8 signs pointing to a counterintelligence operation deployed against Trump’s campaign
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The Hill, by Sharyl Attkisson, May 23, 2018:
It may be true that President Trump illegally conspired with Russia and was so good at covering it up he’s managed to outwit our best intel and media minds who’ve searched for irrefutable evidence for two years. (We still await special counsel Robert Mueller ’s findings.)
But there’s a growing appearance of alleged wrongdoing equally as insidious, if not more so, because it implies widespread misuse of America’s intelligence and law enforcement apparatus.
Here are eight signs pointing to a counterintelligence operation deployed against Trump for political reasons.
Code name
The operation reportedly had at least one code name that was leaked to The New York Times: “Crossfire Hurricane.”
Wiretap fever
Secret surveillance was conducted on no fewer than seven Trump associates: chief strategist Stephen Bannon; lawyer Michael Cohen; national security adviser Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn; adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner ; campaign chairman Paul Manafort ; and campaign foreign policy advisers Carter Page and George Papadopoulos .
The FBI reportedly applied for a secret warrant in June 2016 to monitor Manafort, Page, Papadopoulos and Flynn. If true, it means the FBI targeted Flynn six months before his much-debated conversation with Russia’s ambassador, Sergey Kislyak.
The FBI applied four times to wiretap Page after he became a Trump campaign adviser starting in July 2016. Page’s office is connected to Trump Tower and he reports having spent “many hours in Trump Tower.”
CNN reported that Manafort was wiretapped before and after the election “including during a period when Manafort was known to talk to President Trump.” Manafort reportedly has a residence in Trump Tower.
Electronic surveillance was used to listen in on three Trump transition officials in Trump Tower — Flynn, Bannon and Kushner — as they met in an official capacity with the United Arab Emirates’ crown prince.
The FBI also reportedly wiretapped Flynn’s phone conversation with Kislyak on Dec. 31, 2016, as part of “routine surveillance” of Kislyak.
NBC recently reported that Cohen, Trump’s personal attorney, was wiretapped. NBC later corrected the story, saying Cohen was the subject of a “pen register” used to monitor phone numbers and, possibly, internet communications.
National security letters
Another controversial tool reportedly used by the FBI to obtain phone records and other documents in the investigation were national security letters, which bypass judicial approval.
Improper use of such letters has been an ongoing theme at the FBI. Reviews by the Department of Justice’s Inspector General found widespread misuse under Mueller — who was then FBI director — and said officials failed to report instances of abuses as required.
Unmasking
“Unmasking” — identifying protected names of Americans captured by government surveillance — was frequently deployed by at least four top Obama officials who have subsequently spoken out against President Trump: James Clapper , former Director of National Intelligence; Samantha Power , former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations; Susan Rice, former national security adviser; Sally Yates , former deputy attorney general.
Names of Americans caught communicating with monitored foreign targets must be “masked,” or hidden within government agencies, so the names cannot be misused or shared.
However, it’s been revealed that Power made near-daily unmasking requests in 2016.
Prior to that revelation, Clapper claimed ignorance. When asked if he knew of unmasking requests by any ambassador, including Power, he testified: “I don’t know. Maybe it’s ringing a vague bell but I’m not — I could not answer with any confidence.”
Rice admitted to asking for unmasked names of U.S. citizens in intelligence reports after initially claiming no knowledge of any such thing.
Clapper also admitted to requesting the unmasking of “Mr. Trump, his associates or any members of Congress.” Clapper and Yates admitted they also personally reviewed unmasked documents and shared unmasked material with other officials.
Changing the rules
On Dec. 15, 2016 — the same day the government listened in on Trump officials at Trump Tower — Rice reportedly unmasked the names of Bannon, Kushner and Flynn. And Clapper made a new rule allowing the National Security Agency to widely disseminate surveillance material within the government without the normal privacy protections.
Media strategy
Former CIA Director John Brennan and Clapper, two of the most integral intel officials in this ongoing controversy, have joined national news organizations where they have regular opportunities to shape the news narrative — including on the very issues under investigation.
Clapper reportedly secretly leaked salacious political opposition research against Trump to CNN in fall 2017 and later was hired as a CNN political analyst. In February, Brennan was hired as a paid analyst for MSNBC.
Leaks
There’s been a steady and apparently orchestrated campaign of leaks — some true, some false, but nearly all of them damaging to President Trump’s interests.
A few of the notable leaks include word that Flynn was wiretapped, the anti-Trump “Steele dossier” of political opposition research, then-FBI Director James Comey briefing Trump on it, private Comey conversations with Trump, Comey’s memos recording those conversations and criticizing Trump, the subpoena of Trump’s personal bank records (which proved false) and Flynn planning to testify against Trump (which also proved to be false).
Friends, informants and snoops
The FBI reportedly used one-time CIA operative Stefan Halper in 2016 as an informant to spy on Trump officials.
Another player is Comey friend Daniel Richman, a Columbia University law professor, who leaked Comey’s memos against Trump to The New York Times after Comey was fired. We later learned that Richman actually worked for the FBI under a status called “Special Government Employee.”
The FBI used former reporter Glenn Simpson, his political opposition research firm Fusion GPS, and ex-British spy Christopher Steele to compile allegations against Trump, largely from Russian sources, which were distributed to the press and used as part of wiretap applications.
These eight features of a counterintelligence operation are only the pieces we know. It can be assumed there’s much we don’t yet know. And it may help explain why there’s so much material that the Department of Justice hasn’t easily handed over to congressional investigators.
Sharyl Attkisson ( @SharylAttkisson ) is an Emmy-award winning investigative journalist, author of The New York Times bestsellers “The Smear” and “Stonewalled,” and host of Sinclair’s Sunday TV program, “ Full Measure .”
We want total transparency.
When did the FBI counter-intelligence investigation begin and why?
What kind of techniques were used?
When will the DOJ hand over the information that Congressional oversight has requested months ago?
When will we see the FISA Warrants?
Two words for you and, your friends vic, Adlai Stevenson, look him up, it would be enlightening.
I don't have to look him up. He was the first modern liberal candidate. You would have been a supporter of his if you were around back then.
Pardon me, but I believe your slip is showing.
That was lame the first 10 times you posted it. How about something factual, Norman....
Then here let me help you.
This is what I was referring to when I mentioned Adlai Stevenson. So, the question is, why didn't Trump and, in campaign notify the FBI that they had been contacted by the Russians?
I think you have that backwards. The question is "why didn't the FBI warn both campaigns about possible Russian interference?" Instead the FBI (Obama's politicized FBI) has repeatedly lied to us. We now know that they were spying on a political campaign without any real cause. How did Comey finally admit to the spy? He called him a “confidential human source.” In other words a SPY!
And BTW, the mantra of the deep state is "after all, we’re just selflessly looking out for you"
May I ? I think you raised a very important point.
I'll let Galen respond...
PS ; I like the avatar
I did enjoy reading that BTW. Evidently the Russians viewed Stevenson as many others did. Despite what liberals say Trump had no sympathies for Russia, he was simply flattered by Putin. As President, Trump has already shown a willingness to use missiles in Syria, despite Russia's presence there. Russians have been killed in the US attacks.
Obama notified Trump in person, after the FBI notified both the Clinton and, the Trump campaigns of possible Russian interference and, advised them to contact the FBI if any Russian's tried to make contact. So, your statement above is a fail. There was no spy in the Trump campaign, that is another lie by Trump and, FAUX Noise, I thought you would understand by now that every other sentence from Trump is a flat out lie. The professor was someone who had over heard Page and, others from the Trump campaign talking about meeting with the Russians in a casual conversation.
You seem really upset that some of Trump's people got caught talking about meetings with Russians during the campaign, instead of worrying about the FBI catching the Trump campaign dealing with Russians maybe you should be worried about why the Trump campaign was dealing with Russians at all.
Even Jim Comey has admitted as much:
The professor was someone who had over heard Page and, others from the Trump campaign talking about meeting with the Russians in a casual conversation.
Lol, No he didn't just overhear or just bump into them. Did you know that this SPY, Stefan Halper " enticed Papadopoulos to visit London in September 2016 with an offer to pay for a policy paper about energy issues. Papadopoulos made the trip and wrote the paper. He was paid $3,000.Sources familiar with Papadopoulos’s version of his encounters with Halper have told TheDCNF that Halper brought up the question of Russian hacking of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails. Papadopoulos was suspicious of the question, sources say" .......from the reporting of the Daily Callers Chuck Ross
The only real question left is the one involving Obama's FBI's justification for doing this
Trump's attempts amount to little or, nothing and, those aren't Russian troops, they are Russian Merc's hired by Russian Oligarchs to fight in Syria. When Trump sent missles to hit Syrian bases, like the air base, he warned the Syrians and, the Russians they were coming and gave them enough time to get out of the way, the air base was back up and, running within a few hours after the attack. The sanctions that were suppose to be but, against the Russians recently have been delayed, by the Trump administration and, weakened by the administration, yeah, he's a real hardliner on Russia
LOL, your sources are truly biased today.
Bring me something from a REAL news source not this political Right Wing BS.
That is standard procedure. Russia warns us too, although they seldom go where US forces are present. You don't want superpowers warning each other of impending military action? I think that would even scare my friend John Bolton.
the air base was back up and, running within a few hours after the attack.
So CNN & MSNBC likes to tell us. What would you have liked President Trump to do? He dosen't believe in regime change. As a matter of fact, Trump has sought an exit from Syria and the middle east:
"Days after President Trump said he wanted to pull the United States out of Syria , Syrian forces hit a suburb of Damascus with bombs that rescue workers said unleashed toxic gas."
The President was touched by those films of Syrian children dying. I think he responded the only way he could have. Israel & the Saudi's could have taken it from there, but you see the previous administration created a void, allowing the Russians to move in, thus nobody else but the hapless rebels care to do anything.
You are really reaching when you attack the source instead of the well reported on substance, which was lifted from a Comey tweet. Very well, it wasn't hard to find. Here is is from the ULTRA LIBERAL CNN:
" The FBI’s use of Confidential Human Sources (the actual term) is tightly regulated and essential to protecting the country" ....James Comey
BTW Glenn Simpson testified to that fact:
Steele, Simpson testified, told him the FBI also had a source inside the Trump operation, although he wasn't sure whether that meant the presidential campaign or the Trump Organization. The bureau was more inclined to believe Steele's information, he said, "because they had other intelligence that indicated the same thing, and one of those pieces of intelligence was a human source from inside the Trump organization."
From one of your links.
You will notice the part that is bolded the word not, which means there was NO SPY PLANTED IN THE CAMPAIGN.
Who are the US officials? CNN dosen't say. Unless CNN can prove any of that & based on CNN's recent history of lying about this President, I'll have to wait for the findings of the IG investigation.
I'll accept the sworn testimony of Glen Simpson until then
They have debased themselves when it comes to Donald Trump. He gets all the credit for exposing them.
No, he likes dictators, he says they're strong.
You can't answer my question?
Soooo, he's the only one that you will accept then? I guess you have some proof he has never lied in his life?
Your'e still trying to kill the messenger. He made the claim under oath. The IG is investigating now. Isn't that the way it should go?
Or do we go with unknown "sources" or Adam Schiff running for the nearest camera after a classified briefing to say "nothing new here"
My question?
Ok, since you can't glean an answer from my comments above, I'll make it plain for ya.
Trump can do the fucking job that he was hired to do by the American people, the way it has been done by past presidents, he is not a fucking dictator the way he thinks he is, he's not even qualified to be president but, he has the job now and, he needs to figure out how to do it before Russia mounts its flag over the White House. Trump can admit that the Russians interfered in our elections in 2016 and, do something to protect our democracy from another attack by them. If he can't do this then he needs to get out of the White House and, let someone who can have the job.
I'll take that as a Ya, he did all he reasonably could with Syria. The rest of that, which is your feelings for this President were already known. I think I'll lift a line from "the Caine Mutiny":
"You work with him because he's got the job or you're no good!"
Have a good weekend
If I remember correctly in the Caine Mutiny, that didn't end so good for Bogart's character.
That's correct. You may also remember that the lawyer who prosecuted him said he felt ashamed of having destroyed Captain Queeg....He had to do it because the wrong man was on trial....It was -the leadership of the FBI, oops sorry - Keefer, not Maryk, who should have been on trial!
Ha, ha. I think you will find that with the Mueller probe already getting five convictions with one person already sent to prison, that the right people are being investigated by Mueller and, what Trump wants done is the real witch hunt.
Unrelated convictions. This was supposed to be about collusion, remember? Ya, I would have to say the Caine Munity is the perfect analogy.
No, the investigation is about Russia meddling in our elections in 2016 and, the possibility of U.S. citizens helping them to do it, citizens like Flynn, Manafort, Gates, Papadopoulos and, Sessions, not to mention the Trumps. Now, some of these people might be unwilling conspirators but, they are still involved.
Ask Mueller, I'm sure he has all the evidence or, will have it by the end of the investigation.
Is that what it's about? Many would say more like removing a President from office. Kind of like removing a Captain whom some thought was unfit.
Maybe if you heard it from a far Right Republican it would make a difference.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trey-gowdy-fbi’s-use-of-informant-for-trump-campaign-was-appropriate/ar-AAxZXyg?ocid=spartanntp
As much as all your posts concerning this are mere speculation. Until Mueller comes out with his report we are all speculating.
Yup Gowdy said that. He said other things as well. We will miss him after November. Wait maybe not! I see him wearing a black rope somewhere in the near future
A black rope? You aren't death wishing are you?
Do you have any proof they weren't helping the Russians?
I can show you were Trump's kids met with Russians, Flynn had ties to Russians, Manafort took money from Russians as did Gates, Page gave speeches in Russia talking about how democracy was a bad thing, Papadopoulos met with Russians trying to set up a meeting between Trump and, Putin before the election.
Lol, I gave you a break on a mistake you made once, didn't I ?
A BLACK ROBE!
I knew what you meant but, I wanted to let you know that you made a mistake, to give you a chance to fix it, thanks for fixing it.
As I said before, if you want EVIDENCE, ask Mueller, I'm sure he has plenty considering he has gotten 5 convictions already and, has had 19 indictments since starting this investigation, he hasn't been very forthcoming with what he has found and, there have been no leaks from his end, of course the same can't be said of the Republicans or, Trump.
Now, show me the EVIDENCE that I am wrong in any of this, real from the investigation evidence, not some Right Wing wishes.
Touche!
There is one place I think we both agree - arguments have to be won on their merits.
And, here it is, well I couldn't expect you to come up with anything, since I knew you had nothing but, propaganda from Trump propaganda stations.
And, you have failed to prove anything on NT the whole time you've been on here. If you really think Trump didn't get any help from the Russians and, that he isn't Putin's little Bitch and, that he isn't trying to obstruct the Mueller investigation then put up your evidence of this or, go play with someone else.
Nancy Pelosi got an invitation to the classified meeting with Justice Department officials, called for by the President. The democrats had complained about not being invited, so Pelosi got the invite, which she tossed to the partisan hack Adam Schiff. Immediately after the meeting Schiff ran to the nearest TV camera and announced "Nothing we heard changed our view there's no evidence to support any allegations that the FBI or any intelligence agency placed a spy in the trump campaign, or otherwise failed to follow appropriate procedures and protocols"
Trump is a traitor. Those who support him are Quislings.
Yup, The most recent Reuters poll shows Republicans enjoying a slim advantage over Democrats in the so-called “generic ballot", so keep beating that drum. America is fed up with progressive hate and is more focused on the booming economy. Just keep talking about removing the President.
That's because they could care less who keeps them in power... friend, foe, they don't care at all. Trump sold America down the road to win an election, now those in congress who still support him are trying to figure out how to play it when....not if....when, trump is exposed for using a foreign power to win an election. Sadly, the far right will be totally ok with it....but that's not a surprise either given that the right totally supported putin because putin hated Obama...
As great lies go, that has to rank right up there with “If you like your health care plan, you can keep it,”. However, the topic here is the counter intelligence operation launched against a political campaign. Any thoughts?
There was no counter intelligence operation launched against Mr. Trumps campaign, their bumbling was so overt that an investigation had to be initiated.
As I have said on prior occasions, anything discussed by us mere mortals or the media is speculative at best. When Mr. Mueller completes his investigation we will all know. Until that time we continue with the never ending sideshow and ad nauseam.
FACT:
On July 31st, 2016 the FBI opened a counterintelligence investigation against the Trump campaign. They did not inform congress until March 2017.
"Mr. Comey said the F.B.I. was “investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government, and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia’s efforts.”
Counterintelligence investigations are among the F.B.I.’s most difficult and time-consuming cases, meaning an investigation could hang over the Trump administration for years even though such inquiries rarely lead to criminal charges."
An "E.C." (electronic communication) apparently "was generated by CIA Director John Brennan and passed on to FBI Director James Comey. The EC initiated the FBI Counterintelligence Operation" and now is the subject of demands by House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes, as reported by the Washington Post
What facts would those be?
I would have gone with traitor, but quisling works as well.
Sycophants came quickly to my mind.
In April, An apparent British agent meets with Popadpolous and claims Russia has 33,000 Clinton deleted emails
In May, Bill Priestap, the head of counterintelligence, flies to London for unspecified work.
At the same time Priestap is in London, the Austrailian diplomat, Alexander Downer, requests a meeting with Papadopolous.
Just a coincidence the head of counterintelligence is in London at the same time a set up meeting leads to the most significant counter intelligence investigation in US history?
This is what is done by Trump and his lie spreaders. And you are including here things discredited for years! From the fake 'unmasking' to the current fake 'spygate', they are all bullshit from Trump, amplified by Hannity and other far right media spokesholes, Russians and trolls and Trump supporters. And they are LIES. Stop the gaslighting. Everything Trump throws out seems to be something he has done, is doing or would like to do. Stop quoting compulsive liars.
Here are some lies, for shits and giggles.