Tag: FBI

Through The Veil Of The Multi-Verse

If you are a fan of graphic novels then you will know about the travel between alternate realities….you know where everything is similar except for some small thing that changes everything.

Now for as long as I can remember the GOP has been the Law and Order party…..a platform strong on the rule of law…..and the Dems were those, according to the Conservs, that were soft on the rule of law.

Somewhere after watching the antics of the GOP in the last year we all stepped through some fog and into an alternate universe.

The aggressive Republican attacks on the FBI are the latest sign — if one were needed — that President Donald Trump has upended the longstanding norms of Washington, as he and his allies in Congress seek to undermine the one institution of government that conservatives have typically seen as a bastion of integrity and law-and-order.

Since at least the dawn of the New Deal, Republicans have excoriated any number of government entities (the Tennessee Valley Authority, the State Department, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) as woolly-headed, hyper-regulatory and riddled with liberals — or worse.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/03/conservatives-fbi-trump-republicans-389076

And who would have imagined 40 years ago that the GOP would be defending Russia and attacking our main law enforcement agency?

I am still scratching my head……the same people that attacked me for saying anything remotely positive about Russia are now on Team Russia and are never saying anything negative about the situation with Russia.

The people that chanted “America:  Love It Or Leave It” are now basically saying “Leave Russia Alone”…..who knew such a reversal could or would take place?

Finally, Comey Speaks

Okay the big day has come and gone….the only part we mere mortals will get is the public hearing the rest will be behind closed doors…..

So far I have read a couple dozen analysis of the hearing and most did bot watch or listen to the thing at all…..they hated Comey from the start and they let that hate cloud everything they do….but I have come to expect that from the Right…they will write little unless it is negative and hateful.

My opinion…..Comey was composed and straight forward in his answers…GOP members were the typical grandstanding and sniping…partisan BS…the only GOPer that impressed me was the chairman Sen. Burr…he was professional and statesman-like…McCain seemed like he was in a drug haze and made little sense…..the Dems were well the Dems….only Angus and Warner actually had anything intelligent to ask…….the rest was just throwing crap at the wall……both sides git their grandstanding in for the folks back home…..

I am sure that there are some out there that saw it completely different because…..well…..because they are just partisan and will like nothing said as an answer (and that is as polite as I am going to be)…

So there is much that needs to be said about this hearing so I will break it down…..

The highly anticipated testimony of James Comey before the Senate Intelligence Committee is underway, and he’s being grilled on his private conversations with President Trump. The former FBI chief’s opening statement was released in advance, and in it he talks about how Trump asked him for loyalty and suggested that he ease off the investigation of Michael Flynn. (“He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”) But did Trump cross the line into obstruction of justice? (At least one analysis thinks not, based on the opening statement.) That’s part of what senators will be trying to figure out. Outlets such as CNN are providing live coverage. Some standout lines:

  • ‘Lies’: After his firing, Comey says “the administration chose to defame me and more importantly the FBI by saying the organization was in disarray, that it was being poorly led, that the workforce had lost faith in its leader. Those were lies, plain and simple.”
  • Key question: GOP Sen. Richard Burr, the committee chair, asked Comey if Trump asked him to stop the Russia investigation. Comey’s response: “Not to my understanding, no,” per the Guardian.
  • Key quote: “I don’t think it’s for me to say whether Trump obstructed justice,” Comey said to Burr.
  • Why the detailed notes? “I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting,” Comey said of Trump, when asked why he began chronicling their meetings.
  • A distinction: GOP Sen. James Risch, referring to Trump’s request on the Flynn investigation: “He did not direct you to let it go. He did not order you to let it go. He said ‘I hope.'” Comey’s takeaway: “I took it as a direction. He’s the president of the United States, with me alone, saying, ‘I hope this.’ I took it as this is what he wants me to do.”
  • No Trump inquiry: “While you were director, the president of the United States was not under investigation, is that a fair statement?” Risch asked. “That is correct.” replied Comey.
  • Tapes: Comey told Sen. Dianne Feinstein that he’d seen Trump’s tweet about possible tapes of their conversations. “Lordy, I hope there are tapes,” he said.
  • Russian hacking: “There should be no fuzz on this whatsoever,” said Comey. “The Russians interfered in our election in the 2016 election cycle … and that’s about as unfake as you can get.”
  • Date night: Comey said he had to break a date with with his wife to dine with Trump, who had personally called to issue the invitation. “In retrospect, I love spending time with my wife, I wish I had been there that night.”  (He will pay for this later, LOL)
  • Just ‘a matter’: Comey said he felt “queasy” when Loretta Lynch, attorney general under President Obama, suggested altered language about the FBI’s inquiry into Hillary Clinton’s email. “I wanted to know, was she going to authorize us to confirm we had an investigation. And she said: ‘Yes, but don’t call it that. Call it a matter.’” He did so when announcing it.
  • Memos: He said he has turned over all his Trump memos to special counsel Robert Mueller.
  • Leak: Comey admitted asking a friend to leak his Trump memo to the press.

But if you do not like my breakdown of the hearing then you can go and read the full text of the hearing and make up your own analysis…..

A transcript of Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Source: Full text: James Comey testimony transcript on Trump and Russia – POLITICO

After all is said and done nothing has really changed…..if you dislike Trump then you still dislike Trump and if you are a Trump boot licker then you are still licking those boots.

Now behind closed doors may be a different story….but we may never know…..

5 Things To Watch In Comey’s Testimony

If you are a political junkie and are planning to watch the Congressional Hearing today then there are a few things you need to watch for during the event……

There is a guide…….

The hearing marks the former FBI director’s first public remarks since Trump abruptly fired him last month.

Trump ousted Comey on May 9, amid an investigation into whether the president’s associates aided a Russian effort to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. And on Wednesday, Comey described for the first time a series of uncomfortable interactions — in the months before his firing — in which Trump nudged Comey to publicly absolve him of any connection to the Russia probe. According to Comey’s prepared testimony, the president also demanded loyalty and asked Trump to go easy on Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser, who is under FBI investigation.

Source: 5 things to watch in Comey’s testimony on Trump and Russia – POLITICO

This will be a show not to miss…..no matter which way you swing……it is must see TV!  Don’t forget to keep an eye on Twitter also.

Great fun will be had by all.

James Comey’s Prepared Statement

Before I turn IST over to the USS Liberty…….

Today is the big day…..the Congressional Hearing…..if you will be watching then prepare yourself with a quick read of Comey’s opening statement….

The remarks were published on the Senate Intelligence Committee’s website. In those seven pages, Comey detailed his interactions with President Donald Trump on several occasions.

Source: Read James Comey’s prepared statement before Thursday’s Senate hearing | PBS NewsHour

Enjoy!

Tomorrow Is The Big Day

The day so many have waited on to arrive and it will…..tomorrow…..the MSM will be primed for anything that can lead the news……

But really what do we expect to hear tomorrow?

A high-profile hearing could bring long-awaited answers about President Donald Trump’s interactions with ousted FBI director James Comey.

Or it could bring a lot of “I can’t answer that question in an open setting.”

Since Trump fired Comey May 9 — yes, it’s only been a month — lawmakers, the media, and much of the public, have been eager to hear Comey tell his side of the story about the FBI’s investigation into Russia and the 2016 election.

Source: 6 questions about James Comey’s upcoming Senate hearing, answered | PolitiFact

My thought is….very little will be heard in open hearings….my guess is closed door hearings will produce more into to the Congress.

The Ghost Of Watergate

It looks like the year 1972 has come a calling……I am speaking of the Watergate  scandal that rocked the Nixon presidency that led to his resignation.

There has been a wealth to write about with the Russia thing and the Flynn thing….there have been several investigations started to look into whether there has been any wrong doings or a cover-up.

Like the Watergate thing we are having causalities….political causalities…..

The director of the FBI, James Comey, has been fired by the Trump admin……

James Comey has been fired as FBI director by President Trump, the AP reports. ABC News tweeted a copy of the White House statement on the matter, which says that Trump acted “based on the clear recommendations of both Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.” Trump says the move will mark “a new beginning for our crown jewel of law enforcement.” Senior government officials tell the New York Times that Sessions was given the job of coming up with a reason to fire Comey last week. Democratic leaders point out that Sessions had recused himself from the investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign—an investigation Comey was leading, the New York Daily News reports.

Rosenstein says Comey was fired for his handling of the Clinton email situation, saying he “cannot defend” Comey’s behavior, the Times reports. Both Sessions and Trump had previously praised Comey’s actions leading up to the election. According to Talking Points Memo, Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer wonders if the Russia investigation was “getting too close to home” for Trump and calls for a special prosecutor to continue the investigation. CNN has a copy of Trump’s termination letter to Comey, in which Trump says he “greatly appreciate[s]” Comey assuring him, “on three separate occasions,” that he is not under investigation, but nonetheless he does not believe Comey can effectively lead the FBI. Comey, who was only three years into a 10-year term, learned of his firing from television reports, which began airing on screens behind him as he spoke to FBI employees in LA. The letter was subsequently delivered to FBI headquarters.

There will be much written in the next few days…..so let my start with a rundown……

  • The abrupt firing puts the future of the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign’s alleged links to Russia and Democrats are calling for a special prosecutor to continue the probe, the Wall Street Journal reports. Most Republicans didn’t go that far, though Sen. John McCain called for the creation of a special congressional committee.
  • The BBC looks at the letter from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein recommending Comey’s firing. Rosenstein cites Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, especially his “usurpation” of authority in announcing that the probe would be closed without charges.
  • ABC has Trump’s letter firing Comey in full. “While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau,” the president writes.
  • Politico spoke to a wide variety of experts about the constitutionality of the move, and received a wide range of answers, with some declaring a constitutional crisis and others saying Trump made a completely correct call. Comey’s “mishandling of the Clinton investigation and his usurpation of prosecutorial decisions” would have been enough to get him fired under any administration, according to University of Virginia law professor Saikrishna Prakash.
  • Aaron Blake looks at comments Trump has made about Comey and the Clinton investigation in recent weeks and concludes that the president was looking for an excuse to fire the FBI director. By misstating facts about the Clinton investigation at a Senate hearing, Comey gave Trump the excuse he needed, Blake writes at the Washington Post.
  • The AP looks at key moments leading up to Comey’s firing, including his letter to Congress Tuesday correcting earlier testimony.
  • Axios answers seven questions about the firing, including what happens next: Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe will take charge until the Senate confirms a replacement.
  • Democratic Sen. Bob Casey was among those calling the firing “Nixonian,” though the Richard Nixon Library begged to differ, reports CNN. Nixon “never fired the director of the FBI,” the library tweeted.

These days of bullshit news appearance is everything….and this action will make Trump appear guilty of something least of all a cover-up.  This action will create many questions and the best way to get to the heart of the matter will be with a special prosecutor…..

Will the ghosts of 1972 return?

Who will be the next victim?

Closing Thought–03Apr17

Americans are starting to think more an more about their privacy……most of which we have relinquished due to the hunt for would-be terrorists….law enforcement is determined to keep the country and its citizens safe….but at what price?

I know if you watch any TV you have seen where the “good guys” looking for a “bad guy” will run a picture through a facial recognition program trying to put a name to the face.

So you think that some of that is pretty far fetched?

Think again!

Now this is a happy thought (sarcasm)…….

Approximately half of adult Americans’ photographs are stored in facial recognition databases that can be accessed by the FBI, without their knowledge or consent, in the hunt for suspected criminals. About 80% of photos in the FBI’s network are non-criminal entries, including pictures from driver’s licenses and passports. The algorithms used to identify matches are inaccurate about 15% of the time, and are more likely to misidentify black people than white people.

These are just some of the damning facts presented at last week’s House oversight committee hearing, where politicians and privacy campaigners criticized the FBI and called for stricter regulation of facial recognition technology at a time when it is creeping into law enforcement and business

Source: Out Of Control: Half Of All Americans Are Already In FBI’s Facial Recognition Database

Big Brother Is Watching!

That does it for today…I am off to teach my class….but never fear I shall return tomorrow with lots more stuff…..chuq

Investigation: The “Bots” Did It!

Beware of the “Bots”.

We all have heard the accusations about the 2016 election and the meddling by Russia……they, the FBI, is focusing on the social media as their investigations progresses……

Today, it’s social media bots, with investigators looking into the question of whether sites publishing pro-Trump news, of which Breitbart News and InfoWars were singled out by sources, were “assisting Russia’s operatives” in getting Trump elected.

There’s seemingly no evidence of that, but certain bots were flooding Facebook and Twitter with links to the “pro-Trump stories” from the two media outlets, along with Russia’s Sputnik News and RT. Officials are also claiming some of the stories “were false.”

While social media bots are ubiquitous, the FBI appears to believe that this could lead to a link between the sites and Russia. Rep. Adan Schiff (D – CA), always eager to push the Trump-Russia narrative, says it amounts to “circumstantial evidence of collusion,” and suggested that Congress would get involved to investigate the “deception” by the media outlets.

There is little doubt that someone somewhere manipulated the social media and the news with crap…..and the FBI is looking at two of the biggest crap generators

As part of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) inquiry into collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election, hard-right media outlets are facing scrutiny.

Outlets including Breitbart News and Infowars are being investigated by the FBI Counterintelligence Division to see exactly what their role was in the Russian manipulation of last year’s election. Their part in spreading pro-Trump news and anti-Hillary rumors happen to have coincided with “operatives for Russia [who] appear to have strategically timed the computer commands, known as ‘bots,’ to blitz social media with links to the pro-Trump stories.”

According to Journalists Peter Stone and Greg Gordon: “The bots’ end products were largely millions of Twitter and Facebook posts carrying links to stories on conservative internet sites such as Breitbart News and InfoWars, as well as on the Kremlin-backed RT News and Sputnik News. Some of the stories were false or mixed fact and fiction.”

Source: FBI Investigating Infowars, Breitbart for Colluding with Russia to Manipulate the 2016 Election | Top US & World News | Susanne Posel

Also it appears that some of those around Trump may have been playing hide the weenie with Russia…..people like Flynn, Manafort, and on and on……

The FBI has information that indicates associates of President Donald Trump communicated with suspected Russian operatives to possibly coordinate the release of information damaging to Hillary Clinton’s campaign, US officials told CNN.

This is partly what FBI Director James Comey was referring to when he made a bombshell announcement Monday before Congress that the FBI is investigating the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, according to one source.
Source: US Officials Say Evidence Suggests Trump Associates May Have Coordinated with Russians | World Affairs Journal
This issue is becoming interesting…there is so many twists and turns that it is playing like a Guy Richie movie…..
There is one more thing….to get into a official press conference one must have the proper credentials….we already have nutjobs on the Right with them and now a new player wants to get into the fun……

Russian state-owned news outlet Sputnik has applied for a White House press pass, Politico reported Friday.

Sputnik is applying to be a member in the White House Foreign Press Group, which would give it a chance to be a part of a group of about 22 foreign outlets covering Trump alongside pool reporters from U.S. news sources.

The White House Foreign Press Group head Philip Crowther told Politico that if Sputnik meets the required criteria, there “shouldn’t be any reason” for the Russian publication to not join the press pool.The requirements would include a membership in the White House Correspondents’ Association, a verification by the State Department that Sputnik is based in Russia, and a White House-approved hard pass.

Interesting…..with all the hub-bub about Russia these days….will they be permitted into the inner sanctum of news?

From The Manure Pile Of A Cover-Up

I apologize to my readers for the large number of posts today and probably for the week…..I have 30 drafts in waiting and need to get them cleared out for events will start spiraling soon and I need the space….enjoy.

Not since Nixon and Reagan and possibly Clinton has there been a hint of a possible cover-up….but don’t you know that if anyone would be capable of a cover-up it would be Trump and the malignant toads that surround him.

What I am referring to is the meeting between Rancid Prius and the FBI…..

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus asked a top FBI official to dispute media reports that President Trump’s campaign advisers were frequently in touch with Russian intelligence agents during the election, a White House official told the AP late Thursday. The official said Priebus’ request came after the FBI told the White House it didn’t believe a New York Times report last week describing those contacts. As of Thursday, the FBI had not stated that position publicly and there was no indication it planned to. The White House official would not comment when asked if the administration was concerned about the appropriateness of Priebus’ communications with FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.

Priebus’ discussion with McCabe sparked outrage among some Democrats, who said he was violating policies intended to limit communications between the law enforcement agency and the White House on pending investigations. “The White House is simply not permitted to pressure the FBI to make public statements about a pending investigation of the president and his advisers,” says Michigan Rep. John Conyers. CNN reports that after it first reported the discussion, White House press secretary Sean Spicer disputed their account. “We didn’t try to knock the story down,” he said. “We asked them to tell the truth.” The FBI declined to comment.

Do you think that some media reported on this meeting is the reason they are barred from the White House?

Of course according to the Trump camp and the throngs of adoring worshipers this is a “fake” story.  And to control these “fake Stories”…..the Trump clown show has decided to secretly go after anyone who commits the damnable crime of leaking…..and then there was a oops! moment……

Now even White House leak crackdowns are leaking to the press. At a meeting called by press secretary Sean Spicer, staffers were told to dump their phones on a table for a “phone check,” to prove they had nothing to hide. New security measures include random phone checks of staffers, overseen by White House attorneys.

Source: Spicer Leak Crackdown Leaked to Press | RealClearInvestigations

You just cannot make-up a comedy sketch like this one…..gets NO better than this….now does it?

Will There Be Freedom Of The Press?

Praise the internet gods!  My connectivity has returned……(for now)…….

In the past year there has been an uproar about “fake news”….both sides claim the other is the fake and no one but them can know what is true and what is false.  Of course when this type of debate rages there will always be one side or the other that claims something about the freedom of press, which usually includes that old thing about free speech.

I wrote a post earlier about “free speech” and what it means……

Source: That Thing Called “Free Speech” – In Saner Thought

The 1st amendment and the 2nd are about the only ones that most Americans know by heart (that may be a bit of a stretch)…..but just in case….

The right, guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, to gather, publish, and distribute information and ideas without government restriction; this right encompasses freedom from prior restraints on publication and freedom from Censorship.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads, in part, “Congress shall make no law… abridging the Freedom of Speech, or of the press.” The courts have long struggled to determine whether the Framers of the Constitution intended to differentiate press freedom from speech freedom. Most have concluded that freedom of the press derives from freedom of speech. Although some cases and some legal scholars, including Justice Potter Stewart, of the U.S. Supreme Court, have advocated special press protections distinct from those accorded to speech, most justices believe that the Freedom of the Press Clause has no significance independent of the Freedom of Speech Clause.

Okay I got you caught up a bit……

The reason I brought up the quick lesson was because of something that is happening….looks like the FBI will have an easy time spying on journalists…..

Secret FBI rules allow agents to obtain journalists’ phone records with approval from two internal officials — far less oversight than under normal judicial procedures.

The classified rules, obtained by The Intercept and dating from 2013, govern the FBI’s use of national security letters, which allow the bureau to obtain information about journalists’ calls without going to a judge or informing the news organization being targeted. They have previously been released only in heavily redacted form.

Media advocates said the documents show that the FBI imposes few constraints on itself when it bypasses the requirement to go to court and obtain subpoenas or search warrants before accessing journalists’ information.

Source: Secret Rules Make It Pretty Easy for the FBI to Spy on Journalists

This does NOTHING to protect the concept of a “Free Press”….and Obama help this process before he left office……

Source: The Birth Of The “Ministry Of Truth” – In Saner Thought

Do you feel much safer now?