Why the Trumped up Nunes memo is the worse thing to happen since Benedict Arnold: Just one sentence in that memo undermines its whole premise--and some people are too blind, too stupid...

rumitoid

Just one sentence in that memo undermines its whole premise--and some people are too blind, too stupid or too partisan to either see or admit it. Almost unimportant: they will forever avoid it. The fact of the release of the Memo, the "Et tu, Bruti" to the great detriment of the principles and ideals of Justice in America, is the point. Blatant political sabotage of our system of government, a betrayal far worse and more devastating to this great nation than wayward Ben.

1) The Memo holds almost nothing of any great relevance or intrigue: any open-minded reading of it would reveal that to any honest person. It clearly shows that "the dossier" was not--NOT--the basis for the FISA warrants. We have indicted and cooperating George Papadopoulos to thank for that fact. Which means that it does not--NOT--prove "that the entire basis for the Russia investigation was based on lies that were bought and paid for by Hillary Clinton.” (And even if it were funded by Hillary does not necessarily mean, to the reasonable and inquiring mind, that the evidence gathered is false. Believing that it is false and proving that it is false are not the same, though many on the Right here are confused or conflicted on that fine point.)

2) One of the main characters "proving deep state, anti-Trump bias" was an FBI guy who was responsible for re-opening the Hillary email probe days before the e******n (and also important to note, he did not leak or state that the Trump campaign was being investigated for Collusion with Russia: rather odd behavior for a "deep state anti-Trumpian" operative). There's a rub.

3) The "corrupt" heads in the Justice Department and FBI claimed as part of the "deep state," Rosenstein and Wray, were handpicked appointees by Trump. Ouch, another rough rub.

4) The House Intelligence Committee was advised a "major political party" funded it, as falsely denied; reported by three major media outlets. But the dossier did reveal a timeline of Russian contacts already known and verified, though a number of other facts remain unverified. Owie. Rub-a-dub-bub.

5) GOP blocking Democratic response to their breach of apolitical ethical responsibilities of the House Intelligence Committee, whose sworn duty is to protect an ongoing investigations evidence.

6) This tirade and attack by the GOP and many media Conservatives could be construed as an attempt to undermine the underpinning of our Republic, a boost to autocracy by fiat.

There is more, much more, but I know most on the Right here do not read past the title to a thread, or if they do they may go a sentence or two in before spewing their h**e and insult.

guitarman Loc: University Park, Florida

rumitoid wrote:

Just one sentence in that memo undermines its whole premise--and some people are too blind, too stupid or too partisan to either see or admit it. Almost unimportant: they will forever avoid it. The fact of the release of the Memo, the "Et tu, Bruti" to the great detriment of the principles and ideals of Justice in America, is the point. Blatant political sabotage of our system of government, a betrayal far worse and more devastating to this great nation than wayward Ben.

1) The Memo holds almost nothing of any great relevance or intrigue: any open-minded reading of it would reveal that to any honest person. It clearly shows that "the dossier" was not--NOT--the basis for the FISA warrants. We have indicted and cooperating George Papadopoulos to thank for that fact. Which means that it does not--NOT--prove "that the entire basis for the Russia investigation was based on lies that were bought and paid for by Hillary Clinton.” (And even if it were funded by Hillary does not necessarily mean, to the reasonable and inquiring mind, that the evidence gathered is false. Believing that it is false and proving that it is false are not the same, though many on the Right here are confused or conflicted on that fine point.)

2) One of the main characters "proving deep state, anti-Trump bias" was an FBI guy who was responsible for re-opening the Hillary email probe days before the e******n (and also important to note, he did not leak or state that the Trump campaign was being investigated for Collusion with Russia: rather odd behavior for a "deep state anti-Trumpian" operative). There's a rub.

3) The "corrupt" heads in the Justice Department and FBI claimed as part of the "deep state," Rosenstein and Wray, were handpicked appointees by Trump. Ouch, another rough rub.

4) The House Intelligence Committee was advised a "major political party" funded it, as falsely denied; reported by three major media outlets. But the dossier did reveal a timeline of Russian contacts already known and verified, though a number of other facts remain unverified. Owie. Rub-a-dub-bub.

5) GOP blocking Democratic response to their breach of apolitical ethical responsibilities of the House Intelligence Committee, whose sworn duty is to protect an ongoing investigations evidence.

6) This tirade and attack by the GOP and many media Conservatives could be construed as an attempt to undermine the underpinning of our Republic, a boost to autocracy by fiat.

There is more, much more, but I know most on the Right here do not read past the title to a thread, or if they do they may go a sentence or two in before spewing their h**e and insult.

Just one sentence in that memo undermines its whol... (show quote)

The memo shows that the FBI and DOJ are corrupt, what more do you need to know?

cSc61 Loc: Austin

McCabe testified under oath that without the Dossier, they wouldn't have gotten the initial warrant or any subsequent renewals.

Rumitoid states: [The memo] clearly shows that "the dossier" was not--NOT--the basis for the FISA warrants

Man, I'm torn ... should we take the word of the Deputy Director of the FBI, whose very job it was to submit the application to the FISA court? Or should we listen to the i***t blogger regurgitate so mindless drivel heard on MSM the night before .... hmm, what to do -- what to do.

rumitoid

guitarman wrote:

The memo shows that the FBI and DOJ are corrupt, what more do you need to know?

The "more" I need is for you to show that the Memo "shows that the FBI and DOJ are corrupt." One clear fact is all. Wishing does not make it so.

rumitoid

cSc61 wrote:

McCabe testified under oath that without the Dossi... (show quote)

Incorrect. The memo, released on Friday against FBI objections and with Trump’s approval, makes a particular claim against McCabe. In its attempt to claim that ex-British spy Christopher Steele’s salacious dossier played a central role in the surveillance of Trump aides—a claim the memo’s own admissions undermine—the memo claims that McCabe told the House intelligence committee that Steele was a pillar of information for a surveillance warrant application.

“Deputy Director McCabe testified before the Committee in December 2017 that no surveillance warrant would have been sought from the FISC without the Steele dossier information,” the memo claims, referring to the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

Asked if that was a true representation, a source familiar with McCabe’s testimony responded: “100% not.”

A senior Democratic House intelligence committee official agreed.

“The Majority purposefully mischaracterizes both what is actually contained in the FISA applications and the testimony of former FBI Deputy McCabe before our committee in December 2017—the Minority’s memo lays out the full facts,” the official said.

The Democratic minority memo remains classified. Democrats lost an internal committee v**e on Monday to declassify it, prompting ranking Democrat Adam Schiff to blast committee Republicans for hypocrisy in citing the need for t***sparency as motivating release of the Nunes memo.

The FBI declined comment on McCabe’s testimony.

The bureau on Wednesday attacked the memo as fundamentally misleading, saying Nunes’ document reflected “material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.” After the memo’s release, the FBI said its criticism stands.

McCabe became a GOP target owing to his wife’s unsuccessful bid as a Democrat for Virginia state senate in 2015. She received money from close Hillary Clinton ally Terry McAuliffe, then Virginia’s governor. McCabe, according to FBI documents, took steps to minimize conflicts of interest when he later came to oversee the Clinton email server probe. It was reported this week that McCabe’s departure was partially prompted by criticisms contained within an unreleased Justice Department inspector general’s probe of the FBI’s Clinton investigation.

Representatives for Nunes and Mike Conaway, the top Republican on the committee’s Russia probe before which McCabe testified, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/sources-devin-nunes-memo-is-100-wrong-about-andrew-mccabe-and-steele-dossier-for-carter-page-fisa-warrant

vernon

rumitoid wrote:

Just one sentence in that memo undermines its whole premise--and some people are too blind, too stupid or too partisan to either see or admit it. Almost unimportant: they will forever avoid it. The fact of the release of the Memo, the "Et tu, Bruti" to the great detriment of the principles and ideals of Justice in America, is the point. Blatant political sabotage of our system of government, a betrayal far worse and more devastating to this great nation than wayward Ben.

1) The Memo holds almost nothing of any great relevance or intrigue: any open-minded reading of it would reveal that to any honest person. It clearly shows that "the dossier" was not--NOT--the basis for the FISA warrants. We have indicted and cooperating George Papadopoulos to thank for that fact. Which means that it does not--NOT--prove "that the entire basis for the Russia investigation was based on lies that were bought and paid for by Hillary Clinton.” (And even if it were funded by Hillary does not necessarily mean, to the reasonable and inquiring mind, that the evidence gathered is false. Believing that it is false and proving that it is false are not the same, though many on the Right here are confused or conflicted on that fine point.)

2) One of the main characters "proving deep state, anti-Trump bias" was an FBI guy who was responsible for re-opening the Hillary email probe days before the e******n (and also important to note, he did not leak or state that the Trump campaign was being investigated for Collusion with Russia: rather odd behavior for a "deep state anti-Trumpian" operative). There's a rub.

3) The "corrupt" heads in the Justice Department and FBI claimed as part of the "deep state," Rosenstein and Wray, were handpicked appointees by Trump. Ouch, another rough rub.

4) The House Intelligence Committee was advised a "major political party" funded it, as falsely denied; reported by three major media outlets. But the dossier did reveal a timeline of Russian contacts already known and verified, though a number of other facts remain unverified. Owie. Rub-a-dub-bub.

5) GOP blocking Democratic response to their breach of apolitical ethical responsibilities of the House Intelligence Committee, whose sworn duty is to protect an ongoing investigations evidence.

6) This tirade and attack by the GOP and many media Conservatives could be construed as an attempt to undermine the underpinning of our Republic, a boost to autocracy by fiat.

There is more, much more, but I know most on the Right here do not read past the title to a thread, or if they do they may go a sentence or two in before spewing their h**e and insult.

Just one sentence in that memo undermines its whol... (show quote)

No the demorats have out done old ben.they are the biggest bunch of liars in the world.

cSc61 Loc: Austin

rumitoid wrote:

“Deputy Director McCabe testified before the Committee in December 2017 that no surveillance warrant would have been sought from the FISC without the Steele dossier information,” the memo claims, referring to the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

That's what I said. Are you playing word games now?

rumitoid

vernon wrote:

No the demorats have out done old ben.they are the biggest bunch of liars in the world.

Please show how?

Lonewolf

the memo shows nothing Nunes said he never even read the warrant so how the hell do you write a memo.
you think this trump puppet wouldn't make this up he didn't make it up he just conveniently left out facts!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/justice-dept-told-court-of-sources-political-bias-in-request-to-wiretap-ex-trump-campaign-aide-officials-say/2018/02/02/caecfa86-0852-11e8-8777-2a059f168dd2_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_fisa-10pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.cd5c2bf48da5

guitarman wrote:

The memo shows that the FBI and DOJ are corrupt, what more do you need to know?

free believer

How perceptive! RIGHT ON

bahmer

cSc61 wrote:

McCabe testified under oath that without the Dossi... (show quote)

It is a difficult decision but I have a tendency to maybe trust the Deputy Director of the FBI over the troll that has a tendency to frequent OPP and cause as much turbulence as possible.

vettelover Loc: Richmond Va

rumitoid wrote:

Just one sentence in that memo undermines its whole premise--and some people are too blind, too stupid or too partisan to either see or admit it. Almost unimportant: they will forever avoid it. The fact of the release of the Memo, the "Et tu, Bruti" to the great detriment of the principles and ideals of Justice in America, is the point. Blatant political sabotage of our system of government, a betrayal far worse and more devastating to this great nation than wayward Ben.

1) The Memo holds almost nothing of any great relevance or intrigue: any open-minded reading of it would reveal that to any honest person. It clearly shows that "the dossier" was not--NOT--the basis for the FISA warrants. We have indicted and cooperating George Papadopoulos to thank for that fact. Which means that it does not--NOT--prove "that the entire basis for the Russia investigation was based on lies that were bought and paid for by Hillary Clinton.” (And even if it were funded by Hillary does not necessarily mean, to the reasonable and inquiring mind, that the evidence gathered is false. Believing that it is false and proving that it is false are not the same, though many on the Right here are confused or conflicted on that fine point.)

2) One of the main characters "proving deep state, anti-Trump bias" was an FBI guy who was responsible for re-opening the Hillary email probe days before the e******n (and also important to note, he did not leak or state that the Trump campaign was being investigated for Collusion with Russia: rather odd behavior for a "deep state anti-Trumpian" operative). There's a rub.

3) The "corrupt" heads in the Justice Department and FBI claimed as part of the "deep state," Rosenstein and Wray, were handpicked appointees by Trump. Ouch, another rough rub.

4) The House Intelligence Committee was advised a "major political party" funded it, as falsely denied; reported by three major media outlets. But the dossier did reveal a timeline of Russian contacts already known and verified, though a number of other facts remain unverified. Owie. Rub-a-dub-bub.

5) GOP blocking Democratic response to their breach of apolitical ethical responsibilities of the House Intelligence Committee, whose sworn duty is to protect an ongoing investigations evidence.

6) This tirade and attack by the GOP and many media Conservatives could be construed as an attempt to undermine the underpinning of our Republic, a boost to autocracy by fiat.

There is more, much more, but I know most on the Right here do not read past the title to a thread, or if they do they may go a sentence or two in before spewing their h**e and insult.

Just one sentence in that memo undermines its whol... (show quote)

How much does the Democrat Socialist N**i party pay you to copy and paste this crap all over the net?

Yes, we h**e you just as much as you h**e us. Yes, we have no intention of living in your Marxist Democrat dystopia anymore than you want to live in our world with our Bill of Rights. We know who you are!

Blade_Runner Loc: DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

rumitoid wrote:

Incorrect. The memo, released on Friday against FBI objections and with Trump’s approval, makes a particular claim against McCabe. In its attempt to claim that ex-British spy Christopher Steele’s salacious dossier played a central role in the surveillance of Trump aides—a claim the memo’s own admissions undermine—the memo claims that McCabe told the House intelligence committee that Steele was a pillar of information for a surveillance warrant application.

“Deputy Director McCabe testified before the Committee in December 2017 that no surveillance warrant would have been sought from the FISC without the Steele dossier information,” the memo claims, referring to the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

Asked if that was a true representation, a source familiar with McCabe’s testimony responded: “100% not.”

A senior Democratic House intelligence committee official agreed.

“The Majority purposefully mischaracterizes both what is actually contained in the FISA applications and the testimony of former FBI Deputy McCabe before our committee in December 2017—the Minority’s memo lays out the full facts,” the official said.

The Democratic minority memo remains classified. Democrats lost an internal committee v**e on Monday to declassify it, prompting ranking Democrat Adam Schiff to blast committee Republicans for hypocrisy in citing the need for t***sparency as motivating release of the Nunes memo.

The FBI declined comment on McCabe’s testimony.

The bureau on Wednesday attacked the memo as fundamentally misleading, saying Nunes’ document reflected “material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.” After the memo’s release, the FBI said its criticism stands.

McCabe became a GOP target owing to his wife’s unsuccessful bid as a Democrat for Virginia state senate in 2015. She received money from close Hillary Clinton ally Terry McAuliffe, then Virginia’s governor. McCabe, according to FBI documents, took steps to minimize conflicts of interest when he later came to oversee the Clinton email server probe. It was reported this week that McCabe’s departure was partially prompted by criticisms contained within an unreleased Justice Department inspector general’s probe of the FBI’s Clinton investigation.

Representatives for Nunes and Mike Conaway, the top Republican on the committee’s Russia probe before which McCabe testified, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/sources-devin-nunes-memo-is-100-wrong-about-andrew-mccabe-and-steele-dossier-for-carter-page-fisa-warrant

Incorrect. The memo, released on Friday against FB... (show quote)

You got that load of s**t from the Daily Beast? Shame on you.

FISA MEMO: Senate Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

On October 21, 2016, DOJ and FBI sought and received a FISA probable cause order (not under Title VII) authorizing electronic surveillance on Carter Page from the FISC. Page is a U.S, ciitzen who served as a volunteer advisor to the Trump p**********l campaign. Consistent with requirements under FISA, the application had to be first certified by the Director or Deputy Director of the FBI. It then required the approval of the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General (DAG), or the senate-confirmed Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division.

The FBI and DOJ obtained one initial FISA warrant targeting Carter Page and three FISA renewals from the FISC. As required by statute (50 U.S.C. &1805(d)(1), a FISA order on an American citizen must be renewed by the FISC every 90 days and each renewal requires a separate finding of probable cause. Then-Director James Comey signed three FISA applications in question on behalf of the FBI. and Deputy Director Andrew McCabe signed one. Then-DAG Sally Yates, then-acting DAG Dana Boente, and DAG Rod Rosenstein each signed one or more FISA applications on behalf of DOJ.

In the case of Carter Page, the government had at least four independent opportunities before the FISC to accurately provide an accounting of the relevant facts. However, our findings indicate that, as described below, material and relevant information was omitted.

1)The "dossier" compiled by Christopher Steele on behalf of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Hillary Clinton campaign formed an essential part of the Carter Page FISA application. Steele was a longtime FBI source who was paid over $160,000 by the DNC and Clinton campaign, via the law firm Perkins Coie and research firm Fusion GPS, to obtain derogatory on Donald Trump ties to Russia.

a) Neither the initial application in October 2016, nor any of the renewals, disclose or reference the role of DNC, Clinton campaign, or any party/campaign in funding Steele's efforts, even though the political origins of the Steele dossier were then known to senior DOJ and FBI officials.

b) The initial FISA application notes Steele was working for a named U.S.person, but does not name Fusion GPS amd principal Glenn Simpson, who was paid by a U.S. law firm (Perkins Coie) representing the DNC (even though it was known by DOJ at the time that political actors were involved with the Steele dossier). The application does not mention Steele was ultimately working on behalf of--and paid by--the DNC and Clinton camapaign, or that the FBI had separately authorized payment to Steele for the same information.

2) The Carter Page FISA application also cited extensively a September 23, 2016, Yahoo News article by Michael Isikoff, which focuses on Page's July 2016 trip to Moscow. This article does not corroborate the Steele dossier because it is derived from information leaked by Steele himself to Yahoo News The Page FISA application incorrectly assesses that Steele did not directly provide information to Yahoo News. Steele has admitted in British court filings that he met with Yahoo News/ --and several other outlets--in September 2016 at the direction of Fusion GPS. Perkins Coie was aware of Steele's initial media contacts because they hosted at least one meeting in Washington D.C. in 2016 with Steele and Fusion GPS where this matter was discussed.

a) Steele was suspended and then terminated as an FBI source for what the FBI defines as the most serious of violations--an unauthorized disclosure to the media of his relationship with the FBI in an October 30, 2016, Mother Jones article by David Corn. Steele should have been terminated for his previous undisclosed contacts with Yahoo and other outlets in September--before the Page application was submitted to the FISC in October--but Steele improperly concealed from and lied to the FBI about these contacts.

b) Steele's numerous encounters with the media violated the cardinal rule of source handling--maintaining confidentiality--and demonstrated that Steele had become a less than reliable source for the FBI.

3) Before and after Steele was terminated as a source, he maintained contact with DOJ via then-Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr, a senior DOJ official who worked closely with Deputy Attorneys General Yates and later Rosenstein. Shortly after the e******n, the FBI began interviewing Ohr, documenting his communications with Steele. For example, in September 2016, Steele admitted to Ohr his feelings against then-candidate Trump when Steele said he "was desparate that Donald Trump not get elected and was passionate about him not being president." This clear evidence of Steele's bias was recorded by Ohr at the time and subsequently in official FBI files--but not reflected in any of the Page FISA applications.

a) During this same period, Ohr's wife was employed by Fusion GPS to assist in the cultivation of opposition research on Trump. Ohr later provided the FBI with all his wife's opposition research, paid for by the DNC and Clinton campaign via Fusion GPS. The Ohr's relationship with Steele and Fusion GPS was inexplicably concealed from the FISC.

4) According to the head of the FBI's counterintelligence division, Assistant Director Bill Priestap, corroboration of the Steele dossier was in its "infancy" at the time of the initial Page FISA application. After Steele was terminated, a source validation report conducted by an independent unit within the FBI assessed Steele's reporting as only minimally corroborated. Yet, in early January, 2017, Director Comey briefed President-elect Trump on a summary of the Steele dossier, even though it was--according to his June 2017 testimony--"salacious and unverified." While the FISA application relied on Steele's past record of credible reporting on other unrelated matters, it ignored or concealed his anti-Trump financial and ideological motivations. Furthermore, Deputy Director McCabe testified before the Committee in December 2017 that no surveillance warrant would have been sought from the FISC without the Steele dossier information.

5) The Page FISA application also mentions information regarding fellow Trump campaign advisor George Papadopoulos. The Papadopoulos information triggered the opening of an FBI counterintelligence investigation in late July 2016 by FBI agent Pete Strzok. Strzok was reassigned by the Special Counsel's Office to FBI Human Resources for improper text messages with his mistress, FBI Attorney Lisa Page (no known relation to Carter Page), where the both demonstrated a clear bias against Trump and in favor of Clinton, whom Strzok had also investigated. The Strzok/Lisa Page texts also reflect extensive discussions about the investigation, orchestrating leaks to the media, and include a meeting with Deputy Director McCabe to discuss an "insurance" policy against President Trump's e******n.

rumitoid

vettelover wrote:

How much does the Democrat Socialist N**i party pay you to copy and paste this crap all over the net?

Yes, we h**e you just as much as you h**e us. Yes, we have no intention of living in your Marxist Democrat dystopia anymore than you want to live in our world with our Bill of Rights. We know who you are!

I don't h**e you, lol. That would be like hating shadows.

rumitoid

Blade_Runner wrote:

You got that load of s**t from the Daily Beast? Shame on you.

FISA MEMO: Senate Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

On October 21, 2016, DOJ and FBI sought and received a FISA probable cause order (not under Title VII) authorizing electronic surveillance on Carter Page from the FISC. Page is a U.S, ciitzen who served as a volunteer advisor to the Trump p**********l campaign. Consistent with requirements under FISA, the application had to be first certified by the Director or Deputy Director of the FBI. It then required the approval of the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General (DAG), or the senate-confirmed Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division.

The FBI and DOJ obtained one initial FISA warrant targeting Carter Page and three FISA renewals from the FISC. As required by statute (50 U.S.C. &1805(d)(1), a FISA order on an American citizen must be renewed by the FISC every 90 days and each renewal requires a separate finding of probable cause. Then-Director James Comey signed three FISA applications in question on behalf of the FBI. and Deputy Director Andrew McCabe signed one. Then-DAG Sally Yates, then-acting DAG Dana Boente, and DAG Rod Rosenstein each signed one or more FISA applications on behalf of DOJ.

In the case of Carter Page, the government had at least four independent opportunities before the FISC to accurately provide an accounting of the relevant facts. However, our findings indicate that, as described below, material and relevant information was omitted.

1)The "dossier" compiled by Christopher Steele on behalf of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Hillary Clinton campaign formed an essential part of the Carter Page FISA application. Steele was a longtime FBI source who was paid over $160,000 by the DNC and Clinton campaign, via the law firm Perkins Coie and research firm Fusion GPS, to obtain derogatory on Donald Trump ties to Russia.

a) Neither the initial application in October 2016, nor any of the renewals, disclose or reference the role of DNC, Clinton campaign, or any party/campaign in funding Steele's efforts, even though the political origins of the Steele dossier were then known to senior DOJ and FBI officials.

b) The initial FISA application notes Steele was working for a named U.S.person, but does not name Fusion GPS amd principal Glenn Simpson, who was paid by a U.S. law firm (Perkins Coie) representing the DNC (even though it was known by DOJ at the time that political actors were involved with the Steele dossier). The application does not mention Steele was ultimately working on behalf of--and paid by--the DNC and Clinton camapaign, or that the FBI had separately authorized payment to Steele for the same information.

2) The Carter Page FISA application also cited extensively a September 23, 2016, Yahoo News article by Michael Isikoff, which focuses on Page's July 2016 trip to Moscow. This article does not corroborate the Steele dossier because it is derived from information leaked by Steele himself to Yahoo News The Page FISA application incorrectly assesses that Steele did not directly provide information to Yahoo News. Steele has admitted in British court filings that he met with Yahoo News/ --and several other outlets--in September 2016 at the direction of Fusion GPS. Perkins Coie was aware of Steele's initial media contacts because they hosted at least one meeting in Washington D.C. in 2016 with Steele and Fusion GPS where this matter was discussed.

a) Steele was suspended and then terminated as an FBI source for what the FBI defines as the most serious of violations--an unauthorized disclosure to the media of his relationship with the FBI in an October 30, 2016, Mother Jones article by David Corn. Steele should have been terminated for his previous undisclosed contacts with Yahoo and other outlets in September--before the Page application was submitted to the FISC in October--but Steele improperly concealed from and lied to the FBI about these contacts.

b) Steele's numerous encounters with the media violated the cardinal rule of source handling--maintaining confidentiality--and demonstrated that Steele had become a less than reliable source for the FBI.

3) Before and after Steele was terminated as a source, he maintained contact with DOJ via then-Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr, a senior DOJ official who worked closely with Deputy Attorneys General Yates and later Rosenstein. Shortly after the e******n, the FBI began interviewing Ohr, documenting his communications with Steele. For example, in September 2016, Steele admitted to Ohr his feelings against then-candidate Trump when Steele said he "was desparate that Donald Trump not get elected and was passionate about him not being president." This clear evidence of Steele's bias was recorded by Ohr at the time and subsequently in official FBI files--but not reflected in any of the Page FISA applications.

a) During this same period, Ohr's wife was employed by Fusion GPS to assist in the cultivation of opposition research on Trump. Ohr later provided the FBI with all his wife's opposition research, paid for by the DNC and Clinton campaign via Fusion GPS. The Ohr's relationship with Steele and Fusion GPS was inexplicably concealed from the FISC.

4) According to the head of the FBI's counterintelligence division, Assistant Director Bill Priestap, corroboration of the Steele dossier was in its "infancy" at the time of the initial Page FISA application. After Steele was terminated, a source validation report conducted by an independent unit within the FBI assessed Steele's reporting as only minimally corroborated. Yet, in early January, 2017, Director Comey briefed President-elect Trump on a summary of the Steele dossier, even though it was--according to his June 2017 testimony--"salacious and unverified." While the FISA application relied on Steele's past record of credible reporting on other unrelated matters, it ignored or concealed his anti-Trump financial and ideological motivations. Furthermore, Deputy Director McCabe testified before the Committee in December 2017 that no surveillance warrant would have been sought from the FISC without the Steele dossier information.

5) The Page FISA application also mentions information regarding fellow Trump campaign advisor George Papadopoulos. The Papadopoulos information triggered the opening of an FBI counterintelligence investigation in late July 2016 by FBI agent Pete Strzok. Strzok was reassigned by the Special Counsel's Office to FBI Human Resources for improper text messages with his mistress, FBI Attorney Lisa Page (no known relation to Carter Page), where the both demonstrated a clear bias against Trump and in favor of Clinton, whom Strzok had also investigated. The Strzok/Lisa Page texts also reflect extensive discussions about the investigation, orchestrating leaks to the media, and include a meeting with Deputy Director McCabe to discuss an "insurance" policy against President Trump's e******n.

You got that load of s**t from the Daily Beast? Sh... (show quote)

Much smoke, no fire.