Tea Party group buys ads trying to convince the rich asshole to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein
Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (Photo: Wikipedia Commons)
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Tea Party Patriots Action has released an ad that seems aimed at encouraging President some rich asshole to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
While Rosenstein might be a Republican appointed by former GOP President George W. Bush and kept on by the rich asshole, that isn’t enough for the fundamentalist wing of the GOP. The fact that former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton aren’t in handcuffs seems to be the nail in the coffin for his career.
The ad alleges that instead of following the rule of law, Rosenstein is working for the so-called “deep state.”
The Democratic leadership in the Senate has warned that firing Rosenstein would start the ball rolling into a “Constitutional crisis.”
“We write to inform you that we would consider such an unwarranted action as an attempt to obstruct justice in the Russia investigation. Firing Rod Rosenstein, [Department of Justice] Leadership, or Bob Mueller could result in a constitutional crisis of the kind not seen since the Saturday Night Massacre,” Democrats wrote in a letter to the president.
Republicans have similarly warned the White House not to fire Rosenstein.
Watch the tea party ad below:
some rich asshole was silent Friday as the Dow Jones plummeted 666 points — the market's largest drop since 2008.
some rich asshole never misses an opportunity to brag about two things: himself, and the stock market. Earlier this month, CNBC cautioned him about the stock market, saying, “he may end up regretting his decision to latch onto such a fickle indicator.”
That day has come.
On Friday, the Dow Jones dropped 666 points, its steepest decline in points since the financial crisis of 2008. Both the Dow and S&P 500 dropped by four percent, their biggest weekly drops since Brexit in 2016.
Like the rich asshole’s wealth and his penchant for racism, the rich asshole inherited the healthy economy, complete with falling unemployment and a record number of consecutive months of job growth.
Through all some rich asshole’s many failings — Russia investigations, staffing chaos, racist outbursts, support of an accused child molester for Senate, historic Democratic wins in Virginia, and the list goes on and on — he has consistently acted as if a roaring stock market washed away all sins.
But this significant drop changes the narrative.
According to CNN, “Political turmoil is adding to the uncertainty. Market analysts pointed to the clash between the rich asshole administration and the FBI as another concern.”
the rich asshole and congressional Republicans have triggered tremendous political uncertainly in recent weeks, culminating in a three-day government shutdown. And while Democrats were able to find a way to fund the government, Republicans are back to playing political games, holding DREAMers hostage to find funds for the rich asshole’s unpopular border wall, which the rich asshole repeatedly said would be paid for by Mexico. Funding for the government runs out on Feb. 8.
Moreover, the rich asshole and complicit Republicans are working overtime to undermine confidence in U.S. institutions, including the FBI.
With the release of a memo by Rep. Devin Nunes, “Republicans delivered on a weeks-long marketing campaign, concocted by House Republicans and Fox News, to gin up to hysterical levels the idea that the Republican-run FBI was somehow out to get some rich asshole and that the party’s oppo research memo would both demolish the bureau and severely undercut special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.”
“There looks like a breakdown of the institutions in our country,” Ian Winer of Wedbush Securities, told CNN. “No matter what side you’re on, that’s not good.”
While Republicans played a starring role in creating the breakdown and uncertainty that rattled investors, the rich asshole remained quiet as the Dow cratered.
The massive economic downturn may be a one-day event, or it could be the beginning of an economic nosedive. Either way, it shows that the Republican tax scam, despite showering companies with billions of dollars paid for by higher taxes on working-class Americans, is not living up to the hype.
News about the stock market bookends a day of bad economic news for the rich asshole administration.
In the morning, the Department of Labor announced that unemployment for African Americans jumped up to 7.7 percent, embarrassing a White House which spent the last month endlessly boasting about how the low the unemployment rate for black Americans was when it fell to 6.8 percent in December.
The Dow Jones is a poor measure of an administration, no matter who occupies the Oval Office. But if the rich asshole is going to claim credit for the stock market, he shouldn’t hide when the market mirrors his public approval ratings: tanking.
If the case against the rich asshole goes to the courts, his Republican protecters in Congress won't be able to save him.
Clearly trying to build blind political support in advance of any damning information special counsel Robert Mueller uncovers during his Russia and obstruction of justice probe, the rich asshole White House seems to be banking on the scandal being dealt with in Congress, and not by judges and juries.
But according to attorneys who are representing clients caught up in the widening probe, there’s a strong chance Mueller could end up indicting the rich asshole and taking the whole case to court.
“If I were a betting man, I’d bet against the president,” one of the lawyers tells Politico.
Another attorney suggested Mueller could bring indictments against the rich asshole, knowing the approach would certainly be challenged as being out of bounds, simply to signal how grave the wrongdoings committed by the rich asshole and his associates have been.
“It’s entirely possible that Mueller may go that route on the theory that, as an open question, it should be for the courts to decide,” the attorney said. “Even if the indictment is dismissed, it puts maximum pressure on Congress to treat this with the independence and intellectual honesty that it will never, ever get.”
The general political and media consensus in recent months has centered on the idea that Mueller’s findings will not be dealt with in the courts but in Congress, and in the House specifically.
In other words, the battle over the Russia and obstruction of justice probe will be a political one, not a legal one, and the rich asshole will be able to lean on Republican allies in Congress to defend him, no matter how damning evidence of his wrongdoing might be. (That effort was dealt a stinging blow on Friday, when the GOP’s much-hyped memo, designed to ding the FBI, was widely met with shrugs and laughter.)
The courts have never settled the question of whether a sitting U.S. president can be indicted. The Department of Justice in 1973 and again in 2000, amidst Watergate and following the impeachment proceedings against Bill Clinton, concluded presidents could not be indicted because the disruption to the political system would be too grave.
But no court has ever been asked to rule on the matter. If Mueller did indict the rich asshole, the Supreme Court would almost certainly decide the case.
Meanwhile, the rich asshole’s attorneys seem panicked by the idea that their client will have to answer questions directly to Mueller. Even though the rich asshole insists publicly that he has nothing to hide and would “love” to testify, his legal team continues to scramble in search of a way to protect the rich asshole from perjuring himself.
Note that if the case against the rich asshole does end up in the courts, the rich asshole’s political support would be useless. Instead, the facts and the law would dictate the outcome.
"If they were trying to make this seem like less of a partisan exercise, they're doing a horrendous job of it."
House Republicans gave right-wing media outlets early access to their anti-FBI smear document after its release was authorized by some rich asshole, and they’re already paying a price for it.
Before the memo authored by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) was released to the public, or even the media at large, Fox News and the Washington Examiner were treated to an early look at the factually suspect document.
The selective leaking strategy echoes previous right-wing smear campaigns, including the Republican-led investigations of the Benghazi attack, which were repeatedly handed off to Fox News and other conservative outlets.
Journalists quickly pointed out that releasing the information this way showed that the story over the memo — originally fueled by right-wing media innuendo and paranoia — is just another disinformation campaign.
NBC’s Chuck Todd pointed out just how badly Republicans had already botched the roll-out of their memo with this strategy.
“The House Republican intel folks are actually making their partisan case look even worse right now,” he said, “because they’re releasing excerpts of a memo already to friendly media outlets, almost trying to build a narrative and control headlines, the early headlines and create this, you know, help feed a feeding frenzy.”
Todd further explained that “it only lessens the impact of the memo itself because the whole thing just smacks of a partisan exercise – how they wrote the memo, how they release the memo, and even now, it’s being released to the public, but some people get the memo first, from friendly media outlets.”
Perhaps the most devastating condemnation of all was Todd’s conclusion: “This is what a campaign would do, not somebody who truly, not an entity that cared about the rule of law and trying to be above politics.”
Similarly, The Daily Beast’s Sam Stein wrote, “If you have a bombshell memo that is existential in its exposure of corruption at the highest levels of the FBI then you don’t release exclusive excerpts to one (partisan) outlet. You let the details stand on their own.”
By releasing the document through outlets likely to give its contents the most favorable reading, Republicans gave up the game they have been playing.
The FBI and international intelligence agencies, along with Democratic leaders, have been concerned about the release. Republicans, obsessed with defending the rich asshole, continued to push for it.
But they clearly knew the contents would not withstand scrutiny from real journalists. So, they turned to Fox News and their other propaganda allies.
the rich asshole is under investigation by the special counsel and the FBI for his campaign’s activities with Russian operatives during the election. There have been convictions and indictments.
The GOP’s sloppy memo, released to their media allies as part of an anti-FBI smear campaign, does not change a single fact in that equation.
Today was the perfect example of why the rich asshole tying his success to the stock market is a terrible idea
· Bob Bryan 02-02-2018
- President some rich asshole has consistently pointed to the stock market as an example of economic success through his first year in office.
- US stocks had a historically bad day on Friday, for reasons that have nothing to do with the rich asshole.
- It shows why the rich asshole tying his success to the market is a bad idea: he has little, if any, control over it.
President some rich asshole really likes to tie his success to the stock market. Friday showed why it could come back to bite him.
The president has touted the market's rise consistently since his election and throughout the first year of his presidency — in speeches, tweets, official statements, press conferences, and pretty much everywhere else. Both the rich asshole and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have even said the stock market was a fair report card for the administration.
Friday's monumental drop in the major US stock indexes show why that can be not such a great idea.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 665.75 points on Friday, its sixth-largest single-day decline ever. The S&P 500 dropped 59.85 points, its 14th-largest drop. (The declines were less dramatic, comparatively, on a percentage-point basis.)
The decrease can be explained by a variety of factors — improving wage growth leading to increased fears of Federal Reserve interest rate tightening, bond yields surging, a weakening dollar, animal spirits, the need for a "healthy correction" — and none of them have a thing to do with the rich asshole.
That's because the stock market is in its essence a reflection of the expectation of profit growth at individual companies and macroeconomic conditions more broadly. And the president's economic policy is only one part of a complicated calculus that factors into investors' actions.
the rich asshole can influence both the macroeconomic situation — and even the bottom lines of corporations (see: tax cuts) — for good or bad, but the president only wields so much power.
International factors, commodity prices, central bank moves, and a plethora of other moving pieces can bring down the major indexes, none of which the rich asshole could do a thing about.
Using the example of an economic report card, the rich asshole is accepting the performance of the entire class as his personal grade. So even if he passes every test, mistakes from others could cause him to fail.
Ex-RNC chair Michael Steele zings Nunes memo: ‘The Onion’ is mad you’re ‘stealing their material’
Michael Steele -- MSNBC screenshot
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Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele on Friday knocked House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) over the publication of a controversial memo alleging surveillance abuse by the FBI.
“The folks at @TheOnion after reading the #NunesMemo have sent a cease and desist order to the House Intelligence Committee for stealing their material,” Steele quipped.
The folks at @TheOnion after reading the #NunesMemo have sent a cease and desist order to the House Intelligence Committee for stealing their material.
The Onion, “American’s Finest News Source,” had in fact published a rather poignant article about the memo’s publication, posting a simple photo of Nunes along with the headline, “Breaking: Nunes Memo Exposes Deep Bias, Corruption In Devin Nunes.”
Another Onion story from today’s developments features a picture of the House Intelligence Committee chairman with the caption, “Nunes: ‘The American People Have A Right To Know The Contextless, Selectively-Edited Truth’.”
‘You’re asserting things that aren’t fact’: CNN’s Tapper uses GOP’s own memo to slap down the rich asshole-backing congressman
CNN's Jake Tapper (left) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL, right). Image via screengrab.
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In a heated exchange between CNN’s Jake Tapper and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), the host slammed the congressman for making claims that have no basis in fact.
The crux of the argument between host and interviewee stemmed from Gaetz’s repeated assertion that the infamous Fusion GPS dossier was the cornerstone of the FBI’s decision to surveil the rich asshole campaign operative Carter Page— a claim disputed by the House Intelligence Committee’s memo, which lists intelligence about former staffer George Papadopoulos as the reason it obtained surveillance warrants.
“I would point to the statements of [former FBI deputy director] Andrew McCabe before the intelligence committee,” Gaetz said. “Mr. McCabe said that the dossier was absolutely essential and but for the dossier, there would no FISA warrant to spy on Americans.”
“That warrant is what [House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin] Nunes claims McCabe said,” Tapper rebutted, “but I’m talking about an investigation, not just a warrant in October, but the investigation that began in July.”
“This counterintelligence investigation, according to the Nunes memo, begins in July because George Papadopoulos, as we know, said something to an Australian diplomat about how the Russians had dirty on Hillary Clinton,” he continued.
Tapper once again fact-checked Gaetz when he insisted for the second time during their exchange that the FBI used a Yahoo News article as a flimsy attempt to corroborate the Fusion GPS dossier.
“Congressman, you’re asserting a lot of things I don’t know to be demonstrable fact,” he said.
Watch below, via CNN:
Ex-CIA officer: This ‘piece of trash memo’ would have stopped me from reporting information about the rich asshole and Russia
Former CIA officer Robert Baer (Screengrab)
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Former CIA officer Robert Baer on Friday slammed the release of the “piece of trash” memo, drafted by staffers for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA), arguing if he “were an FBI agent in the field right now” he would “think twice” about reporting information on Russia and some rich asshole.
Baer was reacting to House Intelligence Committee’s decision to release a short document purporting to show evidence of surveillance abuses by the FBI. The decision to release the hyper-partisan memo has sparked outrage from intelligence leaders and Congressional Democrats.
“I’m worried about the FBI,” Baer admitted to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “If I were an FBI agent in the field now and picked up some information on Russia that was damaging to the president or even helpful, I would not report it. I would think twice about it.”
“I left the CIA—same thing,” he continued. “I reported stuff on Russian money coming into the campaign and, as the messenger, I became the target and I resigned from the CIA. It’s as simple as that.”
“What you’re having is an agency we depend upon to stop terrorism, FBI agents are putting their lives on the line,” Baer added. “You look at this—I’m sorry—it’s a piece of trash, this three-and-a-half-page memo. There’s nothing classified in it. It’s a partisan attack on the FBI. It’s going to do our institutions serious damage and I really worry about it.”
Watch below, via CNN:
the rich asshole fans go ballistic on Trey Gowdy after he says the Nunes memo doesn’t discredit the Mueller probe
Rep. Trey Gowdy speaks to Fox News on May 11, 2014.
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Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) on Friday said that the memo written by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) raised some concerns about the process by which FISA warrants are granted — but he also made sure to emphasize that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation is entirely legitimate.
“As I have said repeatedly, I also remain 100 percent confident in Special Counsel Robert Mueller,” Gowdy wrote on Twitter. “The contents of this memo do not — in any way — discredit his investigation.”
While this memo raises serious concerns with the FISA process, I have been and remain confident in the overwhelming majority of the men and women serving at the FBI and DOJ.
However, this statement did not sit well with fans of President some rich asshole, who angrily tweeted back at Gowdy that the Mueller probe must be completely disbanded on the basis of a partisan memo filled with cherry-picked information.
Read the top reactions below.
His investigation wouldn't exist without the illegally obtained FISA warrants.
ElectionsThis better mean he found out this info and is going after the real #russiaCollusion actors HRC DNC and all associates including those involved in the FBI and DOJ
how don't they? there never should have been an investigation. Mueller can't find nothing because there is NOTHING to find and they can't even make it up. #BuildTheWall #ObamaGate #LOCKTHEMALLUP #DrainTheDeepState #DrainTheSwamp #MAGA
Wrong Mr. Dowdy—I respectfully disagree. The investigation was based on a lie and should end immediately!!
How can the Mueller investigation be objective if Rosenstein, the man who appointed Mueller to investigate, knew the only evidence he had of Russian collusion came from Hillary?
Then what the hell is he investigating??? This is nonsense at the highest levels. Enough is enough!!
#Mueller was appointed by & reported to #Rosenstein. #Rosenstein signed at least one of the #FISA applications with knowledge of its credibility issues. How can the investigation NOT be discredited? I’m confused - please explain.
‘That’s it?’ Comey slams ‘dishonest and misleading’ House intel memo
Former FBI director James Comey testifies during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Mar 20, 2017 (Screenshot)
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Former FBI Director James Comey on Friday slammed the release of the memo, written by a staffer for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA).
“That’s it?” Comey asked, echoing criticism many have levied at GOP House intel members, who last week voted to release the controversial anti-FBI memo over objections from Democrats and leaders of the bureau.
“Dishonest and misleading memo wrecked the House intel committee, destroyed trust with Intelligence Community, damaged relationship with FISA court, and inexcusably exposed classified investigation of an American citizen,” Comey wrote. “For what? DOJ & FBI must keep doing their jobs.”
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Comey was abruptly fired by some rich asshole in May 2017 to, as the president explained, relieve “great pressure” from the Russia investigation. The former FBI director, who testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee in June of last year, has periodically issued public critiques of the president on Twitter. Friday, prior to the memo’s release, Comey ripped “weasels and liars” taking on the FBI—and compared critics of the agency to Joseph McCarthy.
According to the memo, Comey signed off on three Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants on Carter Page, and briefed the rich asshole “on a summary of the Steele dossier, even though it was—according to his June 2017 testimony—‘salacious and unverified.’”
‘Are you kidding me?’ National security lawyer tears apart Nunes’ ‘pathetic joke’ of a memo
Attorney Bradley Moss (Screen cap).
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The controversial Nunes memo is out — and one national security expert is decidedly unimpressed.
Bradley Moss, an attorney who specializes in litigating national security matters, has written a tweet storm in which he shreds the memo and says that he believes it amounts to a “pathetic joke.”
“This is the scandal??” Moss writes incredulously of the memo. “Are you kidding me?”
He then goes on to explain why there is simply no major scandal embedded within Nunes’ memo, and he says that British spy Christopher Steele’s personal biases against then-candidate some rich asshole are completely irrelevant to whether a FISA court should have granted the FBI a FISA warrant to surveil former the rich asshole foreign policy adviser Carter Page.
“The entire premise of its insuffiency is the fact that the FBI/DOJ didn’t tell the FISC that Steele was biased against the rich asshole,” he writes. “So the hell what? They’re not REQUIRED to reveal that in every case. Unless that bias somehow renders the information, in and of itself, unreliable, it doesn’t matter if Steele wore a ‘I’m with Hillary’ button. It’s irrelevant.”
Moss then went on to note that the Nunes memo confusingly admits that the FBI first launched its investigation into the rich asshole campaign based on the drunken boasts of former the rich asshole campaign aide George Papadopoulos, who bragged to an Australian diplomat that he knew the Russian government would release dirt on rival Hillary Clinton.
In conclusion, Moss says the FBI needs to clear this up by releasing the entire FISA application on Page — which he notes is usually between 50 to 100 pages long.
Read the whole tweet storm below.
2) The entire premise of its insuffiency is the fact that the FBI/DOJ didn't tell the FISC that Steele was biased against Trump. So the hell what? They're not REQUIRED to reveal that in every case. @OrinKerr did an exhaustive piece on the 4A issues for @lawfareblog
Unless that bias somehow renders the information, in and of itself, unreliable, it doesn't matter if Steele wore a "I'm with Hillary" button. It's irrelevant.
3) Release the FISA application. The FBI has to do it now. It would likely have been 50-100 pages. Release it.
HOLY SHIT! FAUX NEWS ACTUALLY SAID SOMETHING SMART!!!
Doug Schoen: Releasing the Republican memo risks the integrity of our criminal justice system
With the release of the House Republican memo Friday accusing the FBI and Justice Department of improperly using their surveillance authority against the rich asshole presidential campaign, I have a number of serious concerns.
Like most, I am concerned that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court relied on a partisan political document – known as the Steele dossier – that was funded by the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee to arrive at its judgment to permit surveillance of a former the rich asshole campaign adviser. I am certain many will weigh in on this aspect of the issue.
My greatest concern, however, is more fundamental. I worry about the consequences that the release of this memo has on the integrity and independence of our criminal justice system.
No doubt there are issues with the operations of both the FBI and the Justice Department throughout the course of the 2016 presidential election and during the course of the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in Russian meddling in the election.
But I would be deeply disturbed and worried if the result of the release of this memo led to the resignation or replacement of either FBI Director Christopher Wray or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
For the stability and the integrity of our system it would be deeply destructive to both the FBI and the Justice Department for their top leadership to depart, despite allegations of misconduct in the Republican memo. Many Democrats in Congress have sharply criticized the conclusions of the Republican memo.
The Justice Department and the FBI need to be independent. But of course, we need to get to the bottom of any problems with their conduct.
For these reason, I believe that we now need to release of the Democrats’ rebuttal memo that I understand Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. and his staff have prepared.
I will understand that – as with the Republican memo prepared by staffers for the House Intelligence Committee, chaired by Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif. – there will be concerns for national security with the release of the Democratic memo.
But the best – and indeed only – way to determine potential inaccuracies or misleading statements in the Nunes memo is the release of the Democratic counter-memo and a full discussion and public debate on the entire subject.
Again, there are many competing concerns here, not the least of which is national security. But for me – as an American and a patriot who puts his pride in America ahead of partisan identity – I am much more concerned today with the stability and integrity of our criminal justice system than I am with playing “gotcha politics.”
Sen. John McCain. R-Ariz., was exactly right Friday when he stated that the Republican memo serves “no American interests – no Party’s, no President’s, only (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s.”
The threats posed by Russia to our democratic system and values could not be more real.
At times like this, we must embrace transparency and the democratic values that unite us.
Only then can we get to the bottom of the issues examined by the Republican congressional memo and can our leaders move forward with the business of governing
Douglas E. Schoen is a Fox News contributor. He has more than 30 years experience as a pollster and political consultant. His new book is "Putin's Master Plan". Follow him on Twitter @DouglasESchoen.
Chuck Todd: Fox News obtaining memo excerpts early ' smacks of a partisan exercise'
BY JOE CONCHA - 02/02/18 02:00 PM EST
NBC's Chuck Todd said Friday that Fox News obtaining advance excerpts of a controversial memo written by House Intelligence Committee Republicans "smacks of a partisan exercise."
"The House Republican Intelligence folks are actually making their partisan case look even worse right now, because they are releasing excerpts of the memo already to friendly media outlets, almost trying to build a narrative and control the headlines, the early headlines, and help feed a feeding frenzy," the "Meet the Press" moderator said in an MSNBC appearance.
Both Fox and the Washington Examiner, a conservative newspaper in Washington, D.C., reported summaries of the memo shortly after President the rich asshole approved its release but before it was made public.
"If they were trying to make this seem like less of a partisan exercise, they are doing a ... horrendous job of it," Todd said. "This process has been so tainted by politics now on their end and as they are trying to allege politics tainting the process on the investigation end, and maybe that’s part of the plan. Maybe that’s OK with the president. Maybe that’s all about trying to just make this look like a political exercise, not a national security investigation."
"So tactically I get what they’re doing, but I think it only lessens the impact of the memo itself, because the whole thing just smacks of a partisan exercise," Todd concluded. "How they wrote the memo, how they released the memo and even now, how they, you know, it’s being released to the public, but some people get the memo first, from friendly media outlets."
"Again, this is what a campaign would do ... not an entity that cared about the rule of law and trying to be above politics or something."
The House Intelligence Committee in an unprecedented move released the previously classified memo that alleges abuse of government surveillance powers by the Justice Department in obtaining warrants to monitor the rich asshole campaign official Carter Page.
“The Committee has discovered serious violations of the public trust, & the American people have a right to know when officials in crucial institutions are abusing their authority for political purposes," Nunes said in a statement.
The Justice Department and FBI have both expressed staunch opposition to the memo's release, citing potential misconceptions of internal processes and the possibility of exposing intelligence sources and methods.
Democratic critics have said the memo was crafted specifically to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling, including any potential ties between President the rich asshole's campaign and Moscow.
the rich asshole weighed in on the memo in a brief statement to reporters, calling its findings "a disgrace."
“I think it’s a disgrace,” the rich asshole said of the alleged bias from the Oval Office. "A lot of people should be ashamed of themselves."
"If they were trying to make this seem like less of a partisan exercise, they are doing a ... horrendous job of it," Todd said. "This process has been so tainted by politics now on their end and as they are trying to allege politics tainting the process on the investigation end, and maybe that’s part of the plan. Maybe that’s OK with the president. Maybe that’s all about trying to just make this look like a political exercise, not a national security investigation."
"So tactically I get what they’re doing, but I think it only lessens the impact of the memo itself, because the whole thing just smacks of a partisan exercise," Todd concluded. "How they wrote the memo, how they released the memo and even now, how they, you know, it’s being released to the public, but some people get the memo first, from friendly media outlets."
"Again, this is what a campaign would do ... not an entity that cared about the rule of law and trying to be above politics or something."
The House Intelligence Committee in an unprecedented move released the previously classified memo that alleges abuse of government surveillance powers by the Justice Department in obtaining warrants to monitor the rich asshole campaign official Carter Page.
“The Committee has discovered serious violations of the public trust, & the American people have a right to know when officials in crucial institutions are abusing their authority for political purposes," Nunes said in a statement.
The Justice Department and FBI have both expressed staunch opposition to the memo's release, citing potential misconceptions of internal processes and the possibility of exposing intelligence sources and methods.
Democratic critics have said the memo was crafted specifically to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling, including any potential ties between President the rich asshole's campaign and Moscow.
the rich asshole weighed in on the memo in a brief statement to reporters, calling its findings "a disgrace."
“I think it’s a disgrace,” the rich asshole said of the alleged bias from the Oval Office. "A lot of people should be ashamed of themselves."
the rich asshole administration approves Medicaid work requirements for Indiana, thousands to lose coverage
"By announcing today’s approval, Secretary Azar is escalating the Republican war on health care and its effort to demolish Medicaid from the inside out."
The rich asshole administration approved Indiana’s request requiring some Medicaid recipients to work to get benefits on Friday, meaning thousands of people in the state could soon be without health insurance.
Under the new proposal, Indiana residents will need to work 20 hours a week, on average, or participate in a job training program in order to be eligible for Medicaid. The rule kicks off in 2019. The state would not require pregnant women, students, the homeless, and some other current recipients to work. The state expects the changes will affect 130,000 of the current 438,604 enrollees, and 33,000 of those people will lose coverage. Indiana officials say many Medicaid beneficiaries will transition to commercial health insurance.
The rich asshole administration announced last month that it would allow states to put in place work requirements for Medicaid recipients. Indiana is the second state whose Medicaid changes have been approved, following Kentucky in January. A handful of other states have also sought federal permission to amend their Medicaid programs, from adding work rules to mandating drug tests. One lawsuit has already been filed against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), intending to halt Kentucky’s policy changes.
Friday’s approved work rules expand on changes Indiana made to Medicaid in 2015. At the time, state lawmakers agreed to expand eligibility under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) if the state could also charge some adults monthly premiums and drop those who fail to pay for six months. The state’s Medicaid expansion plan, dubbed Healthy Indiana 2.0, extended care to roughly 240,000 people. But the way lawmakers decided to run their expansion kicked people off coverage. Kaiser Health News (KHN) reported that 71,000 people in the state lost or were prevented from enrolling in coverage because of the restrictive policy proposals implemented in 2015.
Indiana’s Healthy Indiana 2.0 plan was spearheaded by former Governor and now Vice President Mike Pence and then health consultant and current Medicaid department head Seema Verma. Verma said she would recuse herself from handling state applications she helped craft, as it would violate her federal ethics agreement, but Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) says she hasn’t and is investigating. Former Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price saidIndiana’s plan should be a model for other states. Many conservative states, including Kentucky, have followed Indiana’s lead by proposing to charge people who live in poverty premiums.
About 25,000 Indiana adults dropped coverage because they failed to pay insurance premiums. Only half were able to find another source of coverage. An additional 46,000 people were eligible for coverage but never enrolled because they couldn’t pay their first premium. While some people couldn’t afford to pay, others were confused by the administrative process, Kaiser Family Foundation’s Medicaid expert MaryBeth Musumeci said on Twitter. Many dropped coverage and remain uninsured:
Indiana’s new Medicaid changes are the first policy decision made by newly appointed HHS Secretary Alex Azar. The secretary also approved a premium surcharge to Medicaid beneficiaries who use tobacco and expanded access to substance use disorder programs.
“By announcing today’s approval, Secretary Azar is escalating the Republican war on health care and its effort to demolish Medicaid from the inside out. The rich asshole Administration is choosing to cause real pain in Indiana by letting the state make Mike Pence and Seema Verma’s cruel, failing Medicaid ‘experiment’ even worse,” advocacy group, Protect Our Care, said in a statement.
Republican National Committee endorses ban on transgender military service
The resolution called being trans "a disqualifying psychological and physical" condition.
On Friday, the Republican National Committee approved a resolution supporting President the rich asshole’s efforts to prevent transgender people from serving in the military. Calling being transgender “a disqualifying psychological and physical” condition, the resolution urges the Department of Justice to seek the Supreme Court’s intervention if need be.
Last summer, before President the rich asshole decreed on Twitter that he would be banning trans people from the military, House Republicans attempted to implement a ban through legislation. Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) proposed the ban as an amendment to the defense spending bill on the House floor, but it was narrowly defeated 209–214.
Trans people, including those currently serving and those seeking to soon enlist, challenged the rich asshole’s ban in four different cases. Four different judges in four different jurisdictions, as well as two U.S. Courts of Appeal, all ruled against the ban as being blatantly discriminatory. In late December, the rich asshole administration stopped fighting for its ban, and as of January 1, individuals who are openly transgender can enlist in the military for the first time. Several already have.
The RNC resolution suggests this change in the status quo would not deter Republican lawmakers from kicking all trans servicemembers out.
The Democratic National Committee was quick to respond. LGBTQ Media Director Lucas Acosta released a statement Friday calling the resolution “hateful” because of the way it “only serves to subvert and further demean hardworking men and women who want to serve their country in the most honorable way they can.”
“The RNC has proven they are more than willing to deny basic rights to LGBTQ Americans all while accepting money from an accused sexual predator and funneling money to an alleged child molester,” Acosta said, referring to the many women who have accused the rich asshole of sexual assault and the RNC’s support of Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore (R).
The 3 big lies in the Nunes memo, according to Democrats
It might be even worse than meets the eye.
On Friday, House Republicans and some rich asshole decided to release the Nunes memo, which purports to expose corruption and partisanship within the Department of Justice and the FBI. It suggests that surveillance of Carter Page, a one-time adviser to the rich asshole campaign, was based in part on a dossier funded by Democrats. The memo, taken at face value, falls well short of the hype.
But, in public statements and private comments to the press, Democrats are saying that at least three important claims in the document are incorrect.
Democrats say they have proof of these lies but are being blocked from making that information public. Adam Schiff and other Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee prepared a rebuttal to the Nunes memo with all the relevant facts but Republicans voted against making that document public.
The memo says the Deputy FBI Director testified there would have been no surveillance of Page without the dossier.
The heart of the memo is that the surveillance of Page would not have been possible without the Steele dossier. The memo says, “Deputy Director McCabe testified before the Committee in December 2017 that no surveillance warrant would have been sought from FISC [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court] without the Steele dossier information.” Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee say that is not true.
New: Two Democratic members of House Intel tell me McCabe did not say dossier was basis of FISA warrant, disputing central claim of #NunesMemo
Adam Schiff, the ranking Democratic member, also confirmed that only portions of the dossier were presented to the court and some of that information already had “corroboration.”
The memo says the FBI failed to notify the surveillance court about the funding of the Steele dossier.
The memo says that the surveillance court was not notified that funding for the Steele dossier came from supporters of Hillary Clinton. “The application does not mention Steele was working on behalf of — and paid by — the DNC and the Clinton campaign,” the memo reads. A statement released by Schiff says claims “that the FBI failed to alert the court as to Mr. Steele’s potential political motivations or the political motivations of those who hired him” are “not accurate.”
The memo says that an article by Yahoo News was used to corroborate the Steele dossier.
The memo spends a long time discussing an article in Yahoo News, claiming it was used by the FBI to corroborate the Steele dossier. This is important, according to the memo, because Steele was allegedly a source for the Yahoo News article and, therefore, the corroboration was circular. Schiff’s statement says “this is not at all why the article was referenced.” The statement does not elaborate, presumably because the actual use of the Yahoo News article is still classified.
Schiff’s statement also says there are other inaccuracies in the Republican memo which would be revealed by the rebuttal memo prepared by Democrats.
the rich asshole puts public, workers at risk as he tries again to eliminate nation’s chemical safety agency
Agency employees are currently investigating deadly natural gas well explosion in Oklahoma.
As part of his administration’s rollback of key safety and environmental protections, President some rich asshole wants to eliminate the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, a federal agency with a strong record of improving public safety. The proposed gutting of the agency comes as the rich asshole administration seeks to give a boost to the nation’s petrochemical industry as part of its “energy dominance” agenda.
As with his FY 2018 budget, the rich asshole’s new budget proposal will call for wiping out the Chemical Safety Board’s entire $12 million budget, Bloomberg News reported Thursday. The agency is charged with investigating major chemical fires, explosions, leaks, and other accidents.
The Chemical Safety Board, with its relatively small budget, plays an oversized role among federal agencies. In 2017, in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the agency was on the frontlines, looking into a fire and explosions at a chemical facility, owned by French company Arkema Inc., northeast of Houston. Fifteen sheriff’s deputies were sent to the hospital on the morning of August 31, 2017, after responding to the chemical fire and falling ill in the middle of the road.
The board was created as part of the Clean Air Act amendments in 1990 and began operations in 1998. The agency’s recommendations are often adopted by industry and government agencies. For example, the agency, with only 40 staff, investigated the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and has performed more than 130 investigations since it began operations in 1998. The agency is modeled after the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which investigates plane crashes and other major accidents. Like the NTSB, the Chemical Safety Board is an independent agency.
Most recently, Chemical Safety Board staff traveled to Oklahoma to investigate a natural gas well explosion that killed five workers. The agency is currently reviewing information about the drill site and plans to interview eyewitnesses and others who were present beginning next week, it said Wednesday in a statement.
The United States averages more than 1,000 industrial chemical accidents each year, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a nonprofit group that investigates reports of environmental crimes from government employees. Throughout its history, the agency has responded primarily to incidents with high consequences, including fatalities, injuries, more than $500,000 in facility damage, or significant environmental or community impact.
Starting in 2010, the agency prioritized eliminating an investigation backlog. The backlog peaked at about 22 open cases in June 2010 following the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig explosion and fire. In January 2016, a year before President Barack Obama left office, the number of open investigations has been reduced to seven.
Last year, after the agency learned of its proposed elimination under the rich asshole’s FY 2018 budget, Chemical Safety Board Chairperson Vanessa Allen Sutherland issued a statement expressing extreme disappointment with the president’s proposal.
“For over 20 years, the CSB has conducted hundreds of investigations of high consequence chemical incidents, such as the Deepwater Horizon and West Fertilizer disasters,” Sutherland said. “Our investigations and recommendations have had an enormous effect on improving public safety.”
The agency’s recommendations resulted in banned natural gas blows in Connecticut, an improved fire code in New York City, and increased public safety at oil and gas sites across Mississippi. “The American public is safer today as a result of the work of the dedicated and professional staff of the CSB,” she said.
Dems warn the rich asshole: Firing Mueller, Rosenstein would spark 'constitutional crisis'
BY JORDAIN CARNEY - 02/02/18 01:23 PM EST
Democratic leadership on Friday issued a warning to President the rich asshole that using a controversial GOP memo to fire special counsel Robert Mueller or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein would create a "constitutional crisis" not seen since the Nixon administration.
"We write to inform you that we would consider such an unwarranted action as an attempt to obstruct justice in the Russia investigation. Firing Rod Rosenstein, [Department of Justice] Leadership, or Bob Mueller could result in a constitutional crisis of the kind not seen since the Saturday Night Massacre," Democrats wrote in the letter to the rich asshole.
In addition to Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the second- and third-ranking members of Democratic leadership in both chambers, as well as top Democrats on the Intelligence and Judiciary committees in both chambers signed the letter.
The House Intelligence Committee on Friday released a previously classified memo accusing senior officials at the Department of Justice of inappropriately using a piece of opposition research into then-candidate the rich asshole to obtain surveillance warrants on transition team members as part of the federal investigation into the rich asshole campaign and Russia.
The release came roughly an hour after the White House said the rich asshole signed off on the memo's release without redactions despite fierce objection from the FBI, which argued it contained "material omissions."
Democrats argue the memo is meant to undercut Mueller's investigation into the 2016 election and potential collusion between Russia and the rich asshole campaign by using "cherry-picked" facts that lack context.
"The decision to release a partisan and misleading memo ... was a transparent attempt to discredit the hard-working men and women of law enforcement who are investigating Russia’s interference with our Presidential election and that nation’s ties to your campaign," Democratic leadership said in the letter to the rich asshole.
They added that they are "alarmed by reports that you may intend to use this misleading document as a pretext to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, in an effort to corruptly influence or impede Special Counsel Bob Mueller’s investigation."
The memo has sparked a wave of speculation that the rich asshole could try to use it as a basis for firing Mueller or Rosenstein, a the rich asshole-appointed official who named Mueller to be special counsel after the president fired then-FBI Director James Comey in May.
The White House and its allies have downplayed reports that the rich asshole could fire Mueller, though The New York Times reported late last week that he wanted to fire him in June but backed off after White House counsel Donald McGahn threatened to quit.
the rich asshole declined to say on Friday if he had confidence in Rosenstein, telling reporters: "You figure that one out."
The Nunes memo is a dud. Here’s what Republicans aren’t telling you about it.
This is a manufactured hysteria.
After spending weeks breathlessly advertising its allegedly “shocking” content, House Republicans released on Friday a six-page memo which accused officials at the FBI and the Department of Justice of politicizing the early stages of the investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the rich asshole presidential campaign.
The memo alleges that the DOJ and FBI used the infamous Steele dossier, compiled by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele, as a lynchpin in their application for a secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) warrant to monitor the rich asshole campaign associate Carter Page. The document was paid for, in part, by the Democratic Party and the Hillary Clinton campaign, and a third party conducted and compiled the research. This, in the eyes of House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA), makes everything the dossier has touched — including the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller — a poisoned chalice.
“Our findings… raise concerns with the legitimacy and legality of certain DOJ and FBI interactions with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court,” the memo reads. “[They] represent a troubling breakdown of legal process established to protect the American people from abuses related to the FISA process.”
But while conservatives are breathlessly describing the memo’s release as “beyond shocking” — thereby broadly claiming that Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian collusion has been irredeemably tainted — there are several gaping holes in this argument.
The FBI has said that the memo misleadingly excludes important information. And there are important questions about this timeline given that Page was apparently on the FBI's radar for years prior to the dossier's existence.
Here is the memo. It is short. It says:
1) Applications for surveillance of Page made use of info from the Steele dossier
2) The initial application didn't disclose Steele had been hired through Dems
3) Steele is biased and bad and talked to the media docs.house.gov/meetings/IG/IG…
Firstly, there’s the problem of Carter Page: it’s exceedingly unlikely the Steele dossier was the only reason to grant a FISA warrant to monitor him. He has a long history of meeting with dubious Russian officials. According to the Wall Street Journal, Page “has been known to U.S. counterintelligence officials dating back to at least 2013.” He met in 2013 repeatedly with Victor Podobnyy, who was later charged with trying to recruit Page as an informer while posing as a U.N. attaché to the Russian consulate. Page has confirmed that he knew Podobnyy. Even at the height of the rich asshole campaign, Page took two trips to Moscow where he boasted about his outreach with Russian legislators and “senior members of the presidential administration.” There were plenty of suspicious Russian connections that Page had which would have opened him up to scrutiny, but Rep. Devin Nunes’ memo would have you believe the Steele dossier was the sole basis for the surveillance on Page.
There’s also the issue of the FBI and DOJ publicly doubting the veracity of the memo. In a strongly-worded statement released on Wednesday, FBI chief Christopher Wray said the Bureau was provided with a limited time frame to review the memo before Republicans voted to release it. “The FBI was provided with a limited opportunity to review this memo the day before the committee voted to release it,” FBI chief Christopher Wray said. “As expressed in our initial review, we have grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.” Former attorney general Eric Holder went even further, saying that releasing the Republican version of the memo was “dangerous and irresponsible”.
In response to the FBI’s criticism, the rich asshole (who billed himself as the “law and order candidate” during the election) took the extraordinary step of publicly broadsiding his own FBI director Christopher Wray — a man the rich asshole himself selected as political nominee. After previously tweeting that Wray was “a man of impeccable credentials,” the rich asshole said on Friday that the leadership in the DOJ and FBI had “politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats and against Republicans.” It’s hard to imagine Wray suddenly became an anti-the rich asshole operative or Hilary sympathizer after assuming the office.
Finally, even if you accept the Republicans’ memo at face value — i.e. that Christopher Steele had been bought and paid for by scheming Clinton acolytes to falsely tie the rich asshole campaign to the Kremlin — that doesn’t explain why multiple sections of the dossier have been independently verified. For instance, it claims that former the rich asshole campaign chief Paul Manafort agreed to sideline talks with Russia on Ukraine for information about Hillary Clinton. Last year, the New York Times reported that Manafort had repeated contacts with Russian intelligence agents and previously registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act partly due to his pro-Russia work in Ukraine. Numerous law enforcement and intelligence have also confirmed that Michael Flynn was “regularly communicating” with Russian nationals — the evidence of “extensive conspiracy between [the rich asshole] campaign team and [the] Kremlin, sanctioned at the highest levels” which the Steele dossier claims.
Overall, the memo represents an attempt, by Republicans, to discredit the investigation into Russian collusion and save the rich asshole from its potential implications — a point that Democrats have been eager to emphasize.
“Chairman Nunes’ decision… to publicly release misleading allegations against the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation is a shameful effort to discredit these institutions, undermine the Special Counsel’s ongoing investigation, and undercut congressional probes,” Democrats on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence said in a press release. “It is tragic, if all too predictable, that this President would allow the release of the memo despite FBI and DOJ’s expressions of ‘grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the [Republicans’] memo’s accuracy’. But most destructive of all may be the announcement by Chairman Nunes that he has placed the FBI and DOJ under investigation, impugning and impairing the work of the dedicated professionals trying to keep our country safe.”
House Intel Dems: Nunes memo 'mischaracterizes, fails to provide vital context'
BY JULIA MANCHESTER - 02/02/18 01:04 PM EST
Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee ripped the Republican decision to release a controversial memo alleging surveillance abuses at the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday, saying the memo mischaracterizes sensitive information and fails to provide important context.
“The Republican document mischaracterizes highly sensitive classified information that few members of Congress have seen, and which Chairman [Devin] Nunes himself chose not to review," the minority said in a statement.
"It fails to provide vital context and information contained in DOJ’s FISA application and renewals, and ignores why and how the FBI initiated, and the Special Counsel has continued, its counterintelligence investigation into Russia’s election interference and links to the rich asshole campaign," the statement continued.
The memo accuses top DOJ officials of inappropriately using a piece of opposition research, known as the "Steele dossier," on then-candidate the rich asshole to obtain multiple Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) surveillance warrants on Carter Page, a former the rich asshole adviser.
It also claims that the FBI as part of that process provided information on former the rich asshole aide George Papadopoulos that triggered the federal probe into Russia's possible attempts to influence the U.S. presidential election — an investigation that led to the ongoing probe by special counsel Robert Mueller into possible the rich asshole campaign collusion.
Democrats say the claims made in the memo ignore dissenting facts in the underlying classified materials that specifically includes additional reasons why the FBI was interested in Page.
House Intelligence Committee chair Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and committee staff compiled the memo from classified documents provided by the DOJ. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, has alleged Nunes did not read the full underlying materials.
Conservatives say the document is "worse than Watergate," and that the evidence it contains could undermine Mueller's probe.
"The sole purpose of the Republican document is to circle the wagons around the White House and insulate the president," the minority said. "Tellingly, when asked whether the Republican staff who wrote the memo had coordinated its drafting with the White House, the chairman refused to answer."
The White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she was not "aware" of the White House working with Nunes to compile the memo.
President the rich asshole on Friday signed off on the memo's release despite strong pushback from the intelligence community.
Nunes used an obscure House rule never before used by the committee to override the classification of the document, saying the public deserved to know about its contents.
The memo was publicly released on Friday at noon.
Ex-Watergate prosecutor accuses the rich asshole of using Nunes memo to leak classified intel to Russia for a second time
Nick Akerman -- MSNBC screenshot
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Appearing on MSNBC Friday morning, a former Watergate prosecutor accused President some rich asshole of using the memo created by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) that criticizes the FBI as a way to provide confidential information to the Russians for the second time of his presidency.
Speaking with host Hallie Jackson, prosecutor Nick Akerman went so far as to state that the only person who will ultimately benefit from the release of the video is Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Following a clip of former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper calling the memo written by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) a “blatant political act” intended to smear the FBI, Akerman was asked for his opinion on the document expected to be released on Friday with the rich asshole’s approval.
“My reaction is this is extremely significant,” Akerman explained. “In fact the only party that’s going to gain anything out of this memo appears to be the Russians. because they’re going to have classified information about sources relating to our FISA process, how we go about doing the FISA process.”
Akerman went on to say that he expects actual revelations regarding the FBI attacks on the rich asshole to be a “dud,” adding it doesn’t prove anything.”
“But it is going to help the Russians and it is the second time that some rich asshole has released top-secret information to the Russians as he did in the Oval Office when he met with the Russian ambassador.
“But, wait a second,” host Jackson asked. “What about the Republican argument that this is about transparency. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) says it’s not about Robert Mueller, the special counsel, it’s not about [Assistant AG] Rod Rosenstein, this is about getting information out to the American public. Is there any benefit at all in your view?”
“None, zero,” Akerman scoffed. “This is not about transparency — you don’t have transparency when you have information that is top secret information. Being able to function and being able to function against known threats, such as the Russians — that’s the whole problem with this.”
“There’s no transparency, otherwise you wouldn’t have documents labeled top secret,” he concluded.
FBI Agents Association on memo: We won't allow 'partisan politics' to distract us
BY BRANDON CARTER - 02/02/18 12:53 PM EST
The FBI Agents Association on Friday released a statement saying the agency's rank-and-file would not "allow partisan politics to distract us” after the release of a previously classified GOP memo alleging abuse of government surveillance powers by the Justice Department.
“The men and women of the FBI put their lives on the line every day in the fight against terrorists and criminals because of their dedication to our country and the Constitution,” group president Thomas O’Connor said in the statement. “The American people should know that they continue to be well-served by the world’s preeminent law enforcement agency.”
The statement follows the release of a memo, written for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) by his staff, which accuses senior Justice Department officials of improperly using information from the so-called Steele dossier to obtain surveillance warrants on a member of the rich asshole transition team.
President the rich asshole announced Friday he approved the release of the memo, calling its revelations disgraceful.
“I think it’s a disgrace,” the rich asshole said. "A lot of people should be ashamed of themselves."
The White House made no redactions to the document, despite reported requests from law enforcement officials.
the rich asshole approved the release of the controversial document despite objections from top officials at the FBI and Justice Department, who said the memo contained misleading, incomplete and erroneous information.
On Wednesday, the FBI issued a rare public statement warning against the expected release of the memo, saying it has “grave concerns” about its contents.
The FBI Agents Association on Thursday release a statement of support for FBI Director Christopher Wray after Wray reportedly warned the White House against releasing the document.
READ IT: House GOP releases controversial Nunes memo that claims FBI conspiracy to take down the rich asshole
Rep. Devin Nunes speaks to a crowd at the Center for Strategic & International Studies. Image via CSIS/Creative Commons.
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House Republicans on Friday released a controversial memo written by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) that alleges a conspiracy within the FBI to bring down President some rich asshole.
the rich asshole approved the release of the classified memo, which claims to provide evidence of bias against him at the FBI and Justice Department.
The full memo is below:
HMTG-115-IG00-20180129-SD001 by RawStory on Scribd
Sean Hannity helped convince the rich asshole to release memo: report
Cristina Maza
Posted with permission from Newsweek
President Donald Trump has engaged in regular phone calls this week with Fox News host Sean Hannity about a controversial GOP memo that is said to malign the FBI, according to reports. Hannity later issued a strong denial of the story, published by the Daily Beast Thursday.
The memo was drafted by the staff of House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes and alleges that the FBI and Justice Department failed to provide adequate information to a judge when they sought to renew a U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court warrant for former Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page.
The Intelligence Committee voted Monday to release the memo to the public, and the president has until Saturday to decide if it should be released or will remain secret due to national security concerns. Many experts have asserted that releasing the memo would jeopardize ongoing investigations. The FBI also issued a statement alleging that the memo contains factual errors and does not paint an accurate picture of the FISA application submitted for the surveillance of Page.
“We have grave concerns about the material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy,” the FBI statement noted.
Nevertheless, the president appears to trust Hannity more than his own chief law enforcement officers. Sources informed the Daily Beast that the President speaks regularly with Hannity, who has been making inflammatory comments about the memo all week. Hannity is said to have helped persuade Trump that it is imperative that the memo be released publicly, and that he has insisted that the document will help reveal bias in the FBI against the Republican president.
It has previously been reported that Hannity has acted as an informal adviser to Trump during his presidency, while both men have frequently traded public praise of each other.
Still, following the latest report, Hannity shot back on Twitter, calling it "a total lie" and "fake news." The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Democrats have alleged that the memo has been drafted for the sole purpose of discrediting the FBI and the Justice Department and casting doubt upon the ongoing investigation into whether the Trump campaign collaborated with the Russian government to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
Trump has consistently stated that there was no collusion between his team and the Russian government, and has also said that there was no Russian interference in the presidential election despite the conclusion of multiple law enforcement agencies.
The memo was drafted by the staff of House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes and alleges that the FBI and Justice Department failed to provide adequate information to a judge when they sought to renew a U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court warrant for former Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page.
The top Leadership and Investigators of the FBI and the Justice Department have politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats and against Republicans - something which would have been unthinkable just a short time ago. Rank & File are great people!
The Intelligence Committee voted Monday to release the memo to the public, and the president has until Saturday to decide if it should be released or will remain secret due to national security concerns. Many experts have asserted that releasing the memo would jeopardize ongoing investigations. The FBI also issued a statement alleging that the memo contains factual errors and does not paint an accurate picture of the FISA application submitted for the surveillance of Page.
“We have grave concerns about the material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy,” the FBI statement noted.
Nevertheless, the president appears to trust Hannity more than his own chief law enforcement officers. Sources informed the Daily Beast that the President speaks regularly with Hannity, who has been making inflammatory comments about the memo all week. Hannity is said to have helped persuade Trump that it is imperative that the memo be released publicly, and that he has insisted that the document will help reveal bias in the FBI against the Republican president.
It has previously been reported that Hannity has acted as an informal adviser to Trump during his presidency, while both men have frequently traded public praise of each other.
Still, following the latest report, Hannity shot back on Twitter, calling it "a total lie" and "fake news." The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A total lie, Fake news. Phony “anonymous sources”. Amazing how the left wing media just makes Sh&)(: up. thedailybeast.com/sean-hannity-h…
Democrats have alleged that the memo has been drafted for the sole purpose of discrediting the FBI and the Justice Department and casting doubt upon the ongoing investigation into whether the Trump campaign collaborated with the Russian government to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
Trump has consistently stated that there was no collusion between his team and the Russian government, and has also said that there was no Russian interference in the presidential election despite the conclusion of multiple law enforcement agencies.
the rich asshole signals that he has no confidence in Deputy AG Rosenstein
BY JONATHAN EASLEY - 02/02/18 12:28 PM EST
President the rich asshole declined to say Friday whether he supports Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has been overseeing Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation.
the rich asshole’s remarks came just minutes after he authorized the release of a controversial memo written by the staff of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.).
“You figure that one out,” the rich asshole told reporters, when asked if he has confidence in Rosenstein.
Rosenstein appointed Mueller to the special counsel position and has been overseeing the investigation, meaning that the rich asshole would likely have to fire him if he chose to fire Mueller.
The four-page memo, which alleges surveillance abuses at the Department of Justice and political bias at the FBI, has become a partisan flashpoint in the Russia investigation.
But Republicans have been sounding the alarm over what they say is deep political bias and questionable intelligence used to launch the investigation into whether the rich asshole campaign officials had improper contacts with Russia. Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee blocked the release of a Democratic memo created in response to the Republican memo.
the rich asshole and his allies on Capitol Hill are furious with Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself, believing it paved the way for Mueller’s appointment by Rosenstein.
They believe Rosenstein is allowing the investigation to run too far afield from its original charter and have grouped him in with a handful of senior law enforcement officials accused of harboring anti-the rich asshole bias.
‘We are doing Putin’s job for him’: McCain shreds GOP for ‘partisan side show’ on Nunes memo
Sen John McCain (R-AZ) (Photo: Screen capture)
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Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) hammered his own party on Friday for launching partisan attacks on the FBI and the Department of Justice.
McCain began by recounting what Russia’s government did to American democracy two years ago.
“In 2016, the Russians engaged in an elaborate plot to interfere in an American election and undermine our democracy,” McCain said in a prepared statement. “While we have no evidence these efforts affected the outcome of our election, I fear they succeeded in fueling discord and dividing us from one another.”
McCain then tore into his Republican colleagues to seemingly ignoring this threat and starting a war with America’s law enforcement agencies.
“The latest attacks on the FBI and Justice serve no American interests — no party’s, no president’s, only Putin,” he said. “The American people must know all the facts surrounding Russia’s ongoing efforts to subvert our democracy, which is why special counsel Mueller’s investigation must continue unimpeded.”
McCain concluded his statement by accusing President some rich asshole of creating “partisan side shows” to distract from the investigation — and he said that if Republicans keep launching partisan attacks on American institutions, then “we are doing Putin’s job for him.”
Read the whole statement below.
.@SenJohnMcCain statement on "partisan attacks on the FBI and Department of Justice" out now:
"We are doing Putin’s job for him.”
Read the controversial Nunes Intel memo released by Republicans
BY THE HILL STAFF - 02/02/18 12:21 PM EST
The House Intelligence Committee on Friday released a classified memo alleging abuse of government surveillance powers by the Justice Department.
The memo’s release follows authorization by President the rich asshole, who was required to allow the public to see classified materials.
The memo was compiled by House Intelligence Committee staff, led by Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), from classified documents provided by the Department of Justice.
The Justice Department and the FBI strongly objected to its release.
Read the full, four-page memo below.
‘Come on, Jack!’ CNN panelist expertly rips apart the rich asshole supporter’s ‘deep state’ conspiracy theory piece by piece
Former Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon debates Jack Kingston on CNN (Screen cap).
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Former Clinton campaign press secretary Brian Fallon on Friday expertly tore apart a rich asshole supporter’s conspiracy theory about an FBI plot to bring down President some rich asshole.
Appearing on CNN with the rich asshole supporter Jack Kingston, Fallon walked through all of the major logical fallacies required to believe that the FBI was secretly in cahoots with Hillary Clinton to undermine the rich asshole’s presidency.
After listening to Kingston rant about the “bias” that the FBI now supposedly wants to cover up by objecting to the release of Rep. Devin Nunes’ (R-CA) controversial memo, Fallon laid waste to Kingston’s entire argument.
“This just goes to the heart of how crazy the entire conspiracy theory is that the rich asshole supporters are peddling to try to justify the release of this memo,” Fallon said. “If you think about the 2016 campaign, you had Jim Comey give that press conference in July, you had that letter being sent ten days out from the election, the e-mail investigation into Hillary Clinton was thick in the air throughout the entire campaign.”
Fallon then went on to note that while Comey saw fit to publicly reopen the Clinton email investigation right before the election, he never once publicly disclosed that the FBI was also investigating President some rich asshole’s campaign over its possible ties to Russian government officials.
Fallon then finished Kingston off by noting that the rich asshole’s own appointees — FBI Director Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein — would have to be part of the conspiracy theory.
“Think of the implications now of the conspiracy theory,” Fallon said. “Come on, Jack! Do you really believe Christopher Wray, some rich asshole’s handpicked FBI director, he could have picked anybody in the world he wanted for that position, he picked Christopher Wray. Do you now think Christopher Wray is part of some deep state conspiracy theory?”
Watch the video below.
House GOP releases cherrypicked excerpts of controversial Nunes memo to conservative outlets
Republican congressman Devin Nunes (Latvian Foreign Ministry/Flickr)
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The rich asshole White House on Friday declassified a controversial memo written by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) that alleges a conspiracy within the FBI to bring down President some rich asshole.
“”Congress will do whatever they’re going to do. But I think it’s a disgrace what’s happening in our country…A lot of people should be ashamed of themselves,” the rich asshole told reporters.
The House Intelligence Committee released excerpts the memo to the Washington Examiner and Fox News.
The memo has been slammed by Democrats for allegedly being misleading and for cherry picking intelligence to justify sweeping, unsupported conclusions. House Democrats are pushing to release their own memo countering the assertions made by Nunes, but they were voted down this week by their fellow colleagues on the House Intelligence Committee.
The release of the memo was also reportedly opposed by FBI Director Christopher Wray, as Bloomberg reports that he believes the memo’s conclusions are faulty.
According to the Washington Examiner, the memo provides four main points:
* The Steele dossier formed an essential part of the initial and all three renewal FISA applications against Carter Page.
* Andrew McCabe confirmed that no FISA warrant would have been sought from the FISA Court without the Steele dossier information.
* The political origins of the Steele dossier were known to senior DOJ and FBI officials, but excluded from the FISA applications.
* DOJ official Bruce Ohr met with Steele beginning in the summer of 2016 and relayed to DOJ information about Steele’s bias. Steele told Ohr that he, Steele, was desperate that some rich asshole not get elected president and was passionate about him not becoming president.
Humiliated by the FBI, the rich asshole unleashes pathetic lies in early morning tantrum
the rich asshole is plainly feeling the heat. But he keeps burning himself.
The mounting crusade against the FBI by some rich asshole and his allies in Congress has produced widespread backlash and a stinging rebuke from the FBI itself.
As it becomes clear that the memo created by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) and championed by the rich asshole to discredit federal law enforcement is likely political loser for Republicans, the rich asshole is clearly getting frustrated. Because early Friday morning, he started lashing out on Twitter.
“The top Leadership and Investigators of the FBI and the Justice Department have politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats and against Republicans – something which would have been unthinkable just a short time ago. Rank & File are great people!”
the rich asshole would do well not to throw stones, as he is a big part of the reason the FBI, once respected by both parties, is now a politicized issue. He sought loyalty from three senior justice officials, fired one who refused, attempted to fire the special counsel who was looking into that firing, and is now under investigation for obstruction of justice.
As for his claim that the FBI is working “in favor of Democrats over Republicans,” evidently he missed the news this week that Pete Strzok, the FBI agent whose text messages supposedly proved anti-the rich asshole bias, wrote the letter released by former FBI Director James Comey about re-opening an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails right before the election.
And it was the rich asshole whose original stated reason for firing Comey was his supposedly improper handling of that investigation in a way that was unfair to Clinton.
But the rich asshole did not stop with that attack. He followed up with a tweet quoting Tom Fitton, the president of right-wing attack dog group Judicial Watch, alleging FBI abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act:
This criticism is reportedly the thrust of the Nunes memo as well, but it is completely false.
First, the infamous dossier was originally commissioned by the Washington Free Beacon, a conservative publication. Second, the dossier actually confirmed much of the FBI’s existing intelligence, and was only part of the basis for the investigation. And third, this entire argument ignores the fact that to do all this, the FBI first had to convince a federal judge of probable cause and get a sign-off on a warrant.
the rich asshole does not seem to know or care about any of this, because it does not fit his narrative about being a victim of political targeting.
As Republicans further retreat into a bubble of their own facts, the law presses on relentlessly and undeterred.
the rich asshole ‘gave secret information’ to Russians at the White House — and it’s worse than we thought: Israeli reporter
President some rich asshole meeting with Russia's American ambassador Sergei Kislyak and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (via Creative Commons).
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An Israeli investigative reporter says President some rich asshole revealed highly classified intelligence to Russian officials in the Oval Office — and it’s much worse than what’s been previously reported.
The president met with Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and then-U.S. ambassador Sergei Kislyak at the White House the day after he fired FBI director James Comey, and he reportedly revealed classified information about an Israeli spy operation.
The president boasted to the Kremlin officials that he had fired “nut job” Comey to relieve pressure in the Russia probe, and he also blabbed “code-word information” about a Mossad operation against the Islamic State.
But Israeli reporter Ronen Bergman told NPR the president’s revelations were even worse than has been disclosed.
“The nature of the information that President the rich asshole revealed to Foreign Minister Lavrov is of the most secretive nature, And that information could jeopardize modus operandi of Israeli intelligence,” said Bergman, author of Rise and Kill First:The Secret History of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations.
Bergman, who said he has been pressured by the Israeli government for his reporting, said he could not publicly reveal the sensitive information the rich asshole disclosed to senior Russian officials.
“Most of it, we don’t yet know, and there were conflicting reports,” Bergman said. “I cannot – in order not to be part of disclosing secret information and jeopardizing Israeli and the U.S. ability to track down terrorists and proliferate, I prefer not to go into the details of that.”
The president has also pushed for the release of a memo prepared by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA), which Russian bots have also promoted on social media, that U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials say could reveal sources and methods for gathering intelligence.
“Just a year ago, I published a story that created a lot of controversy,” Bergman told NPR. “I said – and I was surprised to hear that from my sources in the beginning – that a group of American intelligence officers, in a regular meeting with the Israeli counterparts, just before the rich asshole was elected and before the inauguration, they suggested that the Israelis stop giving sensitive material to the White House.”
“They said we are afraid that the rich asshole or someone of his people are under leverage from the Russians, and they might give sensitive information to the Russians who, in their turn, would give that to Iran,” he continued. “They said we have evidence that part of the material that Edward Snowden stole from the CIA and NSA – and was not yet published – found its way to Iran, and we believe, of course, that he gave everything he had to the Russians.”
Bergman said Israeli officials were shocked by the highly unusual warning.
“They have never heard Americans say something of that kind about their chief and commander – about the president — and when, just few months after that, it turned out that everything – all the predictions that the Americans have made to the Israelis as warnings – not because they knew it was going to happen but they thought it might – everything came to be true,” Bergman said. “And President the rich asshole apparently gave secret information, and I know the nature of that information. It is indeed delicate and very, very secret.”
He said the rich asshole’s actions have greatly alarmed Israeli intelligence officials.
“Israeli intelligence feel that the American administration is in chaos – is in havoc,” Bergman said. “It’s not functioning properly – not intentionally, but that leads to further leaks. And they are very hesitant with sharing everything they have, as they did in the past, with their American counterparts.”
GOP memo alleges bias against the rich asshole in FBI probe
BY KATIE BO WILLIAMS - 02/02/18 12:19 PM EST
In a controversial and unprecedented move, the House Intelligence Committee on Friday released a previously classified memo claiming that the Department of Justice (DOJ) abused critical surveillance authorities in order to damage President the rich asshole's campaign.
the rich asshole declassified the document Friday without redactions despite fierce public objections from the FBI, which warned this week that the memo contained “material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.”
The four-page document, drafted by staff for Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), lays out a series of allegations that it says "raise concerns with the legitimacy and legality of certain DOJ and FBI interactions with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court." (Read the memo here.)
The memo paints a picture of a Justice Department fractured by bias against the rich asshole while he was a candidate — a claim repeatedly made by House conservatives. It does not specify any particular criminal statutes that may have been violated.
“The Committee has discovered serious violations of the public trust, and the American people have a right to know when officials in crucial institutions are abusing their authority for political purposes," Nunes said in a statement.
The memo accuses senior officials at the Department of Justice of inappropriately using a piece of opposition research into the rich asshole during the presidential race to obtain surveillance warrants on transition team members as part of the federal investigation into the rich asshole campaign and Russia.
According to the document, information from the so-called Steele dossier was "essential" to the acquisition of surveillance warrants on the rich asshole campaign aide Carter Page. It claims that then-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe told the committee in December that without the information from the Steele dossier, no surveillance warrant for Page would have been sought.
Then-FBI Director James Comey sought and obtained a warrant to spy on Page in October 2016, the document states. That was after Page had left the rich asshole campaign, and roughly three months after the Russia investigation began.
The memo alleges that the political origins of the dossier — partially paid for by Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) — were not disclosed to the clandestine court that signed off on the warrant request.
The document also claims that although the FBI had "clear evidence" that the author of the dossier, former British spy Christopher Steele, was biased against then-candidate the rich asshole, it did not convey this to the surveillance court when making its warrant applications. According to the document, Steele told then-Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr that he "was desperate that some rich asshole not get elected and was passionate about him not being president."
Democrats on the Intelligence Committee slammed the document as "mischaracteriz[ing] highly sensitive classified information that few Members of Congress have seen" and "fail[ing] to provide vital context and information contained in DOJ's FISA application and renewals."
They have drafted their own countermemo to rebut the Republican-drafted document, but the majority on the committee voted against making that document public earlier this week.
Still, the release from the Republicans does undercut one long-held assertion made by conservatives. Some GOP members have sought to raise doubts about the origins of the counterintelligence probe into the rich asshole campaign by suggesting that it was based entirely on the dossier.
But according to the memo, the investigation was opened based on "information" on another the rich asshole campaign aide, George Papadapoulos. The warrant application for Page mentions the Papadapoulos information, according to the memo.
The New York Times has previously reported that Papadapoulos bragged to an Australian diplomat that the Russians had damaging information on Clinton, before the hack of the DNC emails became publicly known. The Australian government tipped off the FBI, according to the Times, kickstarting the probe.
Papadapoulos has since pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators and is cooperating with the Russia investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller.
The memo from Republicans also does not address whether the information drawn from the Steele dossier was accurate. Surveillance experts have long claimed that the accuracy of the memo's allegations will be virtually impossible to assess without seeing the warrant application for Page.
The surveillance applications typically involve several layers of authentication of information. Justice Department lawyers often modify orders based on feedback from the court, and they must show probable cause that the target is acting as an agent of a foreign power.
The memo argues that that process failed in the Page application. It says the application "cited extensively" a 2016 Yahoo News article focused on a trip that Page made to Moscow that year, but "incorrectly assesses" that Steele was not the source of the story, according to the memo.
But according to committee Democrats, the FBI "had good reason to be concerned about Carter Page and would have been derelict in its responsibility to protect the country had it not sought a FISA warrant."
The memo that the Intelligence Committee Democrats are currently blocked from releasing lays out "what the FBI knew about Carter Page prior to making application to the court, including Carter Page’s previous interactions with Russian intelligence operatives," they say.
The Intelligence Committee has voted to release the Democratic memo to the full House — but not make it public. Committee Republicans have said the Democratic memo would need to be heavily redacted before being made public.
Friday’s dramatic release was set in motion earlier this week, when Intelligence Committee Republicans, led by Nunes, leveraged an obscure House rule never before used by the committee to override the classification of their document. They argued that its findings were serious enough to warrant public disclosure.
The underlying evidence behind the GOP memo remains classified. At least a dozen members of Congress have either viewed it or have access to it. Nunes has apparently not done so.
It is based on a slate of materials provided to the committee by the Justice Department itself, in a closed-door deal brokered by Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).
The Justice Department has claimed that the release of the memo is an abrogation of the terms of that deal, an assertion spokesmen for both Ryan and Nunes have rejected.
The Justice Department has claimed that the release of the memo is an abrogation of the terms of that deal, an assertion spokesmen for both Ryan and Nunes have rejected.
House conservatives have been touting the memo's revelations as “worse than Watergate” and hinted that it could prove the undoing of the federal investigation into the rich asshole’s campaign.
the rich asshole, who approved the release of the memo on Friday, called its findings “a disgrace.”
"A lot of people should be ashamed of themselves," he said.
The release of the document comes as the Justice Department has come under increasingly withering criticism from both the president and Republicans in Congress — and as Mueller has appeared to inch closer to interviewing the president.
The bureau fought to stop the release of the memo, saying that it had “grave concerns” about the accuracy of the document.
"The FBI takes seriously its obligations to the FISA Court and its compliance with procedures overseen by career professionals in the Department of Justice and the FBI," the FBI said in its statement. "We are committed to working with the appropriate oversight entities to ensure the continuing integrity of the FISA process."
Ahead of the document's release, Ryan privately urged House Republicans not to overplay its contents — and not to tie it to the Mueller investigation.
“First, there are legitimate questions about whether an American's civil liberties were violated by the FISA process,” he told reporters after the meeting.
“This is a completely separate matter from Bob Mueller's investigation and his investigation should be allowed to take its course," he said.
The release of the document comes as the Justice Department has come under increasingly withering criticism from both the president and Republicans in Congress — and as Mueller has appeared to inch closer to interviewing the president.
The bureau fought to stop the release of the memo, saying that it had “grave concerns” about the accuracy of the document.
"The FBI takes seriously its obligations to the FISA Court and its compliance with procedures overseen by career professionals in the Department of Justice and the FBI," the FBI said in its statement. "We are committed to working with the appropriate oversight entities to ensure the continuing integrity of the FISA process."
Ahead of the document's release, Ryan privately urged House Republicans not to overplay its contents — and not to tie it to the Mueller investigation.
“First, there are legitimate questions about whether an American's civil liberties were violated by the FISA process,” he told reporters after the meeting.
“This is a completely separate matter from Bob Mueller's investigation and his investigation should be allowed to take its course," he said.
Updated at 3:11 p.m.
Democrats are crushing Republicans at fundraising in the districts where it matters most to win back the House in 2018.
Democrats are crushing Republicans on fundraising — and they’re doing it in the congressional districts that are critical to winning back the House in this year’s midterms.
Bloomberg analyzed the data from 12 races for open seats and found that Democrats have collectively raised $23.3 million. That’s three times more than what Republicans have brought in.
Democrats need 24 seats to flip the House, and already, 34 Republicans have decided to retire rather than facing the coming blue wave and the likely prospect of losing their majority.
New Jersey Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, for example, announced this week that he will not seek re-election. Daily Kos Elections notes that Frelinghuysen’s fundraising had been “surprisingly weak,” especially for a 12-term congressman who “hails from one of the oldest political families in New Jersey.” Meanwhile, Democrat Mikie Sherrill — a former federal prosecutor, Navy pilot, and mother of four — has raised $1.2 million. The only other Republican in the race has raised a mere $8,659.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which raises money for Democratic House candidates, is also crushing its Republican counterpart in small-donor donations, which, as Bloomberg notes, is “often seen as a barometer of grassroots enthusiasm.” Democrats had banked $22.2 million by the end of 2017, while Republicans had a paltry $9.8 million.
Polling shows a looming disaster for Republicans at the ballot box. They aren’t helped by the rich asshole, who has insisted he will take to the campaign trail to “help” Republicans. He is so unpopular, he is more likely to weigh on the party’s candidates like an anchor instead.
Ohio Rep. Steve Stivers, who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee, recently admitted the rich asshole would be a drag in most competitive districts and couldn’t even name a single battleground district where he’d want the rich asshole to campaign.
Major donors and average Americans voters already see the writing on the wall, and their money is going to Democrats in anticipation of halting the rich asshole’s destructive agenda.
Former federal prosecutor warns CNN that the rich asshole’s actions are ‘existential threat’ to the FBI’s integrity
Former federal prosecutor Samuel Buell talks with CNN (Screen cap).
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Samuel Buell, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches at the Duke University School of Law, told CNN on Friday that President some rich asshole’s actions attacking the federal law enforcement officials represent an “existential threat” to the integrity of the FBI.
When discussing the possibility that FBI Director Christopher Wray should resign if the rich asshole White House releases the controversial Nunes memo against his wishes, Buell said that he hoped Wray would stay on initially.
However, he warned that the rich asshole’s actions were putting Wray on a collision course and could very well force Wray to resign in the coming weeks.
“This goes to another level, this isn’t ordinary procedure,” he said of the memo’s release. “He has to realize that we’re at an existential point here with respect to the integrity of federal law enforcement.”
Buell went on to lay down some markers for where Wray should draw the line and step down if the rich asshole goes too far.
“He should not resign over the release of this memo,” he said. “But if this memo is then used as a pretext to fire Rod Rosenstein and put in place someone who has the capacity to shut down Robert Mueller’s investigation, then I think Christopher Wray has to consider resigning over that. Because that is an existential threat to the integrity of an FBI investigation.”
Watch the video below.
the rich asshole’s first comments on the GOP memo reveal what this is really about
"You figure that one out."
During a brief interaction with the press at the White House on Friday, President the rich asshole alluded to what he’s ultimately hoping to accomplish by allowing the public release of a memo prepared by Republican congressional staffers alleging that intelligence community officials improperly used information from a political research group in FISA applications — and it isn’t the protection of anyone’s civil liberties.
“I think it’s terrible if you want to know the truth, I think it’s a disgrace,” the rich asshole said. “What’s going on in this country, I think it’s a disgrace… a lot of people should be ashamed of themselves, and much worse than that.”
the rich asshole ignored a question about if he’s “not concerned that the FBI doesn’t want the memo out,” but he did respond to a query about whether he still has confidence in deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein. The memo says Rosenstein “signed one or more FISA applications on behalf of DOJ,” and the rich asshole suggested he no longer thinks Rosenstein is fit to serve.
“You figure that one out,” the rich asshole said, alluding to Rosenstein’s job security.
That the rich asshole is using the memo to try and undermine Rosenstein — the top DOJ official overseeing Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation — isn’t a surprise. On Tuesday evening, the Washington Post reported that the rich asshole “has told close advisers recently that the memo could provide him with grounds for either firing or forcing [Rosenstein] to leave, according to one person familiar with his remarks.” Then, on Thursday, CNN reported that President the rich asshole is looking for ways to “discredit the Russia investigation,” with an eye toward perhaps firing the DOJ official overseeing it — namely, Rosenstein.
Numerous House Republicans have already indicated that they’ll continue to support the president even if he fires Rosenstein and appoints a new deputy attorney general who moves to curtail or end the Mueller investigation. Others, such as House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), are posturing that their support for making the memo public has to do with protecting Page’s civil liberties.
But the memo provides no indication that Page’s civil liberties were violated. All it indicates is that information that was originally gathered by a political research group that was compensated by the Democratic National Committee was used as part of an application to obtain a FISA warrant on Page. The memo even acknowledges that the origins of the counterintelligence investigation of the rich asshole campaign actually had nothing to do with Page, and instead can be traced back to another the rich asshole campaign foreign policy adviser boasting to an Australian diplomat that Russia had political dirt on Hillary Clinton.
That the rich asshole’s interest in the memo everything to do with his desire to curtail the Russia investigation was revealed on Tuesday, when he was caught on a hot mic telling a House Republican that he “100 percent” supported releasing the memo — despite the fact he hadn’t even read it at the time.
Attacked from all corners for his partisan defenses of GOP assaults on the FBI, House Speaker Paul Ryan now admits the public deserves to see the Democratic response to the Nunes memo.
The ongoing abuses of power and partisan assaults on federal law enforcement from House Republicans would not be possible without the blessing of House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Ryan has refused to condemn the rich asshole for obstructing justice or demanding loyalty from top Justice Department officials. Instead, he has proclaimed that we need to “cleanse” the FBI.
He has also given Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes carte blanche to promulgate his conspiracy theory-laden “memo” smearing the FBI in a transparent attempt to undermine and discredit investigations into the rich asshole.
But Ryan and his fellow Republicans have come under heavy fire for undermining the nation’s top law enforcement for partisan gain.
“I had many fights with Congressional Dems over the years on national security matters,” former CIA Director John Brennan said Thursday. “But I never witnessed the type of reckless partisan behavior I am now seeing from Nunes and House Republicans. Absence of moral and ethical leadership in WH is fueling this government crisis.”
Veteran journalist John Heilemann accused Ryan of advancing “the interests of Russia,” and the Washington Post editorial board stated he “bears full responsibility for the deterioration of congressional oversight of intelligence operations.”
Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer blasted Ryan for his refusal to rein in his fellow Republicans, in letters that also demanded he remove Nunes from his chairmanship on the intelligence committee.
“Under your leadership, dangerous partisanship among many House Republicans seems to have taken precedent over the oath we all take to protect our nation,” Schumer wrote.
Ryan scoffed that they are just “playing politics” because “the tax cuts are working.”
Faced with fury and politically boxed in, Ryan finally admitted on Friday that Nunes needs to stop blocking the release of a Democratic counterpoint memo to his own allegations.
“The speaker is in favor of greater transparency,” said a Ryan spokesperson. “If it is scrubbed to ensure it does not reveal sources and methods of our intelligence gathering, the speaker supports the release of the Democrats’ memo.”
This is a major blow to Nunes. He and his committee voted to block the release of the Democratic rebuttal to his memo, authored by ranking member Adam Schiff, even as Nunes lied to his own members and changed his memo’s contents behind their backs. Ryan’s statement means that Nunes, who sold his memo in the interest of “transparency,” now stands alone in obstructing transparency into his own committee.
But it is also a huge humiliation for Ryan himself, who spent months insisting, even in the face of an ethics investigation, that Nunes’ conduct has been completely unimpeachable.
Republicans rushed into a fight that they cannot win. And Ryan, for all his efforts, has no graceful exit strategy.
BY JORDAN FABIAN - 02/02/18 11:55 AM EST
President the rich asshole said Friday he approved the release of a controversial Republican memo alleging surveillance abuses at the FBI, escalating a feud between the president and the top law enforcement agency over the origins of the Russia investigation.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, the rich asshole suggested the document shows political bias at the FBI that tainted the probe into whether his campaign cooperated with Russia’s election meddling.
“I think it’s a disgrace,” the rich asshole said of the alleged bias. "A lot of people should be ashamed of themselves."
The decision cleared the way for the House Intelligence Committee to release the memo, which it did shortly after noon.
“It was declassified and let’s see what happens,” the rich asshole said.
White House spokesman Raj Shah said copies had been sent to Republican and Democratic members of the Intelligence panel and the office of Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).
Shah said the White House made no redactions to the document.
the rich asshole’s decision came over objections from the FBI and Justice Department, which said the memo contained misleading information and could compromise sensitive information.
In a rare public statement Wednesday, the FBI said it was “gravely concerned” that critical facts were missing from the document and painted an inaccurate picture of how the bureau sought approval to conduct surveillance in the probe.
Democrats have dismissed the document as a politically motivated attempt by the rich asshole and his GOP allies in Congress to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.
Democrats and some law enforcement officials fear the rich asshole might use the memo as basis to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who supervises the Mueller probe.
‘Isn’t there a commercial break?’ Ex-House intel chair tries to bail out of CNN interview on Nunes’ anti-FBI crusade
Former House Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI). Image via screengrab.
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The former Republican chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence went to great lengths on CNN to not criticize Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) — who took over his committee — when asked about Nunes using highly confidential intelligence information to attack the FBI.
Given his choice, retired Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) said he would rather the CNN host cut to a commercial, than answer the question.
Speaking with host John Harwood and Alisyn Camerota, the former lawmaker turned CNN analyst defended the FBI from both the attack by Nunes and tweets from President some rich asshole criticizing the agency.
Addressing the intent of the memo, Rogers explained, “If you really believe that a group of agents conspired with the Department of Justice to purposely mislead the judge in a FISA court, that’s a serious charge including and up to perjury. You can perjure yourself for application for a warrant. — that’s pretty serious. My argument would be, let’s find the right venue and Twitter is probably not the best place to do that. That the memo that doesn’t have all the information to make a good decision is probably the other place I wouldn’t do it.”
“You were the House intel chair,” co-host Camerota began. “The current House intel chair is Devin Nunes. What is Devin Nunes doing? Would you have put together a memo based on your talking points based on classified intelligence?”
“Boy, look at the time. Isn’t there a commercial break?” Rogers quipped.
“No, you have to answer this,” Camerota pressed. “You are the perfect person, you have lived in his shoes, you have walked in his shoes. What’s happening?”
“Yeah,” Rogers conceded. “I’m not sure why they would pick this route. There are other ways you can make your point if you’re worried about this. Again, my point here is if you’re really worried about maybe criminal behavior in the application of the FISA warrant, there are other ways to do it.”
“If you’re going to go after someone’s character or liberty, you better be right,” he continued. “You don’t do it by parsing out a political argument in a memo that clearly intelligence services and other members are saying doesn’t reflect the whole picture. I’m not sure what they want to accomplish. If they want to accomplish oversight in a committee that’s designed to be classified and be able to get all that classified information. I would argue that’s not the way to do it.”
Watch the video below via CNN:
U.K. intelligence agencies are alarmed at Republican plans to release their secret methods used to defend the world against crime and terrorism.
America’s closest ally is now concerned that the Republican Party’s anti-law enforcement smear campaign is endangering them.
The Telegraph reports that the partisan memo concocted by top the rich asshole defender Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) could compromise British spies. A congressional source explained to the paper that Britain’s security services would be “rankled” if the information is released to the public, as Republicans intend to do Friday.
The memo reportedly contains sensitive information on how U.K. intelligence agencies like MI5, MI6, and the National Crime Agency operate.
If the inner workings and methods of those groups are revealed as part of the Republican Party’s attempt to attack the FBI, it could cause the U.K. to think twice about assisting America in the future. As a top international ally, the “special relationship” between America and the U.K. has been a key force in combatting international crime and terrorism.
Intelligence sharing between agencies in both countries is used to protect the lives of millions of people on both sides of the Atlantic, including citizens in dozens of other nations.
the rich asshole has chosen to engage in total war against the FBI, in retaliation for the ongoing special counsel investigation into his relationship with Russian operatives during the presidential campaign and subsequent obstruction of that investigation.
He is being aided by Republicans in Congress, who have been given the green light to go on the attack against the agency from their leader, Speaker Paul Ryan.
This is not the first time that the rich asshole has angered the U.K. as a result of his paranoid conspiracies. Early in his administration, U.K. intelligence agencies were forced to publicly denounce allegations from the rich asshole administration that the U.K. had worked with President Barack Obama to wiretap the rich asshole during the election. British intelligence officials called that fantasy “utterly ridiculous.”
Lives around the world have been endangered, thanks to the actions of the rich asshole and his Republican allies.
Alliances rely on careful diplomacy to ensure international cooperation in pursuit of safety. the rich asshole, enabled by his fellow Republicans, is throwing that all away in a desperate effort to save his own political hide.
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