The "Memo"
The House Intelligence Committee has released its controversial memo outlining alleged abuses of secret surveillance by the FBI and Justice Department in the Trump-Russia investigation. Here are some key points:
* The Steele dossier formed an essential part of the initial and all three renewal FISA applications against Carter Page.
* 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 Donald Trump not get elected president and was passionate about him not becoming president.
The FBI and Justice Department mounted a monthslong effort to keep the information outlined in the memo out of the House Intelligence Committee's hands. Only the threat of contempt charges and other forms of pressure forced the FBI and Justice to give up the material.
Once Intelligence Committee leaders and staff compiled some of that information into the memo, the FBI and Justice Department, supported by Capitol Hill Democrats, mounted a ferocious campaign of opposition, saying release of the memo would endanger national security and the rule of law.
But Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes never wavered in his determination to make the information available to the public. President Trump agreed, and, as required by House rules, gave his approval for release.
Finally, the memo released today does not represent the sum total of what House investigators have learned in their review of the FBI and Justice Department Trump-Russia investigation. That means the fight over the memo could be replayed in the future when the Intelligence Committee decides to release more information.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/house-intel-memo-released-what-it-says/article/2647937
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The 'memo' cites unsubstantiated information.
It claims that Steel was an FBI informant and was suspended and then terminated. There is NO evidence to support that claim.
It also infers that the FBI paid Steele for the dossier. That is false. Though it is true that the FBI talked about paying Steele to continue his investigation, no money ever changed hands and Steele had already given the dossier to the FBI FREE OF CHARGE.
The 'memo' also refers to a statement that the Committee staff claims that McCabe made in a Closed hearing. They must now release the transcript of the hearing to PROVE that McCabe said what they claim he said.
I find it ironic that Nunes' staff decries that the FISA Application doesn't mention the perceived political bias of Steele, Ohr and his wife, Lisa Page and Peter Strzok yet the 'memo' fails to mention the political bias of it's own authors.
Probably because it's own authors aren't spying on the opposition and using political bias to mislead a FISA court. They're politicians. They're expected to be biased to their party. FBI agents are not.
Trump DENIED that Carter Page had ANYTHING to do with his campaign.
So how could the FBI be spying on 'the opposition' if 'the opposition' had NOTHING to do with Page? Hmmm?
Wait, there's more...
CNN Transcript: Sept. 2016
BTW, Conway became Trump's Campaign manager in August 2016 .
Note that the Memo cites OCTOBER 21, 2016 for the date of the first FISA Application.