hotel in Washington, D.C. Mr. Parnas would subsequently be indicted for campaign finance violations as part of an investigation that remains ongoing. During the conversation, Ambassador Volker stressed his belief that the attacks being leveled publicly against Vice President Biden related to Ukraine were false and that the former Vice President was “a person of integrity.” He counseled Mr. Giuliani that the Ukrainian prosecutor pushing the false narrative, Mr. Lutsenko, was promoting “a self-serving narrative to preserve himself in power.” Mr. Giuliani agreed, but his promotion of Mr. Lutsenko’s false accusations for the benefit of President Trump did not cease. Ambassador Volker also offered to help arrange an in-person meeting between Mr. Giuliani and Andriy Yermak, one of President Zelensky’s most trusted advisors, which would later take place in Madrid, Spain in early August.

After the breakfast meeting at the Trump Hotel, Ambassador Volker reported back to Ambassadors Sondland and Taylor about his conversation with Mr. Giuliani, writing in a text message that, “Most impt [sic] is for Zelensky to say that he will help investigation—and address any specific personnel issues—if there are any,” likely referencing President Zelensky’s decision to remove Mr. Lutsenko as prosecutor general, a decision with which Mr. Giuliani disagreed. The same day, Ambassador Sondland spoke with President Zelensky and recommended that the Ukrainian leader tell President Trump that he “will leave no stone unturned” regarding the political investigations during the upcoming presidential phone call.

Ambassador Sondland emailed several top Administration officials, including Secretary of State Pompeo, Acting Chief of Staff Mulvaney, and Secretary Perry, stating that President Zelensky confirmed that he would “assure” President Trump that “he intends to run a fully transparent investigation and will ‘turn over every stone.’” According to Ambassador Sondland, he was referring in the email to the Burisma/Biden and 2016 election interference investigations. Secretary Perry and Mr. Mulvaney responded affirmatively that the call would soon take place, and Ambassador Sondland testified later that “everyone was in the loop” on plans to condition the White House meeting on the announcement of political investigations beneficial to President Trump. The arrangement troubled the Ukrainian President, who “did not want to be used as a pawn in a U.S. reelection campaign.”

THG

Wednesday, December 4, 2019 12:54 AM

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Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

The President Pressed Zelensky to Do a Political Favor

On the morning of July 25, Ambassador Volker sent a text message to President Zelensky’s top aide, Mr. Yermak, less than 30 minutes before the presidential call. He stated: “Heard from White House—assuming President Z convinces trump he will investigate / ‘get to the bottom of what happened’ in 2016, we will nail down date for visit to Washington. Good luck!” Shortly before the call, Ambassador Sondland spoke directly with President Trump.

President Zelensky followed this advice during his conversation with President Trump. President Zelensky assured that he would pursue the investigations that President Trump had discussed—into the Bidens and 2016 election interference—and, in turn, pressed for the White House meeting that remained outstanding.

The following day, Ambassadors Volker, Sondland, and Taylor met with President Zelensky in Kyiv. The Ukrainian President told them that President Trump had mentioned “sensitive issues” three times during the previous day’s phone call. Following the meeting with the Ukrainian leader, Ambassador Sondland had a private, one-on-one conversation with Mr. Yermak in which they discussed “the issue of investigations.” He then retired to lunch at an outdoor restaurant terrace with State Department aides where he called President Trump directly from his cellphone. The White House confirmed that the conversation lasted five minutes.

At the outset of the call, President Trump asked Ambassador Sondland whether President Zelensky “was going to do the investigation” that President Trump had raised with President Zelensky the day before. Ambassador Sondland stated that President Zelensky was “going to do it” and “would do anything you ask him to.” According to David Holmes, the State Department aide sitting closest to Ambassador Sondland and who overheard the President’s voice on the phone, Ambassador Sondland and President Trump spoke only about the investigation in their discussion about Ukraine. The President made no mention of other major issues of importance in Ukraine, including President Zelensky’s aggressive anti-corruption reforms and the ongoing war it was fighting against Russian-led forces in eastern Ukraine.

After hanging up the phone, Ambassador Sondland explained to Mr. Holmes that President Trump “did not give a shit about Ukraine.” Rather, the President cared only about “big stuff” that benefitted him personally, like “the Biden investigation that Mr. Giuliani was pitching,” and that President Trump had pushed for in his July 25 call with the Ukrainian leader. Ambassador Sondland did not recall referencing Biden specifically, but he did not dispute Mr. Holmes’ recollection of the call with the President or Ambassador Sondland’s subsequent discussion with Mr. Holmes.

THG

Wednesday, December 4, 2019 12:55 AM

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Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

The President’s Representatives Ratcheted up Pressure on the Ukrainian President
In the weeks following the July 25 call, the President’s hand-picked representatives increased the President’s pressure campaign on Ukrainian government officials—in person, over the phone, and by text message—to secure a public announcement of the investigations beneficial to President Trump’s reelection campaign.

In discussions with Ukrainian officials, Ambassador Sondland understood that President Trump did not require that Ukraine conduct investigations as a prerequisite for the White House meeting so much as publicly announce the investigations—making clear that the goal was not the investigations, but the political benefit Trump would derive from their announcement and the cloud they might put over a political opponent.

On August 2, President Zelensky’s advisor, Mr. Yermak, traveled to Madrid to meet Mr. Giuliani in person. There, they agreed that Ukraine would issue a public statement, and they discussed potential dates for a White House meeting. A few days later, Ambassador Volker told Mr. Giuliani that it “would be good” if Mr. Giuliani would report to “the boss,” President Trump, about “the results” of his Madrid discussion so that President Trump would finally agree to a White House visit by President Zelensky.

On August 9, Ambassador Volker and Mr. Giuliani spoke twice by phone, and Ambassador Sondland spoke twice to the White House for a total of about 20 minutes. In a text message to Ambassador Volker later that day, Ambassador Sondland wrote, “I think potus [sic] really wants the deliverable,” which Ambassador Sondland acknowledged was the public statement announcing the two political investigations sought by President Trump and Mr. Giuliani.

The following day, Ambassador Sondland briefed State Department Counselor Ulrich Brechbuhl, a top advisor to Secretary Pompeo, on these discussions about President Zelensky issuing a statement that would include an announcement of the two political investigations. Ambassador Sondland also emailed Secretary Pompeo directly, copying the State Department’s executive secretary and Mr. Brechbuhl, to inform them about the agreement for President Zelensky to give the press conference. He expected to see a draft of the statement, which would be “delivered for our review in a day or two.” Ambassador Sondland noted his hope that the draft statement would “make the boss happy enough to authorize an invitation.”

On August 12, Mr. Yermak sent the proposed statement to Ambassador Volker, but it lacked specific references to the two investigations politically beneficial to President Trump’s reelection campaign. The following morning, Ambassadors Sondland and Volker spoke with Mr. Giuliani, who made clear that if the statement “doesn’t say Burisma and 2016, it’s not credible.” Ambassador Volker revised the statement following this direction to include those references and returned it to the Ukrainian President’s aide.

Mr. Yermak balked at getting drawn into U.S. politics and asked Ambassador Volker whether the United States had inquired about investigations through any appropriate Department of Justice channels. The answer was no, and several witnesses testified that a request to a foreign country to investigate a U.S. citizen “for political reasons” goes “against everything” the United States sought to promote in eastern Europe, specifically the rule of law. Ambassador Volker eventually agreed with Mr. Yermak that the announcement of the Biden/Burisma and 2016 elections investigations would “look like it would play into our domestic politics,” so the statement was temporarily “shelved.”

Nevertheless, Ambassador Sondland, in accordance with President Trump’s wishes, continued to pursue the statement into early September

THG

Wednesday, December 4, 2019 12:55 AM

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Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

Ukrainians Inquired about the President’s Hold on Security Assistance

Once President Trump placed security assistance on hold in July, “it was inevitable that it was eventually going to come out.” On July 25, DOD officials learned that diplomats at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington had made multiple overtures to DOD and the State Department “asking about security assistance.” Separately, two different contacts at the Ukrainian Embassy approached Ambassador Volker’s special advisor, Catherine Croft, to ask her in confidence about the hold. Ms. Croft was surprised at the effectiveness of their “diplomatic tradecraft,” noting that they “found out very early on” that the United States was withholding critical military aid to Ukraine. By mid-August, before the freeze on aid became public, Lt. Col. Vindman had also received inquiries from an official at the Ukrainian Embassy.

The hold remained in place throughout August against the unanimous judgment of American officials focused on Ukraine policy. Without an explanation for the hold, which ran contrary to the recommendation of all relevant agencies, and with President Trump already conditioning a White House visit on the announcement of the political investigations, it became increasingly apparent to multiple witnesses that the military aid was also being withheld in exchange for the announcement of those. As both Ambassador Sondland and Mr. Holmes would later testify, it became as clear as “two plus two equals four.”

On August 22, Ambassador Sondland emailed Secretary Pompeo again, recommending a plan for a potential meeting between President Trump and President Zelensky in Warsaw, Poland on September 1. Ambassador Sondland noted that President Zelensky should “look him in the eye” and tell President Trump that once new prosecutorial officials were in place in Ukraine, “Zelensky should be able to move forward publicly and with confidence on those issues of importance to Potus and the U.S.” Ambassador Sondland testified that this was a reference to the political investigations that President Trump discussed on the July 25 call, that Secretary Pompeo had listened to. Ambassador Sondland hoped this would “break the logjam”—the hold on critical security assistance to Ukraine. Secretary Pompeo replied three minutes later: “Yes.”

THG

Wednesday, December 4, 2019 12:56 AM

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Deep state describes dedicated, educated professionals.

The President’s Security Assistance Hold Became Public

On August 28, Politico published a story revealing President Trump’s weeks-long hold on U.S. military assistance to Ukraine. Senior Ukrainian officials expressed grave concern, deeply worried about the practical impact on their efforts to fight Russian aggression, but also about the public message it sent to the Russian government, which would almost certainly seek to exploit any real or perceived crack in U.S. resolve toward Ukraine.

On August 29, at the urging of National Security Advisor Bolton, Ambassador Taylor wrote a first-person cable to Secretary Pompeo. This was the only first-person cable the Ambassador had ever sent in his decades of government service. He explained the “folly” of withholding security assistance to Ukraine as it fought a hot war against Russia on its borders. He wrote that he “could not and would not defend such a policy.” Ambassador Taylor stated that Secretary Pompeo may have carried the cable with him to a meeting at the White House.

The same day that Ambassador Taylor sent his cable, President Trump cancelled his planned trip to Warsaw for a World War II commemoration event, where he was scheduled to meet with President Zelensky. Vice President Pence traveled in his place. Ambassador Sondland also traveled to Warsaw and, at a pre-briefing discussion with the Vice President before he met President Zelensky, Ambassador Sondland raised the issue of the hold on security assistance. He told Vice President Pence that he was concerned that the security assistance “had become tied to the issue of investigations” and that “everything is being held up until these statements get made.” Vice President Pence nodded in response, apparently expressing neither surprise nor dismay at the linkage between the two.

At the meeting, President Zelensky expressed concern that even an appearance of wavering support from the United States for Ukraine could embolden Russia. Vice President Pence reiterated U.S. support for Ukraine, but could not promise that the hold would be lifted. Vice President Pence said he would relay his support for lifting the hold to President Trump so a decision could be made on security assistance as soon as possible. Vice President Pence spoke with President Trump that evening, but the hold was not lifted.

Following this meeting, Ambassador Sondland pulled aside President Zelensky’s advisor, Mr. Yermak, to explain that the hold on security assistance was conditioned on the public announcement of the Burisma/Biden and the 2016 election interference investigations. After learning of the conversation, Ambassador Taylor texted Ambassador Sondland: “Are we now saying that security assistance and WH meeting are conditioned on investigations?”

The two then spoke by phone. Ambassador Sondland explained that he had previously made a “mistake” in telling Ukrainian officials that only the White House meeting was conditioned on a public announcement of the political investigations beneficial to President Trump. He clarified that “everything”—the White House meeting and hundreds of millions of dollars of security assistance to Ukraine—was now conditioned on the announcement. President Trump wanted President Zelensky in a “public box,” which Ambassador Taylor understood to mean that President Trump required that President Zelensky make a public announcement about the investigations and that a private commitment would not do.

On September 7, President Trump and Ambassador Sondland spoke. Ambassador Sondland stated to his colleagues that the President said, “there was no quid pro quo,” but that President Zelensky would be required to announce the investigations in order for the hold on security assistance to be lifted, “and he should want to do it.” Ambassa

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