Russia Collusion Scandal (aka A Leftist fantasy)

Ryan Knight #BoycottNRA‏ @ProudResister

Donald Trump: “Russia is a hoax.”

Mueller Probe:

— 75 Charges Filed

— 13 Russians Charged

— 4 Trump Advisers Charged

— 3 Trump Advisers Pled Guilty

— 3 Trump Advisers Cooperating

— 1 Fake President Under Investigation


#TrumpRussiaConspiracy

at the risk of quoting myself, what else is there to discuss ?

75 charges filed
 
at the risk of quoting myself, what else is there to discuss ?

75 charges filed

And none of those charges have a thing to do with collusion which is the hoax that Trump references. Just try for once to have an original thought pertaining to trump.
 
Did the fbi neglect to tell the court the DNC and HRC campaigned paid for dossier?

Yes they did. Well, not really. They told the court enough for them to easily make that connection.

Did they tell the court that the yahoo article was sourced by Steele himself?

No they didn't.

Did the court make their decision on a collection of evidence that included said Dossier?

Yes they did. If so, they knew the Dossier was put together by a competent professional and was likely politically motivated.
Did you read the memo? I think not.

"The DOJ informed the Court accurately that Steele was hired by politically-motivated U.S. persons and entities and that his research appeared intended for use to discredit the Trump campaign."

The Steele Dossier played very little role in the initial FBI investigation as it did not come to the investigating team until 7 weeks after they had begun and by then they had already amassed more credible information of the situation.

The 2 memos, thankfully, are going to be only insignificant footnotes in the final drama account, now that Mueller has moved on and presented so much evidence. The only person who should be worried about them at this point is Nunes.
 
It (the Nunes memo) raised important questions about the FISC process and the legitimacy of the dossier. The Schiff document then kind of ironically tries to downplay the importance of the dossier (which flies in the face of the conspiratorialists) in the FISC process and doesn't actually disspel the FISC questions. Rebuff is the fair characterization. But a categorical disassembly it is simply not.

The dossier was not "key" to getting a warrant and was not the basis of the investigation. That flies in the face of both what the Republican memo said and what the right-wing mouthpieces, who appeared privy to what it was going to say before it was released, told us. If I had a nickel for every time I heard the phrase "phony dossier..." It also says in here Steele's findings (at least the ones relevant to this) had been corroborated. And (shocker) the backup information to support that statement is redacted.

The Nunes memo claims the FBI abused their power. How? In what way? Still waiting to hear. Nunes said yesterday the Democrats are/were colluding with "parts of the government" to cover up alleged abuses. I'm at a loss as to how he pulled that one out of his ass.
 
I think subsequent events have overtaken that situation. I'll refer you to the numerous articles from winter 2017 about attempts inside the Trump WH to unilaterally undo the Crimea sanctions. That they didn't succeed doesn't invalidate the fact that they tried.

too bad the back channel with Kislyak didn't work out...imagine all the great deals Trump and Kushner could have done for America
 
Did the fbi neglect to tell the court the DNC and HRC campaigned paid for dossier?

Yes they did. See Runnin's reply. I've yet to be shown where this was required. But also, check the time of year this is going on. We knew who the election was going to be between. Pretty easy to conclude (uh oh, Hawk) who it was, but I guess they could have thought Gary Johnson or Jill Stein had a fighter's chance.

Did they tell the court that the yahoo article was sourced by Steele himself?

No they didn't. If you bother to pay attention, you'll see why they referenced the Yahoo article.

Did the court make their decision on a collection of evidence that included said Dossier?

Yes they did. Yep, a collection of evidence. Independent of said dossier and apparently which corroborated details of said ("phony") dossier.

All this memo did was corroborate everything the critics of this whole FISC process have been screaming about. Anyone who thinks this memo helps the Democrat's is insane.

OK, they don't like it. Change it. Quit voting for it. (Yes, Schiff has shown some hypocrisy on this compared to past statements.) You or they still haven't shown where there was "abuse" of procedure. I don't think it hurts Democrats. I live about an hour from an insane asylum, so that's convenient. As Runnin said, I don't know how relevant these memos will even be in the long run.

And finally, I'll ask this question again. All this talk about Carter page....where are his charges? If the intelligence was so compelling how come he is walking free? Why did it take until septemeber, after the inclusion of the dossiser, to get a warrant? I think these have been explained if you bother to look beyond the right-wing echo chamber.



Second finally, unless I missed it the dem memo did not refute McCabes testimony. That's mind of a big deal isn't it since he basically stated that there was no way they were getting a warrant without the Dossier?
That's not what he "basically stated" according to the Democrats. I'm inclined to believe their explanation over Devin Trump's. But we won't know 100 percent until McCabe's testimony is released. So maybe the committee should release it since that's so key to back up the majority's claims.
 
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/24/us/politics/takeaways-democratic-memo.html

NYTimes' Five Takeaways:

1. The F.B.I. used only a small part of the information provided by Mr. Steele.

2. The surveillance court knew that Mr. Steele’s clients had a political motive.

3. The Yahoo News article was not used to corroborate Mr. Steele.

4. Republican-appointed judges approved the surveillance of Mr. Page.

5. The wiretap of Mr. Page generated useful intelligence.

5 strikes me as the most interesting piece of new information
 
The book on Manafort has been out since 1980. Literally. That he was a 'bagman' for pro-Russian Ukrainians might 'raise questions', but let's at least be honest about these charges and what they relate to, specifically.

I've always seen him as a necessary evil kind of hire with respect to the convention and whipping delegates. It looks bad now, but Trump might not be sitting here had the convention devolved into a contested chaos.

Not everyone has a Jim Baker on speed dial.

He's had an interesting career. Skillful political operative. Long-time criminal whose luck appears to have run out. Participant in a scheme with a hostile power to undermine our democratic processes. That's our boy. Pavel Manafartov.
 
John Aravosis
‏Verified account @aravosis
17h17 hours ago

I’m still blown away that we’ve had no real congressional investigation

of the fact that the President of the United States hired a suspected Russian agent

as one of his top foreign policy advisers, and even named him during

an interview as one of his top guys.
 
Well, not really. They told the court enough for them to easily make that connection.

The FBI specifically tailored their wording. There was intent in that approach. The easier approach would have been to include the DNC and HRC campaigns and they chose not to do it. It is also a matter in how it is presented. In a FN embedded within the FISA application based on all accounts. It is not up to the court to determine each source in the application. The FBI should be relied upon to present a full account of the case and wording the source of fudning for the Dossier in this approach shows a sense of dishonestly and intent to mislead.

f so, they knew the Dossier was put together by a competent professional and was likely politically motivated.

They knew that Steele brought back good information in the past. This does not preclude him from bringing bad information, you know the kind that has yet to be corroborated, to the FBI for future cases. The court was also not given any visibility into who the sources for STeele were for this reporting. Would it have mattered if it was 'RUSSIAN' sources? I mean, we are never supposed to trust Russians right? I suppose we can trust your Russians though. But wait, aren't all Russians essentially working for Putin? I'm very confused right now on which Russians I can speak with.

Did you read the memo? I think not.

"The DOJ informed the Court accurately that Steele was hired by politically-motivated U.S. persons and entities and that his research appeared intended for use to discredit the Trump campaign."

The Steele Dossier played very little role in the initial FBI investigation as it did not come to the investigating team until 7 weeks after they had begun and by then they had already amassed more credible information of the situation.

The 2 memos, thankfully, are going to be only insignificant footnotes in the final drama account, now that Mueller has moved on and presented so much evidence. The only person who should be worried about them at this point is Nunes.

I read every word of the memo sir. As noted above the FBI intentionally worded it in a more convoluted way as opposed to the facts. The Steele Dossier played NO role in opening the investigation. THE REPUBLICAN MEMO ASSERTED THE SAME THING! However, the FISA application for Page was not even made until the Dossier was included. Why is that?
 
Yea it played no role in the opening. Since you like to focus on placement, check the placement in the Nunes memo of that admission. And when you're done with that, try to reconcile that admission with the dozens and dozens and dozens of claims that the dossier was the basis of the investigation.
 
I've yet to be shown where this was required. But also, check the time of year this is going on. We knew who the election was going to be between. Pretty easy to conclude (uh oh, Hawk) who it was, but I guess they could have thought Gary Johnson or Jill Stein had a fighter's chance.

See my reply. It would have been easier to say the DNC/HRC campaign. FBI made a conscious choice to present the groups that funded the research. I wonder why....

If you bother to pay attention, you'll see why they referenced the Yahoo article.

Please enlighten me. The yahoo article was presented in the FISA application from everything we know. We also do not believe that it has any significance in the application a point that I agree with. My question is why is it even included and how to do we know how it was presented to the court?

Yep, a collection of evidence. Independent of said dossier and apparently which corroborated details of said ("phony") dossier.

And yet the application was not made until the Dossier was present. I mean - If the evidence against Page was so damning (still no charges against him) why did they have to wait till the Dossier to get an application submitted (see later discussion on McCabe). At the time of the initial application very little to none of the Dossier was proven. Its inclusion is a propaganda tool to sway the judges after allegedly getting refused on earlier attempt to monitor Page. FISA Application Denied

OK, they don't like it. Change it. Quit voting for it. (Yes, Schiff has shown some hypocrisy on this compared to past statements.) You or they still haven't shown where there was "abuse" of procedure. I don't think it hurts Democrats. I live about an hour from an insane asylum, so that's convenient. As Runnin said, I don't know how relevant these memos will even be in the long run.

Well lets see how this plays out when the applications are released to the public which will happen. And again, this point ties into the McCabe statements (see below).

I think these have been explained if you bother to look beyond the right-wing echo chamber.

So do you have an explanation for this? He was obviously so worrisome to the FBI to start a massive investigation and yet no charges? How bad was the initial assessment? And was the follow up when he was attached to the Trump campaigned a convenient conduit to spy on an opposing candidate? Hmm...

That's not what he "basically stated" according to the Democrats. I'm inclined to believe their explanation over Devin Trump's. But we won't know 100 percent until McCabe's testimony is released. So maybe the committee should release it since that's so key to back up the majority's claims.

When the Republican memo was released the Democrats were in lock step that this was not McCabes statement in his testimony. It was one of the single most if not biggest takeaway from the Republican memo. You have a senior FBI official claiming that the FISA application would not have been approved without the Dossier. The Dems would be right to scream to the hilltops if this was not true and that is what they did in response to the Republican memo release. However, now that the Democrats had their own memo released it doesn't get mentioned? How easily it would have been to include this especially since McCabes testimony was REFERENCED IN THE MEMO on another matter. You don't think that is damning? If they had the evidence to show this statement was false why not present it? Let me help you understand - Its because McCabe did in fact make this statement and it is a truth that the application would not have been approved without the Dossier. That is why the original application was allegedly denied and why they had to wait till the Dossier was provided (against Simpsons recommendation mind you) before it was approved.
 
Yea it played no role in the opening. Since you like to focus on placement, check the placement in the Nunes memo of that admission. And when you're done with that, try to reconcile that admission with the dozens and dozens and dozens of claims that the dossier was the basis of the investigation.

Claims of pundits are irrelevant. In the formal communication to the American people by the Republicans on the House Intel committee they gave the facts that the investigation was opened up based on Papa. So they Dem memo including that doesn't actually refute anything in the GOP memo. Its more an emphasis point to draw Americans away from the fact that no FISA warrants would have been granted without the Dossier.
 
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