Memo Saturday

Dan McLaughlin has a good discussion of the oversold Nunes memo. However, I have my reservations about this:

It focuses on a very narrow subject, the obtaining of a single FISA warrant (subsequently renewed by Trump’s own Administration) on a fringe figure (Carter Page) who by all appearances deserved to be investigated, and surveillance of whom probably didn’t uncover very much about the Trump campaign that you wouldn’t have known from watching TV. 

Let's cut to Byron York:

Put it all together, and Page was the easiest guy to go after. Plus, the wiretap would allow the FBI not just to listen to Page's phone calls but to read his emails, not only going forward from the date of the warrant, but going backward for as long as Page had kept them. If Page truly were the beating heart of a Trump-Russia conspiracy, then there would likely be email evidence the FBI could use.

The point about emails holds my attention. Page may have been cc'ed on all sorts of things going back months, so legitimate access to that may have been investigatory gold.

Comments

[narciso]

Ah Cody sheared we know what vengeful nazgul he's connected to don't we?

[Buckeye]

Narciso, I am starting to come around to your take on what Page and the Greek kid were up to.

Don't know whether that means I should be soliciting a condo lease on The Veranda or not:)

[exdemocrat]

Ig - the standard-issue SJW Moyet has never been 'under-appreciated' in the UK, where the vacuous synthpop backing is more tolerated than here.
And your knock on Armatrading is misplaced, imo. You might find this (rare) interview interesting: https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/culture/music/up-close-and-very-personal-1-1382846

let's stick to politics, coups and civil war: it's less controversial ;-)

[narciso]

Why was it hard to suspect philby or Robert Hansen, of being Soviet agents because they took the most extreme positions ie referred nachtall barallions, volunteered to run the Albanians then burn then to the russians.

[cheerleader]

In the daily president's thread at CTH today someone linked to Clarice's story and called her "the wonderful Clarice Feldman" which more posters agreed with.

Yesterday I got some clarity when someone pointed out that what the left really really really wants more than anything is for the president to fire Mueller, which would give them ammo to accuse him of obstruction of justice.

Not gonna happen, only gonna be nice and respectful noises toward Mueller. Not gonna give the left what it wants.

[cheerleader]

Several years ago I bought a Joan Armatrading CD and right after I played it, it went into my charity box because it was so darned depressing. I don't even think I played the whole thing.

[JimNorCal]

Suddenly Dems love the FBI and gain new respect for GW Bush.
In the comments: "Miss me yet?"
http://bejohngalt.com/2018/02/suddenly-dems-love-bush43-and-the-fbi/

[Old Lurker]

Perhaps the plan is to flood the zone with all these memos, IG Reports, committee reports, FOIA releases and all that --- to the public ASAP one per week, say---

Then, based on the facts known, fire and reassign all who can be, get Congress to discipline its own.

Get that done by the mid terms.

Finally, after we know the dirt and have some scalps, appoint a new SC to decide whom to charge and with what so the skulls can be collected

Get that done by 2020.

That would work for me.

[JimNorCal]

I like OLs 1:28 plan.

[Jim Eagle]

Thanks to all who watched or tried to watch the Sunday news shows. I am going to buy a lottery ticket since I predicted their overall reactions to the Memo, the evil dairy famer, St. Mueller and TrumpHitler. I am getting pretty good at this since I am a proud American. I don't know about the media people or the Dems but if they are Americans they aren't proud of it.

Everything Nadler said is rhetoric withot any facts to either support his argument or to dispute the memo. All talk no walk. Also, the cheap shot at the end calling Page "an agent of a foreign country" to me is libelous whether or not as a Congressman he is immune. Trump needs to continuing focus on the economy, trade negotiations, the infrastructure bill and let Goodlatte, Grassely and Nunes complete their investigations.

[DebinNC]

3 fatal Amtrak crashes in 49 days ... each with a different, likely preventable cause.

"The Washington State crash was due to excessive speed going into a curve.

The Virginia crash was due to a garbage truck on a grade crossing being hit by a train. There were some media reports that a crossing barrier that should have prevented access as a train approached was not functioning, but that is not absolutely clear as the cause.

The South Carolina crash was due to two trains being placed on the same track – something that should not happen with the level of sophisticated signaling available to dispatchers."

[Old Lurker]

Jack,

a) don't bet your bitcoins on your clairvoyance because predicting this weeks talk shows was easy peazy. Progs are just too predictable.

b) "to me is libelous whether or not as a Congressman he is immune." Hmmm. Is not congressional immunity only for words spoken on the floor?

[Momto2]

First, "Who are the Awan brothers? Never heard of them..."

And now this: "somehow part of the deep state, whatever that means.

Which, in my interpretation means that he does not believe there is any such thing as a deep state operating within the government. After all the information he sees and hears in his role as a congressman and a member of the Intelligence Committee (much more than we know here) that he can say that?

Sadly, I have to conclude that my previous high regard for him was misplaced. Very, very disappointed and glad he's leaving.

[narciso]

They should call that the bourbon block, note only do they know nothing they make one reach for one.

I think Larry spivaks monopolizing that time slot has been for ill.

[Old Lurker]

#Ftreygowdy.

That is all.

[RattlerGator]

More and more, Carter Page -- a Naval Academy graduate -- appears to me to be a human intelligence asset of the DIA.

As such, and if my prior speculation about General Flynn & Trump knowing they were being spied upon from the very first announcement of Trump's candidacy (and earlier) is on the money, Page's Russia focus would have been a particularly juicy asset in this sting operation.

We should never allow ourselves to forget there was (and is) an internal war going on in our government. On one side there are (among others) elements of the CIA working in concert with Democrats to politicize and weaponize domestic spying on Americans.

If there is on our side an ongoing broad-based attack on the Deep State designed to bring about their death, setting the stage for media organizations to be exposed as highly partisan organs of the Democrat Party would be a magnificent way to financially put a nail in their coffin -- wouldn't it ???

And it would be a fantastic breaching tool to overcome the historic difficulty in proving slander for a public figure, wouldn't it ???

Slander occurs when a defamatory statement is spoken or otherwise audible (such as a radio broadcast). To prove this type of defamation, plaintiffs must prove the following four elements:

First, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant made a false and defamatory statement concerning the plaintiff.

Second, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant made an unprivileged publication to a third party.

Third, the plaintiff must prove that the publisher acted at least negligently in publishing the communication.

Fourth, in some cases, the plaintiff must prove special damages.

Presuming Carter Page would have to meet, as a public figure, the extra requirement of actual malice -- well:

Actual Malice occurs when:

[1] The defendant publishes a statement about the plaintiff he knows is false; or

[2] The defendant publishes a statement about the plaintiff with reckless disregard for whether it is false or true.

* * *

Are y'all starting to see how potentially good this is getting? Leap with me now!

* * *

Think of Carter Page as another element of the Trumpian Landing Teams (whether pre-Transition, Transition, or then Governing); if you do this . . . his lawsuit is sitting fairly pretty right now, isn't it ???

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/carter-page-to-update-his-lawsuits-against-the-press-after-nunes-memo-release/article/2647950

Former Trump campaign aide Carter Page said Friday he will be updating his slander lawsuits against various news organizations in light of the release of the Nunes memo, and hailed the release of that memo as a way to "repair" U.S. democracy.

In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Page [said] he is looking forward updating his “pending legal action in opposition," but wasn't more specific.

*snip*

Page filed a 400-page defamation lawsuit against Yahoo and the Huffington Post in September over a story that claimed he was under investigation for meeting Russian officials who meddled in the 2016 presidential election.

The suit also targeted the Broadcasting Board of Governors, whose outlets Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, both controlled by the United States, wrote an account based off of the Yahoo article. According to Page, the federal government helped to spread the allegations against him.

*snip*

“I look forward to updating my pending legal action in opposition to [the Department of Justice] this weekend in preparation for Monday’s next small step on the long, potholed road toward helping to restore law and order in our great country,” Page said Friday.

It is unclear what Page meant by what happens on Monday, and he did not immediately clarify.

* * *

We shall see what (if anything) Monday brings and I may be alone in this speculation, but . . . . time for some football viewing preparation.

Later, Gators.

[Old Lurker]

Deb, one must not forget the two Amtrak wrecks near Philadelphia in 2015 and again in 2016.

[Dave (in MA)]

Did anyone else see this? The NSA changed its core values. They got rid of "Honesty" and replaced it with "Democracy Dies in Darkness".
No--wait, I got my notes mixed up. "Commitment to Service". Because Honesty is no longer important, apparently.

[exdemocrat]

RG - even Page's status as a 'public figure' (triggering the actual malice requirement) is arguable, depending on the timing of the defamatory statements. You can't get the benefit of actual mal protection if you make someone a public figure through the defamation itself

[Old Lurker]

Can we buy stock in a lawsuit?

[daddy on iPad]

Good Morning!

How much longer before Clapper's Statute of Limitations on lying under Oath to Congress runs out?

[Old Lurker]

Daddy, I really am surprised that none of the lawyer-pundits have written a piece about that and included others like Lois Lerner, Koskinin, the Awans, Hillary, Huma et al and so on down a list of say the Dirty Dozen or the dirty two dozen.

[Jim Eagle]

OL,

Good travel write up by ABob. I lived in BA for 2 years and travelled extensively throughout the Southern Cone. Been to Ushuaia, and Tierra Del Fuego numerous times for projects and recently in 2011 for travel. I have heard a lot of good things about Tauck, especially their European river cruises. Haven't done Antartica. Don't know if I'll ever do it.

[daddy on iPad]

Morning OL.

Clapper is an open and shut case and low hanging fruit. I cannot understand why we don't inmediately indict him for lying under Oath and make these bastards know we mean business. And you are correct--nobody at all mentions any of that. Why not? Im still on the ledge.

[lyle]

Sufficed to say I'm all down with any plans to collect skulls...

[lyle]

Either from The Ledge™ or The Veranda™.

[exdemocrat]

a lot of discussion on Twitter about this thinly-veiled IC threat, tacitly endorsed by CNN:

https://youtu.be/h6FNsjlUpnc

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Gosh, we should have had this album playing in Gus's music party last night:

[Old Lurker]

Jack "I have heard a lot of good things about Tauck, especially their European river cruises."

We did Tauck's Basel to Amsterdam last October but the water was so low that the locks were all backed up. So to maintain their schedule, passengers were often unloaded in cities in the mornings then bused downstream to re-meet the boat at the end of the day. I came to really hate the hours and hours spent on the bus vs in the very nice boat. The company did a very good job under the circumstances and it was my-bad not to be more aware of the potential water level for the time of year we booked. But I did become my grumpy old man best as the trip went along.

That said, I would do A-Bob's trip with them in a heart beat.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/02/04/sunday-talks-maria-bartiromo-interviews-james-kallstrom-and-rep-john-ratcliffe/

I heard this interview and it was very good. Maria, by the way, seems to be getting angrier and angrier about this FBI corruption.

[Captain Hate]

make these bastards know we mean business.

I'm not sure past Trump, Nunes and Grassley they really mean business.

[lyle]

Insty has a link that reports the NFL rejected an ad that mocked Donald Trump.

Oh, wait.

The ad mocked...Kim Jong Un.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

http://dailycaller.com/2018/02/04/adam-schiff-implies-oklahoma-city-style-bombing-fisa-memo/?utm_campaign=atdailycaller&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social

This guy needs to be out of office. Who is running against him? I just cannot stand this pencil-necked creep!

[Rocco]

Did Tauck to Hawaii in 79, awesome.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

This is the Daily Mail US political reporter, who is a good guy.

David Martosko
‏Verified account @dmartosko
10m10 minutes ago

I want to see it all. Republican memo. Democratic memo. FISA warrant applications. Bridgegate summaries. IRS summaries of Tea Party targeting. EVERYTHING.

[lurkersusie]

Excellent,

Nunes memo raises question: Did FBI violate Woods Procedures?

For all the debate over the House Republican memo pointing to alleged misconduct by some current and former FBI and Justice Department officials, one crucial point hasn't gotten the attention it deserves.

And it relates in an unexpected way to special counsel Robert Mueller.

The point is: There are strict rules requiring that each and every fact presented in an FBI request to electronically spy on a U.S. citizen be extreme-vetted for accuracy - and presented to the court only if verified.

There's no dispute that at least some, if not a great deal, of information in the anti-Trump "Steele dossier" was unverified or false. Former FBI director James Comey testified as much himself before a Senate committee in June 2017. Comey repeatedly referred to "salacious" and "unverified" material in the dossier, which turned out to be paid political opposition research against Donald Trump funded first by Republicans, then by the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign.

Presentation of any such unverified material to the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court to justify a wiretap would appear to violate crucial procedural rules, called "Woods Procedures," designed to protect U.S. citizens.

Yet Comey allegedly signed three of the FISA applications on behalf of the FBI. Deputy Director Andrew McCabe reportedly signed one and former Attorney General Sally Yates, then-Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein each reportedly signed one or more.

Woods Procedures

Woods Procedures were named for Michael Woods, the FBI official who drafted the rules as head of the Office of General Counsel's National Security Law Unit. They were instituted in April 2001 to "ensure accuracy with regard to ... the facts supporting probable cause" after recurring instances, presumably inadvertent, in which the FBI had presented inaccurate information to the FISA court.

Prior to Woods Procedures, "[i]ncorrect information was repeated in subsequent and related FISA packages," the FBI told Congress in August 2003. "By signing and swearing to the declaration, the headquarters agent is attesting to knowledge of what is contained in the declaration."

It's incredible to think of how many FBI and Justice Department officials would have touched the multiple applications to wiretap Trump campaign adviser Carter Page - allegedly granted, at least in part, on the basis of unverified and thus prohibited information - if normal procedures were followed.

The FBI's complex, multi-layered review is designed for the very purpose of preventing unverified information from ever reaching the court. It starts with the FBI field offices.

According to former FBI agent Asha Rangappa, who wrote of the process last year in JustSecurity.org, the completed FISA application requires approval through the FBI chain of command "including a Supervisor, the Chief Division Counsel (the highest lawyer within that FBI field office), and finally, the Special Agent in Charge of the field office, before making its way to FBI Headquarters to get approval by (at least) the Unit-level Supervisor there."

At FBI headquarters, an "action memorandum" is prepared with additional facts culled by analytical personnel assigned to espionage allegations involving certain foreign powers.

Next, it goes to the Justice Department "where attorneys from the National Security Division comb through the application to verify all the assertions made in it," wrote Rangappa. "DOJ verifies the accuracy of every fact stated in the application. If anything looks unsubstantiated, the application is sent back to the FBI to provide additional evidentiary support - this game of bureaucratic chutes and ladders continues until DOJ is satisfied that the facts in the FISA application can both be corroborated and meet the legal standards for the court. After getting sign-off from a senior DOJ official (finally!)."

There's more

But there are even more reviews and processes regarding government applications for wiretaps designed to make sure inaccurate or unverified information isn't used.

In November 2002, the FBI implemented a special FISA Unit with a unit chief and six staffers, and installed an automated tracking system that connects field offices, headquarters, the National Security Law Branch and the Office of Intelligence, allowing participants to track the process during each stage.

Starting March 1, 2003, the FBI required field offices to confirm they've verified the accuracy of facts presented to the court through the case agent, the field office's Chief Division Counsel and the Special Agent in Charge.

All of this information was provided to Congress in 2003. The FBI director at the time also ordered that any issue as to whether a FISA application was factually sufficient was to be brought to his attention. Personally.

Who was the director of the FBI when all of this careful work was done?

Robert Mueller.

Perhaps ironically, Mueller isn't in charge of the investigation examining the conduct of FBI and Justice Department officials and whether they followed the rules he'd carefully implemented 15 years before. Instead, Mueller is leading the probe into Russia's alleged illegal connections with Trump associates. Congress is looking at the wiretap process.

With so much information still classified, redacted and - in some cases - withheld, there is much we don't know. Perhaps we will eventually learn that there's a good reason unverified material was given to the court. Maybe there was no violation of rules or processes.

But there's a reason Woods Procedures exist in the first place. They aren't arcane rules that could have been overlooked or misunderstood by the high-ranking and seasoned professionals working under the Obama and Trump administrations who touched the four Carter Page wiretap applications and renewals. And unless they've secretly been lifted or amended, Woods Procedures aren't discretionary.

In the past, when the FBI has presented inaccuracies to the FISA court, it's been viewed so seriously that it's drawn the attention of the Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility, which investigates Justice Department attorneys accused of misconduct or crimes in their professional functions.

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."

[lurkersusie]

Here's the link to the above article

http://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/372233-nunes-memo-raises-question-did-fbi-violate-woods-procedures?amp&__twitter_impression=true

[henry]

New thread.

[jimmyk]

I'd love to see Page sue that pig Nadler for libel, though Nadler probably included enough weasel words to wriggle out of it.

Pretty laughable that the Dems seem to be arguing that any finding of misbehavior by the FBI represents "obstruction" of Mueller. Maybe that's a justification for those statements (by Gowdy?) that Mueller's investigation is unaffected by the memo. Dems can't claim obstruction if the memo doesn't obstruct.

[Jim Eagle]

There is an interesting ad being paid for by a father who lost his daughter due a faulty highway guard rail. It is an appeal to Trump to include more safety upgrade projects in the infranstructure bill. Will only show in Palm Beach market where Trump will be to watch the game. Cost the dad $1K only since it is a local ad on just that station during the super bowl. Pretty clever.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Gus! Gus!

The Hill‏Verified account @thehill

Trump Jr. refers to Dems as "left of commie": They forced themselves further and further left http://hill.cm/0SPYrPd
==============================

I love Don Jr. He gives zero XXXX's about what anyone thinks.

I happened to hear him say this last night on Jesse Waters' show and it made me laugh out loud. The FIRST person I thought about was Gus!

[Another Bob]

Was Nadler on the floor? He cannot be sued.

Is Page a public figure? He'll have to prove reckless disregard for the truth.

Nadler has zero to worry about.

[Another Bob]

JIB, OL, thanks. That note wasn't even a review of the trip.

I don't think we could have asked much more from that trip. Tauck isn't cheap, and Antarctica as a destination isn't cheap, but I think we got value for the money.

I'd recommend Antarctica to anyone, but you do have to be up for that kind of trip. It isn't your usual cruise.

It was damn complicated to pack for. Leaving winter in the US (in the 20s when we left) to go to summer in BA (high was 100 the day we left), to fall-like in Tierra del Fuego, and back to winter in the Antarctic (highs were low 30s), then reverse it, and it was -5 when we got home.

[jimmyk]

The Intelligence Committee responds to Nadler's pathetic response:

https://intelligence.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hpsci_fisa_memo_charge_and_response.pdf

[Anthony J. Chavez]

Google says lying under oath to any legal entity deposing testimony under oath, including congress, is 5 years.

[Frau Amerikanerin]

Don't steal or--Gaia forbid!--buy this book. The looneys are loose.

"Woman After All: Sex, Evolution and the End of Male Supremacy" by Melvin Konner, M.D.

In characteristically humorous and engaging prose, Konner sheds light on our biologically different identities, while noting the poignant exceptions that challenge the male/female divide. We meet hunter-gatherers such as those in Botswana, whose culture gave women a prominent place, invented the working mother, and respected women’s voices around the fire. Recent human history has upset this balance, as a dense world of war fostered extreme male dominance. But our species has been recovering over the past two centuries, and an unstoppable move toward equality is afoot. It will not be the end of men, but it will be the end of male supremacy and a better, wiser world for women and men alike.

Quick, Henry, the Flit Taser!

[anonamom]

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/02/04/sunday-talks-maria-bartiromo-interviews-james-kallstrom-and-rep-john-ratcliffe/#more-145447

comment on above interview:

maiingankwe says:
February 4, 2018 at 2:41 pm
I’m going to take this in a different direction for now. Watching Mr. Kallstrom for me was heartbreaking. Here is a man, who to me seems honorable. He’s dedicated his life to protecting all of us Americans, retires after all of his years of hard work with the FBI, and now watches these top dogs destroy the very fabric of honor of the FBI in just a few short years. It looked to me that not only is he angry, but he’s hurt, really hurt, and I don’t blame him.

This makes me wonder how the rest of the FBI are feeling right now. We’re not hearing from the ones still working, and that is understandable, but imagine having to walk into the Hoover building day in and day out with this hanging over them. Low morale and frustration doesn’t even seem to cover it properly, and I’m sure they’ve never felt worse. And yet, every morning they wake up to start their day in using every tool they know and have to keep us all safe.

I would think they would have to bottle this up somehow and put it on a shelf until their day is done. They can’t let all of this intrude into what they have to do. Now that has got to be really hard to do no matter how professional one is.

So yes, my heart does go out to all of the good guys and gals who work so tirelessly for their country. It wouldn’t be a bad idea if we gave them a shout out in someway to let them know how thankful and appreciative we are of what they are doing and that we don’t blame them all for the criminal activities of a few among their ranks. I ask for them to hold strong and to know we are still standing with them.
Be well,
Ma’iingankwe