The most important revelations of the Nunes Memo relate not to its content, but the political establishment’s response to its release, argues Caitlin Johnstone.
By Caitlin Johnstone
It’s fitting that the ever-tightening repetitive loops of America’s increasingly schizophrenic partisan warfare finally hit peak shrillness and skyrocketed into a white noise singularity on Groundhog Day. Right now, we’re right about at the part of the movie where Bill Murray is driving over a cliff in a pickup truck with a large rodent behind the wheel.
If you only just started paying attention to U.S. politics in 2017 what I’m about to tell you will blow your mind, so you might want to sit down for this: believe it or not, there was once a time when both of America’s mainstream political parties weren’t screeching every single day that there was news about to break any minute now which would obliterate the other party forever. No Russiagate, no Nunes memo, no Rachel Maddow red yarn graphs, no Sean Hannity “tick tock,” no nothing. People screaming that the end is nigh and it’s all about to come crashing down were relegated to street corners and the occasional Infowars appearance, not practicing mainstream political punditry for multimillion dollar salaries on MSNBC and Fox News.
I’m not saying it’s a bad thing that Americans are starting to look critically at the power dynamics in their country, but the partisan filters they’ve pulled over their eyes are causing mass confusion and delusion. Now everyone who questions the CIA is a Russian agent and the term “deep state” suddenly means “literally anyone who doesn’t like Donald Trump.” Your take on the contents of the Nunes memo will put you in one of two radically different political dimensions depending on which mainstream cult you’ve subscribed to, and it will cause you to completely miss the point of the entire ordeal.
The part of the memo that has everyone talking today reads as follows: “Furthermore, Deputy Director McCabe testified before the Committee in December 2017 that no surveillance warrant would have been sought from the FISC without the Steele dossier information.”
This refers to a surveillance warrant requested by the FBI’s then-Deputy Director Andrew McCabe from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court seeking permission to spy on the communications of Carter Page, a member of the 2016 Trump campaign. The controversy revolves around the claim that this surveillance warrant would never have even been requested if not for the clearly biased, Clinton-funded, and error-riddled Christopher Steele dossier which is acknowledged even by its former MI6 author to be 10 to 30 percent inaccurate.
Combine that with the fact that this has never been made clear to the public, and baby you’ve got yourself a scandal. The FBI knowingly using extremely tainted evidence from one presidential campaign to get permission to spy on another would indeed be a very big deal.
There are some problems with the “BOOM! Bigger than Watergate!” exclamations that pro-Trump partisans have been parading around about this, however. The first is that the memo is only an internal communication between Republican congressmen; it’s not a sworn testimony or legal transcript or anything legally binding. It’s basically just some Republican ideas about what happened. The assertions made therein are reportedly being hotly contested by Democrats with knowledge of the situation, which is in turn being disputed by Republicans.
Another thing putting a damper on the GOP’s “KABOOM!” parade is the fact that the memo’s contents are not even entirely new; CNN reported way back in April of last year that sources had informed them that the Steele dossier had been used to get a FISA warrant on the Trump campaign. Additionally, even if every single allegation in the memo is true, the revelations are still arguably far less earth shattering than the Edward Snowden revelations of 2013 exposing the NSA’s sprawling domestic espionage network, so the expectation that these less significant new revelations would cause a radical transformation in U.S. politics when the Snowden revelations did not seems highly unrealistic.
Nonetheless, there have been some extremely important revelations as a result of this memo; they just haven’t come from the contents of the memo itself. In the same way that cybersecurity analysts observe the metadata underlying hacked files rather than the contents of the files themselves, political analysts have been pointing out that a lot can be learned about the political establishment by looking at its response to the possibility of the memo’s release.
“Memo is clearly not a blockbuster. We can tell so by reading it. Which makes Dems’ frantic efforts to prevent anyone from reading it seem even more bizarre,” observed TYT’s Michael Tracey. “Veracity of memo’s claims aside, we were told that its release would undermine the rule of law. So, just checking: is the rule of law still in tact?” he added later.
“Now it is clear to all,” WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange tweeted. “The claims about how the ‘Nunes’ memo would destroy ‘national security’ were lies. Classification stickers are used by bureaucrats trying to obtain ‘political security’ for their cronies.”
“One effect of the memo – it’s an example of how extensively we overclassify information,” wrote National Review’s David French. “I’m highly dubious that any information disclosed threatens national security in any way, shape, or form. I’d be willing to bet the Dem response is similarly harmless. Release it.”
Indeed, both the FBI and high-profile Democrats have been claiming that the memo’s unredacted release would pose a national security threat, with California Congressman (and virulent Russiagater) Eric Swalwell going so far to call it “brainwashing.” A CNN panelist wandered completely off the paddock and suggested that yesterday may have been America’s last day as a democracy. Why were they all flipping out so hysterically over a release of information that plainly poses no threat to the American people?
In addition to Assange’s assertion that government secrecy has far less to do with national security than political security (a claim he has made before which seems to be proving correct time and time again), there’s the jarring question posed by Republican Congressman Thomas Massie: “who made the decision to withhold evidence of FISA abuse until after Congress voted to renew FISA program?”
Whoa, Nelly. Hang on. What is he talking about?
It would be understandable if you were unaware of the debate over the reauthorization of FISA surveillance which resulted in unconditional bipartisan approval last month – the mainstream media barely touched it. In point of fact, though, the very surveillance practices alleged to have been abused in this hotly controversial memo are the same which was waved through by both the House and the Senate, and by the very same people promoting the memo in many cases.
The McCabe testimony was in December. FISA was renewed in January. Why is all this just coming out now? If the Republicans truly believed that McCabe said what the memo claims he said, why wasn’t the public informed before their elected representatives renewed the intelligence community’s dangerously intrusive surveillance approval? Was this information simply forgotten about until after those Orwellian powers had been secured?
Of course not. Don’t be an idiot.
This makes the kicking, screaming, wailing and gnashing of teeth by the political establishment make a lot more sense, doesn’t it? Now suddenly we’re looking at a he-said, she-said partisan battle over an issue which can only be resolved with greater and greater transparency of more and more government documents, and we can all see where that’s headed. In their rush to win a partisan battle and shield their president from the ongoing Russiagate conspiracy theory, the Republicans may have exposed too much of the establishment foundation upon which both parties are built.
The term “deep state” does not mean “Democrats and Never-Trumpers” as Republican pundits would have you believe, nor does the term refer to any kind of weird, unverifiable conspiracy theory. The deep state is in fact not a conspiracy theory at all, but simply a concept used in political analysis for discussing the undeniable fact that unelected power structures exist in America, and that they tend to form alliances and work together in some sense.
There is no denying the fact that plutocrats, intelligence agencies, defense agencies and the mass media are both powerful and unelected, and there is no denying the fact that there are many convoluted and often conflicting alliances between them. All that can be debated is the manner and extent to which this is happening.
The deep state is America’s permanent government, the U.S. power structures that Americans don’t elect. These power structures plainly have a vested interest in keeping America’s Orwellian surveillance structures in place, as evidenced by the intelligence community’s menacingly urgent demand for FISA renewal back in December. If there’s any thread to be pulled that really could make waves in the way Official Washington (hat tip to the late Robert Parry) operates, it is in the plot holes between the bipartisan scramble toward unconditional surveillance renewal and the highly partisan battle over exposing the abuse of those very powers.
If we’re going to see a gap in the bars of our cages, that’s a great place to keep our eyes trained, so keep watching. Watch what happens in a partisan war where both parties have a simultaneous interest in revealing as little of the game as possible and exposing the other party. Things could get very interesting.
Caitlin Johnstone is a rogue journalist, poet, and utopia prepper who publishes regularly at Medium. Follow her work on Facebook, Twitter, or her website. She has a podcast and a new book Woke: A Field Guide for Utopia Preppers.
* Situation ethics was developed by American Anglican theologian Joseph F. Fletcher, whose book Situation Ethics: The New Morality arose from his objections to both moral absolutism (the view that there are fixed universal moral principles that have binding authority in all circumstances) and moral relativism (the view that there are no fixed moral principles at all).*
()
Mr Trump is ploying in the spheres of situation ethics and subjectivism as he relies on his ‘base’ (and Fox News) to override the authority of Established Law.
The Nunes “memo” is nothing more than a finger-in-the-dike vis-a-vis the flood wave of corruption and scandal committed by Trump and his money laundering cronies to be exposed by Mueller if his investigation is allowed to proceed.
What would a Trump victory, in the memo scheme, mean in this pivotal moment of U S history? — Think sincerely, before you answer…
Would it signal the enshrinement of the 1% (Koch Brothers,et al) as the now legitimate Rulers/Authority in America?
Isn’t this where we’re headed under Trump? —
Was Putin really involved in the election of Trump? or was it the Oligarchy of Billionaires and their Dark Money OWNERSHIP SOCIETY
rise of the radical right agenda?
Are we not, Essentially, heading into an Authoritarian Takeover in these United States?
Don’t be deceived/don’t be nauseously naive about some factional “deep state” nonexistent conspiracy while this Trump Presidency is in Actually THE AUTHORITARIAN TAKEOVER of the USA, not by, thru and because of the “deep state” but by and thru the same Oligarchy which oversaw the the (legal) trial and sacrificial execution of the good and honest Socrates. — After which, the monumental Greek Civilization went into deep decline.
Trump’s choice to sign on to Nunes’ escapist “memo” and sign onto the schematic ploy of FBI “wrong doing” — in the face of manifold unscrupulous self-aggrandizement by Trump and his family and manifold cohorts — to place his corrupt achievements over and above the needs and necessities of the ordinary American citizen and their (our) struggles in this CORPORATE FAVORING NATION is no less than the height of hypocrisy and a total abdication of his responsibility to ‘We The People’ of the United States of America’ and,as such,
a public pronouncement of total Self-Interest in the spectacle of the TRUMP BRAND over and above the interest of We The People.
Situation Ethics applies and will apply and has applied in all -of-the-thoughts-of his single minded head of self-approved, ill-bred subjectivist and licentious lifestyle motivations.
To my mind, he deserves a Wax- Museum statue along with all past and present C-R-E-E-P-S who lacked the graces of humility and compassion, and who’s entire world is 100% filled with fulfilling his own desires and passions (like the devil).
Trump is a living prophecy of things-to-come in our near future.
Keep your heads to the sky… .
Situation ethics was developed by American Anglican theologian Joseph F. Fletcher, whose book Situation Ethics: The New Morality arose from his objections to both moral absolutism
(the view that there are fixed universal moral principles that have binding authority in all circumstances)
and moral relativism (the view that there are no fixed moral principles at all).
WHICH OF THESE VIEWS BEST DESCRIBE TRUMPS’ “Principles”????
who dares to answer…?
Well, “The Deep State” (or whatever else it has been called) has always been there; the difference is that now it called The Deep State and not they myriad of other terms that were used to describe it in the past. This is not to infer or imply that it should always be there, but only an acknowledgment of what people are up against.
I keep seeing people make the claim that if the dossier wasn’t actually the biggest source of information relied upon to get the warrant that it’s no big deal. (This author does the same thing)That’s the false narrative that everyone seems to be stating on both the right and the left. The right claims it was the biggest part of the request the left says it wasn’t, but both sides seem to be saying that it needs to be the biggest part to matter. Hogwash, putting any false information into a warrant request can get you charged with contempt of court. When signing the request each one of them is swearing that ALL the information is true and verified, not just part of it.
I don’t care if 1% of the information used to get the warrant was false, if they knew it was false or likely to be less than accurate they should be in big trouble and any information gained in the warrant should not be admissible for anything because it’s “fruit of the poisoned tree”.
Honestly, just how many falsehoods can a warrant request contain before it’s a big deal? Can the request contain 50% falsehoods and still be OK but 51% crosses the line? Providing any information that is false or unverified is essentially lying to the judge because they all swear that every single bit of information contained is 100% factual.
Brad Smith – well said. The warrants also left off an important fact that the judge might have been interested in – the fact that the Steele dossier was paid for by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the DNC.
The guilty must be hanged. The corrupt officials must be prosecuted. Hope it happen soon.
Situation ethics (contextualism)
The right thing to do depends on the situation
In situation ethics, right and wrong depend upon the situation.
There are no universal moral rules or rights – each case is unique and deserves a unique solution.
Situation ethics teaches that ethical decisions should follow flexible guidelines rather than absolute rules, and be taken on a case by case basis.
…and so, the application of the Paul Ryan secreted/Trump approved “Nunes Memo” — which will stand as the opening salvo in the Usurpation of Foundational American Democracy.
What follows will be Rule by the Rich, for the Rich and of the Rich — The door was thrown (throne) wide open when SCOTUS approved UNLIMITED FUNDING and DARK MONEY politics.
… the die has been cast.
The most important part of the “Memo” was the fact that it disclosed the connection of the FBI with MI6. There is no such thing as an ex MI6 operative and the idea that even should he exist, why would he be so opposed to Trump that he would openly provide a pack of lies, in a foolhardy attempt to prevent Trump from being elected or indeed to impeach him? The ringmaster Mueller was fully aware of all this and yet he chose to continue with a costly search for evidence he knew did not exist against Trump and Russia, while in his past he totally ignored a mountain of evidence against Israel and the attack on 911, when he headed that inquiry and they put “him” in charge of a dossier against Clinton which he managed to turn into an attack against Trump? Give me a break!
Page 1 of the Nunes memo says:
“…the public’s confidence in the integrity of the FISA process depends on the court’s ability to hold the government to the highest standard – particularly as it relates to surveillance of American citizens. However, the FISC’s rigor in protecting the rights of Americans, which is reinforced by 90-day renewals of surveillance orders, is necessarily dependent on the government’s production to the court of all material and relevant facts. […] In the case of Carter Page, the government had at least four independent opportunities before the FISC to accurately provide an accounting of the relevant facts.”
Yes, the court is only as good as the information they’re getting from government officials. The court doesn’t expect that government officials are going to lie or leave out relevant information. Omission, especially omission on four separate occasions, is deceitful, trying to fool the court.
On page 2 of the memo, under 2)b):
“The application does not mention Steele was ultimately working on behalf of – and paid by – the DNC and Clinton campaign, or that the FBI had separately authorized payment to Steele for the same information.”
Comey’s June, 2017 testimony was that the Steele dossier was “salacious and unverified”, and yet they continued to spy.
Here’s a link to the four-page Devin Nunes memo:
https://lawfareblog.com/document-nunes-memo
And all of this lying and collusion precipitated the role of a Special Prosecutor to investigate Trump. It gave them free reign to tie up Trump, investigate him to their hearts’ content, find something – anything – on him in order to impeach him.
An attempted overthrow of a U.S. President, and all based on lies.
Excellent summation.
Thanks to all for posting thoughtful comments. Thanks, too, to the author for clarifying the term “deep state” which is misunderstood and being tossed about and disparaged in the MSM, by linking it to conspiracy theories.
While everyone here is much more eloquent than I will ever be, it seems to me that the memo keeps citizens off balance and looking in the wrong direction at the wrong problem. The issue is that our “democracy “ is run by unelected entities that have, first and foremost, financial interests and power to do as they please as their prime motivations. Get rid of oversight and rule of law (or write the laws to suit their tastes) because they want what they want and will get it through whatever means necessary.
However, as someone above noted, no, DT did not have a clue as to how, nor any intention of, draining that fetid swamp that he skillfully alludes to in his messaging to those ardent but less-than- wealthy supporters of his. He’s actually one of the swamp creatures but has thoroughly convinced the people who pack into stadiums to look the other way. Nevermind he speaks out both sides of his mouth, depending on the audience.
Meanwhile, he enacts policies through executive orders, giving swamp creatures ever more, more, more. Or signs a tax bill that shouldn’t be called a tax bill- more like a tax break to top bracket of wealth stake-holders. Because, after all, nothing is ever enough and due to their brilliance, they know what’s good for the rest of us. And If you aren’t self- made by gawd pull yourselves up by your bootstraps and quit being a wimp. There’s a fortune to be made by anyone who works hard enough.
The masses? Buy into the mantra that wealth is where it’s at. Stay tuned to endless entertainment and sports, and Fox and Rachel (when you’re not on the gerbil wheel; it’ll distract from the emptiness of this culture and the knowledge that you’re a loser cause you don’t make more money.) As my best friend would say, the wholesale cultural meme is a look-away pass.
One tip -off for everyone (if they’re paying attention) as to what the “deep state” is about and what this president is truly “for,” is the theme song for DT’s reality teevee show, the “Apprentice. “
The refrain: “Money, money, money…money.”
And if anyone cares also to pay close enough attention to the news, listen to the rubric against which we measure everything: economic$.
This country is in for a reckoning. I hope we collectively have the wisdom to weather the storm but fear we don’t.
Continued gratitude to Mr Parry who had the insight and fortitude to develop this site.
Be well all-
Per Caitlin Johnstone: “…[E]ven if every single allegation in the memo is true, the revelations are still arguably far less earth shattering than the Edward Snowden revelations of 2013 exposing the NSA’s sprawling domestic espionage network, so the expectation that these less significant new revelations would cause a radical transformation in U.S. politics when the Snowden revelations did not seems highly unrealistic.”
I have appreciated Ms. Johnstone’s recent works: Blunt, insightful, rational, mostly logical/factual…….
But, Ms. Johnstone’s above-quoted proposition misses a vital implication.
Yes, the NSA’s sprawling domestic espionage network violated the 4th amendment, 1st amendment, and substantive and procedural due process rights of millions of citizens and also non-citizen persons present in the U.S. or any of its Territories. That massive compound rights-violation deserves retribution of the form of prosecution of all the NSA officials and lesser NSA personnel involved and also in the form of civil privacy-violation/trespass judgments granting damages to the offended, against the NSA culprits.
But such matters, however grave (and they are monumentally grave), reside BELOW the level of the FBI’s committing espionage against the Trump campaign on the false and partisan premise of the Clinton-funded, error-riddled Christopher Steele dossier. That espionage constituted a heinously unethical, illegal manifestation of a legally-required-to-be-idependent-&-nonpolitical, professional U.S. government agency’s trespassing against one political party’s Presidency-candidate’s campaign to sabotage that campaign to misappropriate the Presidency for that candidate’s opponent.
THAT official malfeasance sought to cut the heart from our democracy. It sought to gain the Presidency for Hillary by garnering means of duping the electorate. It was akin to a coups d’Etat.
To diminish the Nunes memo’ significance, Ms. Johnstone argues that “the memo is only an internal communication between Republican congressmen; it’s not a sworn testimony or legal transcript or anything legally binding. It’s basically just some Republican ideas about what happened. The assertions made therein are reportedly being hotly contested by Democrats with knowledge of the situation, which is in turn being disputed by Republicans.”
But Ms. Johnstone defeats her arguemnt with this obnservation: “…[T]he memo’s contents are not…entirely new; CNN reported way back in April of last year that sources had informed them that the Steele dossier had been used to get a FISA warrant on the Trump campaign.”
Maybe the Nunes memo is PARTLY partisan crap — like ALL of Russiagate. But the Nunes memo sets on some true and critical evidence and facts that impugn, vitally, all the manufacturers of Russiagate.
Know, please, that I regret Trump’s being elected — as even more I would have regretted a Hillary Presidency. My concern is not a political one, but, rather, truth and the spare chance of salvation of the U.S. that ought to have been.
Correction of Loup-Bouc
February 4, 2018 at 12:18 am
coup d’Etat, not “coups d’Etat”
Loup-Bouc – I agree with your assessment. Weighing Snowden’s revelations against the FBI’s attempted overthrow of an election and Presidency, the latter is the worse offense.
The memo might not be sworn testimony, but it is a statement of facts based on evidence that Trey Gowdy, a well-known prosecutor, has gone over with a fine-toothed comb. If there was any doubt, Gowdy would not have backed up the memo as he has.
Gowdy is retiring from politics, says he makes a better prosecutor. I am just hoping that he’s going to the Department of Justice.
TO: backwardsevolution
February 4, 2018 at 5:08 am
Yes, Trey Gowdy is an excellent lawyer. I have wondered why he did not pursue to conclusion his investigation of Hillary and Billy Boy. GOP establishment pressure?
Loup-Bouc – “GOP establishment pressure?” I’m sure that’s what happened. If you’re ever going to seriously go after these crooks, you need people backing you up. Gowdy probably looked behind him and saw no one there.
I’m sure Gowdy took one look at the evidence behind the Nunes memo (he’s the only Republican that has seen all the evidence) and realized nobody is going to go after these people, and that he is swimming in a sea of filth. If you are at all an ethical person, that would just disgust you.
With fingers crossed, I’m just hoping that Gowdy goes to the Department of Justice. If he does, we’ll know someone is serious about cleaning up the Swamp. If he doesn’t, then the Rule of Law is completely lost and things will continue to spiral down.
TO: backwardsevolution
February 4, 2018 at 9:57 pm
I should be amazed if Trump nominated Gowdy to hold any high DoJ position. I was amazed when Trump nominated Tillerson to be Secretary of State. Trump has seemed not to want associates who possess fine minds, patience, integrity, great competence, ethics, or circumspection.
I was not amazed when Trump fired Bannon, who was a voice of temperance and reason in foreign affairs, truly a populist in his views of the banking system, Wall Street, and the Federal Reserve, a voice of reason concerning Middle East policy and Zionist Israel (that second-worst terrorist-state/war-crime-perpetrating-nation), and a rational proponent of immigration-limitation and expulsion of illegal immigrants. Worse for Trump’s weak ego, Bannon is brilliant.
TO: backwardsevolution
February 4, 2018 at 9:57 pm
See this:
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/ugly-truth-nunes-memo/
Loup-Bouc – “Trump has seemed not to want associates who possess fine minds, patience, integrity, great competence, ethics, or circumspection.”
I don’t think he sees them; they are foreign to him. It’s almost as if you have to possess these qualities yourself before you see them in others. It’s funny, though, he seems to see good qualities in Putin. Trump said something like, “I knew he was smart.”
Trump probably doesn’t possess any of the things you listed, but I have heard that he is very loyal, that he doesn’t forget those who have helped him, and he also apparently is very forgiving. He’s also very conscientious, not lazy at all. Not bad qualities to have.
I think he also is “trying” to give the people what they voted for. I could be wrong, but he did at least initially want to be friends with Russia, cut NATO back, stop the wars, but Russiagate has put a stop to that.
He also is trying to address immigration, bring jobs back by giving corporations massive tax cuts (I don’t know how that’s going to work out). He’s currently working on making generic prescriptions easier to get. The insurance and health care monopolies need to be tackled.
In his way, with his very limited capabilities, I think he is trying. He knows at any minute they can bring the stock market down around his ankles or have his head blown off. I would not like to be in his position.
I don’t know how anyone can possibly govern when there is an absence of the Rule of Law. Surrounded by corruption, all you can do is spin.
Take care.
Loup-Bouc – that’s some great Scott Ritter article! Well-written and researched.
“Having started down this path, the GOP members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence must now finish what they started, even if this leads to the arrest and prosecution of former and current members of the FBI and DOJ. Failure to do so would demonstrate that its actions to date were merely taken out of a sense of political partisanship, and that its stated concern for the massive violation by the FBI and DOJ of the foundational civil liberty protections afforded American citizens by the Constitution was simply lip service.”
Christopher Steele, it is being stated now, had a great dislike for Trump; certainly not an impartial person. But it also seems that many at the DOJ and the FBI disliked Trump too and wanted him stopped.
IMO, it was one big set-up with intent to get Trump, but intent is hard to prove, isn’t it? The memos are revealing. Perhaps there’s more of them to come. We’ll see if they do follow through with this. If not, I think I’ll hang up my Internet boots and move on.
TO: backwardsevolution
February 5, 2018 at 9:19 am
Have you read this?
https://consortiumnews.com/2018/02/04/wmd-claims-in-syria-raise-concerns-over-u-s-escalation/#comment-307113
TO: backwardsevolution
February 5, 2018 at 9:19 am
At least the deep state is relentless:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-russia-fbi-dossier-cody-shearer-kremlin-christopher-steele-a8186086.html
As others have said, the Snowden revelations have not only the subjects of FISA warrants under surveillance but all or most of their contacts as well. So the surveillance of the Trump “team” was most likely not limited.
Some outlets have described the FISA-backed surveillance directed at, apparently, Carter Page as green-lighting a “wiretap”. This is not exactly accurate as the NSA retains all electronic records all the time. Instead of initiating a wiretap, the FISA warrant allows the review of materials which have already been collected.
The surveillance of U.S. individuals is supposedly undertaken only in light of Constitutional principles and protections. Some of the heavy MSM spin has suggested that Carter Page had previous contact with Russians and therefore “should have” been under surveillance, but the evidence of wrongdoing seems stretched to say the least. Likewise, hearsay over a drunken wine-room conversation is also held up as a trigger for a FISA warrant, which seems extremely weak on Constitutional grounds.
Apparently, shortly after the election NSA Director Mike Rogers reviewed the FISA/FISC process as related to Trump associates, and very soon afterwards held a meeting with the Trump transition team. The following day the transition team moved out of their Trump Tower offices to a new location in New Jersey. Soon after, James Clapper and Ash Carter began demands that Rogers be fired. This story will likely be fleshed out in upcoming weeks as well.
jaycee – good post. “Soon after, James Clapper and Ash Carter began demands that Rogers be fired.”
Yep, same as with Devin Nunes. Good for Mike Rogers. I hope that Clapper (who lied and repeatedly said that all 17 intelligence agencies agreed Russia hacked the election) and his friends, Brennan and Carter, are exposed too.
Apparently Devin Nunes had initially gone to the White House back in the spring of 2017 in order to look at some log books kept there. I can’t remember what he was looking at, but the Dems shut Nunes down as fast as they could.
People are actually running scared on this.
I believe that Nunes went to the White House to look at some log books re “requests to unmask”. I think that’s what I remember.
backwardsevolution, here is the best explanation yet in my opinion.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/48711.htm
Sorry… here.
http://dailycaller.com/2018/01/20/obama-administration-plot-exonerate-hillary/
Bob Van Noy – thank you for posting that great article. Joe diGenova explains everything so well, doesn’t he? A very knowledgeable person. Boy, every day I think I’ll get this, this and that done, and every day I get nothing done because there’s just too many interesting things to read about. Thanks, Bob.
Yes he does. He thoroughly understands the importance of the Moment and how quickly it passes into the void… On a personal note: Thank you for paying attention.
Professor Stephen F. Cohen, professor emeritus of Russian studies, history and politics at New York University and Princeton University, discusses the danger of Russia-gate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=477&v=CpVBA4OIfb8
“nobody wants to give Trump any credit, but in his State of the Union speech, the only thing he said about Russia is that it’s a rival. He didn’t say it’s an enemy. He didn’t say it’s a threat. He said it’s a rival. That’s absolutely true. He was not down with his generals during the State of the Union speech.
“What’s the most worrying thing? That the new Cold War is unfolding not far away from Russia, like the last in Berlin, but on Russia’s borders in the Baltic and in Ukraine. That we are building up our military presence there, so the Russians are counter-building up, though within their territory. That means the chances of hot war are now much greater than they were before. Meanwhile, not only do we not have a discussion of these real dangers in the United States but anyone who wants to incite a discussion, including the President of the United States, is called treasonous.
“I mean, every time Trump has tried with Putin to reach a cooperative arrangement, for example, on fighting terrorism in Syria, which is a worthy purpose, a necessary purpose, literally, the New York Times and the others call him treasonous. Whereas, in the old days, the old Cold War, we had a robust discussion. There is none here. We have no alert system that’s warning the American people and its representatives how dangerous this is. And as we mentioned before, I mean, it’s not only Nunes, it’s a lot of people who are being called Kremlin agents because they want to digress from the basic narrative.”
Stephen F. Cohen know of what he speaks. Thanks for that.
Perfectly placed as always Abe. Thanks…
What we “may” be seeing is widespread panic. Not in regards to the memo but America’s future in general. I don’t believe this memo will result in inflicting much punishment to anyone in particular, as each has dirt on each other. That we see the Zionsville press screaming means they’re scared about the big picture. Seems most are being directed to worry what happens when you pull on this thread. Is there a pandas box about to be unraveled? Can it lead all the way back to 9/11 and the 3 skyscrapers that were imploded while the country stood down? Are those behind that overtaking of America the ones who fighting the narrative? One could only hope it’s going to hit the fan, citizens have been lazy far too long. Do they have the fight in them to believe the obvious of inside jobs, false flags, and the overthrow of sovereign countries (Ukraine, Yugoslavia, Burma, etc.) and the ongoing battles using terrorists groups to destroy at will, Sudan, Yemen, Burma(lighting people on fire is democracy?) Syria, Iran etc. A certain type of people have a lot of blood on their hands, but if nobody is willing to take the fall for the democratic elites, finger pointing, banging and a whole lot more secrets are simmering at the top. And they’ve been there for a few decades.
Hawaii Guy – apparently what was stated in the Devin Nunes/Trey Gowdy memo (and the accompanying evidence) is only the tip of the iceberg (about 10%). There’s at least another 90% to go. It’s going to get interesting.
OK Caitlin, I am a fan! Don’t know if I have read you before or not, but you are now on my radar screen. I am one of those dummies that was opposed to the reauthorization of Fisa a couple of weeks ago, and signed Rand Paul’s petition as well–but I did not tie that to this current memo issue. Stoopid! I am not going to blame myself too much though, because I think that is typical of very intelligent people as well as not-so-intelligent people–we’re not near as smart as we think… –That goes for the entire species, including my howling evolutionary ancestors! Think maybe I’ll buy one of your books. Great article! Loved the clarity.
Along the road of humanity the signposts are all marked progress, except that humanity is packed like sardines into an automobile that is traveling downhill without lights at a terrific speed and being driven by a four-year-old child.
–Lord Dunsany
Dismissed, page 14
http://www.dismissedanovel.com
I think you’ve understated the kaboom involved here. There is an objective kaboom articulated in the memo that is not dependent on Nunes personal interpretation. Most of what is laid out in the memo is not hotly contested, at least not legitimately. The fact that the FBI submitted evidence to the court that not only left out important information about the source of the evidence, but affirmatively misled the court regarding the nature and reliability of the evidence was admitted by the FBI and the Court’s objection to the misrepresentations is documented in a Memorandum of Points and Authorities prepared by the FISA court. The names and some information has been redacted from the courts memorandum but enough remains to corroborate the allegations. You can read it here:
https://www.scribd.com/document/349261099/2016-Cert-FISC-Memo-Opin-Order-Apr-2017-4
Whether or not there was other reliable evidence submitted in addition to the tainted evidence is entirely irrelevant. The FBI has duty to present only true and correct and vetted evidence to any court but that duty is heightened considerably where there is no opposing party present at the proceedings to raise objections and the proceedings and decisions are conducted in secrecy so that the Court is almost entirely dependent on whatever evidence the government submits for consideration. This is why secret court proceedings are generally considered to be inherently illegitimate. The potential for abuse of power and government overreach is practically limitless. And one can hardly conceive of a more nefarious abuse than actions on the part of the party in power designed use the levers of power to undermine the opposition and extend their control of the government. The revulsion that Trump inspires, in the public consciousness has obscured the awareness of the crippling threat to democratic governance represented by the concerted actions of the DNC, the Justice Department and the intelligence agencies. The Democrats objections to the Nunes memorandum are insincere and almost entirely irrelevant. The conflicts of interest are numerous and unacceptable. The manipulation of the institutions of government to advance a political agenda not endorsed or even known to the public is a gross abuse of power. The misrepresentations to the FISA court are only one part of the actions undertaken by undefined this group of government officials, but this particular action happens to be a felony. It is not inaccurate or hyperbolic to characterize the alleged actions as a treasonous conspiracy to usurp the power of the people to control the government. I think that quite easily qualifies as a rather loud Kaboom. But I also have an additional concern I find equally disturbing and that is the unprecedented unanimous consensus of mainstream media and most of alternative media that evidence presented, even if incomplete, that suggests the possibility of a conspiracy far produced brought suggests the real
possibility of a conspiracy to frustrate the vote of the electorate is a “nothingburger.” If this does not excite the interest of the public than we are a nation of glassy eyed automatons. Scrolling the headlines in Google news reveals an uniformity of press opinion that is inexplicable to me. The reaction has not just been one big yawn but rather violent outrage and virulent tweets directed at anyone who would consider the allegations. By any objective standard enough evidence exists to at least explore the possibility that government officials acted improperly in advancing this investigation. What can possibly justify the complete dismissal of such serious allegations before any consideration of the evidence? I find it frightening and bizarre that so many Americans are convinced of the falsity of the accusations that consideration of the evidence is considered ignorant and evil. It is more than a little ironic that this is a replication of the strategy that gave rise to this investigation. Evidence was made public that showed the Democratic Party improperly manipulated the primary election. Consideration of the undisputed evidence was obscured in favor of attacking the means by which the evidence was made public. Nancy Pelosi even suggested that it was unpatriotic to consider the improper actions of the Democrats because doing so might advance the objectives of Vladimir Putin. It’s laughable. Once again the public is being asked to ignore credible evidence of malfeasance by our government officials because it might derail the thus far evidence free investigation collusion with unproven Russian interference in our election. I am used to holding non majority opinions, but In 58 years I don’t believe I have ever felt quite so befuddled by or alienated from prevailing opinion.
The Nunes memo exposes corruption at the highest level amongst the intelligence agencies; Democratic Party & Media to promote false narratives such as the steele dossier which lead to the crooked FISA warrant! The Democratic Party’s fake Russiagate collusion delusion & gaslighting was then used to distract attention & create confusion to shift blame for their dismal election defeat by blaming a totally innocent Russia for this embarrassing defeat, rather than face the fact that Hillary Clinton was a terrible & flawed candidate! All this activity was put in motion to discredit & destroy Presidential candidate Trump, who became the President, & overturn the election result by conducting a slow motion coup using the weaponised, politicised, intelligence agencies like the FBI? Regardless of what you think of Trump, who is a totally horrible President, the fact of the matter is that America is little more than a banana Republic run by unelected deep state actors, that no one voted for? The entire Political class of both Republican & Democratic Party members, are also a greedy bunch of paid off, pay for play, corrupt politicians like mafia recipients, who are only out to make a money for themselves at the expense of the ordinary American citizen, hence why, Trump the outsider was elected! The writer is also correct, it’s not the content of the memo that is the issue, its the manner of how these Deepstate actors abused their power to corrupt & overturn the outcome of the last election? If Trump had any brains he should sign executive orders to immediately arrest all those people mentioned in that memo & charge them all with Treason & given the death penalty! That’s the only way to root out this corruption, rather than letting them jump ship like rats leaving a sinking ship, which is what is happening now with all the resignations, before the crap hits the fan? They all need to be rounded up like criminals & treated like the traitors they are? A few deaths would set a precedent that would ripple amongst these crooks that treason at the highest level will not be tolerated?
If your charlatan President fires Mueller, you’ll know who the real Traitor is… .
Mild-ly – Facetious – perhaps you should look at the traitor who appointed Mueller in the first place – Rod Rosenstein. See my post above.
All of these guys were and are attempting to overthrow a duly-elected President of the United States.
The citizens of a Republic like
the USA can no longer remain
passive spectators to the abuse
of power by the Washington, D.C.
establishment as Lincoln warned
in his Gettysburg address in 1863!
Excellent article Caitlin! Thank you.
And your last paragraph cynically drives home how low we’ve sunk:
“If we’re going to see a gap in the bars of our cages, that’s a great place to keep our eyes trained, so keep watching. Watch what happens in a partisan war where both parties have a simultaneous interest in revealing as little of the game as possible and exposing the other party. Things could get very interesting.”
It won’t help the FBI for CNN and the NYT to point out this afternoon that the FBI was tasked in2015 with investigating the abuse of Olympic child athletes by their Olympic authorized physician at Michigan State in
2015 and the case languished into 2016 when the Indianapolis Star broke the story:
“But as the inquiry moved with little evident urgency, a cost was being paid. The New York Times has identified at least 40 girls and women who say that Dr. Nassar molested them between July 2015, when he first fell under F.B.I. scrutiny, and September 2016, when he was exposed by an Indianapolis Star investigation. Some are among the youngest of the now-convicted predator’s many accusers — 265, and counting.
The three alleged victims then at the center of the F.B.I.’s inquiry were world-class athletes; two were Olympic gold medalists. Nearly a year passed before agents interviewed two of the young women.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/03/sports/nassar-fbi.html
If the FBI is this messed up, why are they and the other secretive institutions in this country trusted to do the right thing without any oversight and with overwhelming powers to work without scrutiny?
These so called intelligence services both domestic and foreign seem to have unlimited power and have used that to hide wrongdoing – witness the destruction of the torture tapes by the CIA.
Human beings are very flawed creatures vulnerable to all sorts of pressures.
The only ones I have confidence in right now are the whistle blowers who have risked so much to inform us.
Any politician who vilifies the courageous whistle blowers (who for no benefit to themselves shared with us the dark secrets of wrongdoing done in our name) is not to be trusted.
Very good points and a forceful conclusion.
Trump is not going to hold anyone or anything to account, or at least not for the right reasons.
What would be the right reason to hold the FBI to account? The Newburgh Sting is just one of a panoply of examples. Ruby Ridge is another. There are so many.
How about holding the CIA to account for Operation Phoenix or the cocaine trafficking and Iran/Contra. Has Trump mentioned any of that? I don’t think so. Why not? Maybe because he knows they’ll pop his head open like a melon if he does.
Trump is a foil. The Deep State wants him right where he is. Why? That’s the question, and it’s more than tightening surveillance.
You can count the number of times the CIA agent has gone to prison on two hands and if you eliminate the times that an agent has not sold out, you dont even need one.
It seems they were caught with their pants down.
Principles of Chaos
Order / Disorder–
Chaos is not simply disorder. Chaos explores the transitions between order and disorder, which often occur in surprising ways.
By understanding that our ecosystems, our social systems, and our economic systems are interconnected, we can hope to avoid actions which may end up being detrimental to our long-term well-being.
By implication, these United States of America have entered into an era of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) with the election of a SELF-SERVING Political Idiot whom hasn’t a clue as to overseeing America’s Established Bureaucracy. He is, disturbingly and horribly, totally out of his element — and will end up, possibly, manipulating himself into Federal Prison.
What you say is true that he will end up, possibly manipulating himself into federal prison. But I do not think so. Trump may have his flaws but then again many presidents also had major flaws. Nixon was the mastermind behind Watergate. His actions were exposed and the nation was fixated by a press which brought the truth out. Woodward and Bernstein were actually very good reporters and what Nixon did was actually against the law.
But the obfuscators who engage in sewing fake news and thrive on controversy in the current fiasco will likely just mire us all in such an un-understandable miasma of foreign and domestic intrigue that everyone will end up choosing sides based on their political affiliations and not on all the confusing facts whether the Steele dossier is real or fake news paid for by HRC or whether Putin was behind the Russian influencing which was gained through secret meetings between Trump and the Russians.
So far it all looks like bullshit to me and reporters for national news outlets have admitted that the whole thing has been concocted to drive news ratings.
It is the singular goal of PR men to seed doubt and they know they do not have to prove a point to create chaos and confusion which leads to inaction. All they have to do is seed doubt as to the factual nature of the group think and in the end they will win the day because they have a majority and have the billionaires backing them.
This whole affair is likely to go against democrats more than it is likely to go against republicans. I think we are already seeing that with the release of just one internal memo. There are probably many more memos which are being written right now that will be released as secret documents which will damage the cause of the FBI and the democrats to end Trump’s presidency. It may be a big enough backfire to derail the democrats and the FBI’s efforts to ensnare Trump.
Time and events will tell but I think it is not a slam dunk prediction that Trump will end up in jail. Not sure he should either. Perhaps the democrats should have just insisted he release his tax returns or attacked him for his administration. Way more simple than the Russia thing.
The fact that it was Nunes who did this release is also important. He had to recuse himself from the Chair position due to Dem insistence on an ethics investigation. Apparently, Nunes had to walk a document over to the WH for Trump to see that top deep state gov’t officials had requested that names of those campaign workers caught up in the surveillance be unredacted. Once Nunes was cleared, he resumed the Chair and now has taken the fight further in an effort to illuminate at least some of the secrets. Meanwhile, the deep state has successfully protected its top tier–namely Obama, Lynch, Holder, Napolitano, and so on. When Sally Yates refused to implement Trumps travel ban, she revealed the power of the deep state. Her action was heavily approved of by Dems and the media. I am really wondering why Mueller was appointed to lead this Russia investigation. As the longest serving FBI Director (except for Hoover), how could he not know about rampant deep state bias and corruption? How could not know that agent Strzok was a rabid partisan?
Thucydides – “I am really wondering why Mueller was appointed to lead this Russia investigation. As the longest serving FBI Director (except for Hoover), how could he not know about rampant deep state bias and corruption? How could not know that agent Strzok was a rabid partisan?”
Because I think Mueller DID know about Strzok, and that is precisely why Mueller chose him. Mueller wanted people heavily invested in getting Trump. This is a witch hunt, after all, and by choosing people who already hate Trump, you’re halfway there. These guys are really going to dig for any dirt they can find.
Of course Mueller knows about rampant Deep State bias and corruption. He’s played his role as gatekeeper for a long time now. Apparently the Department of Justice is now going to be investigating Uranium One, which Robert Mueller played a part in. I think he’s a dirty cop.
I thought it was interesting what Sebastian Gorka said last night on Sean Hannity’s program. He said he had just been reminded by Congressman Gaetz (of Florida) that after Comey was fired in May of 2017, Rod Rosenstein escorted Robert Mueller to be interviewed by President Trump on May 16, 2017. Rosenstein presented Mueller to Trump as a candidate for Comey’s old position, Director of the FBI. Can you believe it? Had Trump gone along, Mueller might have been the FBI Director again. Trump declined, though, saying he did not want someone from the old Bush administration; he wanted somebody new.
Then Gorka went on to say that it was the next day (May 17, 2017) that Rosenstein designated Robert Mueller as the Special Counsel on Russiagate. And it was indeed Rosenstein who took this action. Another dirty political hack? I think the evidence will eventually bear this out.
All of these guys who Nunes has outlined in the memo are political hacks, part of the Deep State.
backwardsevolution I believe you have hit the mark. Very good post. Robert Mueller has been a dirty cop doing the business of the deep state for a long time. Not that he is alone among the former heads of the deep state run FBI. You mentioned Hoover and we can all relate to how Hoover ran the FBI. He ran it like Al Capone ran the Mob. By noe there is enough history revealed to see clearly how Hoover ran the department and Rosenstein’s actions to offer Mueller as the new head of the agency only to by rebuffed by Trump resulted in Mueller’s appointment as the Special Counsel on Russia gate the next day.
Clearly there was a no win scenario presented to Trump. Either make Mueller head of the FBI of face the consequences. That is a play right out of Hoovers playbook.
The FBI under Hoover played that game over and over in order to get its way with all sorts of political agendas. Hoover was a master at blackmailing presidents. When he wanted to open a wiretap on Martin Luther King Junior he was stopped by the then Attorney General Robert Kennedy but Hoover was not to be denied what his Dixiecrat congressmen wanted which was to mire MLK in a scandal which would derail his march for freedom and civil rights.
Hoover threatened he would release secrets that JFK was having an affair if Bobby didn’t agree to the wiretap of MLK. Bobby Kennedy agreed and the two had a mutual agreement that information defamatory towards JFK would not be released with the granting of the wiretap on MLK as a concession.
Hoover got his way in the end through blackmail and the surveillance power of his department to spy on even the president.
Not much has changed in the intervening 65 years to change the behavior of the FBI to intimidate and blackmail and threaten investigations on whoever stood in their way to investigate who they wanted to investigate for whatever reason they wanted to investigate.
Bobby took the bait and history was written that MLK was assassinated, JFK was assassinated Bobby Kennedy was assassinated and the FBI was never indicted for anything. That’s a whole lot of assassinations for granting the FBI the ability to spy on a civil rights leader.
In the book Pillar of Fire by Taylor Branch Branch details the sordid mess of Hoovers control over the attempt to breakup the civil rights movement. In the most telling account, Hoovers spies and wiretappers found evidence of marital infidelity by MLK and urged him to commit suicide before he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize.
Back then not a single media outlet would cover the story unless they had the source. The FBI refused to reveal that they were the source and had the information by wiretap so the press refused to run the story.
The FBI and the press certainly learned their lessons on that one and today there is a complete feed through of information channels that exists between the press and the FBI even though the press and the FBI may not overtly admit their complicit behavior.
The Washington Post and the NY Times used to be somewhat objective and especially critical of the government agencies. But that separation of powers has today been erased.
Part of the confusion has been how to decide what the FBI is saying is true as reported by the press. When presented with a unified front of endless propaganda supporting the FBI by the press we are drug under the waters and are exposed to the drowning effect of allegation after allegation foisted on us by the media FBI complex.
This event is a new development. In the days of the Civil Rights Movement the press was skeptical of the intelligence agencies. If they weren’t we might not have had a Civil Rights movement but instead faced the views of the Hoover administration as fact and accepted them as gospel.
The deep state has a long and nefarious history of supporting whatever branch of power they choose for their own reasons. Often their actions have been manipulative and deceptive as when they tried to get MK to kill himself.
Whether it is a Robert Mueller or a J. Edgar Hoover at the reigns the history of the abuses of power of that agency are well written in books and their is no reason we should think that the same unaccountable agency is alive and well and is playing out the same power plays which they have engaged in the past.
Rod Rosenstein may view himself as the next J Edgar Hoover performing power plays to serve the interest of the deep state but then again Trump has technology on his side. MLK could not even have imagined he could use Twitter to alert the masses which would gain the attention of the press to stop the nonsense. If he had it at his disposal I’m sure he would have used it to call out the blackmailers at the FBI who were closing in on him.
In the end, we can all see that the former administrations of the FBI have engaged in historical accounts in the most manipulative way they could to control the course of events and reshape our political landscape.
Sure many of these plots backfired and MLK is recognized as a martyr for the cause of civil rights today. The agency cannot rule us and we will eventually come to our own conclusions.
The difference is technology and the ability to expose crimes by our intelligence agencies at the highest levels.
The next bit is a bit uncertain. Will they be held accountable? My guess is they will not.
They will not be held accountable because our press is unaccountable. The twin problem for Trump is how to get his message out while combating the intelligence agencies which have already fixated on his removal and the press which has the same objective.
CitizenOne – that was a great post. The only thing Trump has going for him is, as you say, Twitter and his ability to NOT get embarrassed. They tried using the “pussy” tape on him, but Trump just shrugged it off as “locker talk”. Hard to come at a guy who you know has skeletons in his closet, but who doesn’t care about them being exposed.
I found it very interesting what you said about Mueller and Rosenstein:
“Clearly there was a no win scenario presented to Trump. Either make Mueller head of the FBI or face the consequences. That is a play right out of Hoovers playbook.”
Do you think they actually put it to Trump that he either takes Mueller as the FBI Director or there will be hell to pay? If so, then Trump is not as stupid as many make him out to be. Because when you shake hands with the devil, you’re going to pay in the end, anyway. As you pointed out with JFK, RFK and MLK, they were all assassinated.
Everybody dumps on Trump, but I actually feel for the guy. He is in a very dangerous position. That takes guts. Every day could be his last. Trump has 50 million faithful, gun-toting citizens on his side. If these guys take Trump out, the country could come apart. I think they know that.
If this memo is barely scratching the surface of what’s coming, which is what I’ve heard, and if Trump continues to use Twitter to get new information out there, then there is a chance of bringing these guys down. Time is of the essence here.
Very interesting re Hoover and the FBI. So you set up a non-elected body to watch over the country, and they end up taking you over. Dastardly.
I don’t think the intelligence agencies like people who can’t be bribed, like Trump. Must frustrate them all to hell.
Good talking to you, CitizenOne.
backwards evolution and CitizenOne, I’m fairly certain in my reading that I read that Hoover’s dirty tricks group had a name with the number 5 in it. I will look for a link but you’re definitely on to something. I have read the works of William Pepper (Another American Hero) and possibly it was there. The main feature of this group, is that it was formed to protect the security of Wernher von Braun‘s group…
The give and take here was too good to pass up so I’ll follow up ASAP…
Draining this decades old swamp cannot happen overnight!
As per above…
http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/26648-j-edgar-hoover-used-nazis-as-cold-war-spies-dismissed-their-horrific-acts-as-qsoviet-propagandaq
The book is “NASA NAZI’s And JFK”.
Bob Van Noy – good article. I’ve always thought there was much more to this Nazi Germany business than we’ve been led to believe. I mean, you read about Henry Ford and other rich U.S. industrialists being involved with Hitler, and you just shake your head. We only get bits and pieces to put together. I guess what makes the most sense is that these elites all stick together, no matter what horrendous things they do. Thanks, Bob.
backwardsevolution have you seen this piece? I agree with most of it after years of reading…
http://everythingisarichmanstrick.webs.com
Bob Van Noy – interesting article, and they quite possibly could be right. There is a lot I don’t believe, i.e. that 9/11 happened the way they say it did, and all the rest of the tragedies like JFK and MLK. I also don’t believe the Holocaust happened the way it did. Anybody questioning the narrative is called a “conspiracy theorist”, a “denier”, anything to shut you up. People are not even allowed to look at the Holocaust, question the numbers or how people died in much of Europe; they are just jailed for even bringing the subject up. Why?
The truth gets lost in a sea of lies.
” Rod Rosenstein may view himself as the next J Edgar Hoover performing power plays to serve the interest of the deep state but then again Trump has technology on his side. ”
Rod Rosenstein , as the person who appointed Mueller as Special Counsel , is a major source of Trump’s problems. Given that Trump appointed Rosenstein , I’m having a hard time viewing Trump as being any kind of tech-savvy , 3-D chess-playing master strategist.
Trump got lucky because his opponents , certain that HRC would be the new Potus with their assistance , broke the law with reckless abandon.
Marko – “Given that Trump appointed Rosenstein , I’m having a hard time viewing Trump as being any kind of tech-savvy , 3-D chess-playing master strategist.”
Trump is savvy in his real estate dealings; he is a risk-taker. Sometimes he won, sometimes he lost. But he is not a master strategist and he does not know the world of politics, and certainly next to nothing about foreign affairs or the intelligence agencies. He is out of his league here.
Trump appointed Rosenstein? Well, he might have put him forward, but as Paul Craig Roberts said, Trump, not knowing all of the players, without a clear understanding of the Swamp, would have listened to his advisors. He didn’t know Rosenstein from a hole in the ground.
Trump is surrounded by sharks, some of his own doing, and I think he’s just realizing this now. If I were him, I’d fire the whole top layer of the FBI, CIA, Department of Justice, NSA. Get rid of them. That’s what Sam F recommended right here on this site, and he was right.
Yes, Trump got lucky. He says the FBI should be “ashamed” of themselves, and yet he doesn’t know enough about the Constitution to say why. He is not a politician, he doesn’t know the law. Any politician who doesn’t have a law degree is behind the eight ball to begin with.
But I think Trump is “trying” to bring in policies that he got elected on. He is just being stymied by the Swamp. You would probably say he knew this all along. I guess we’ll see.
I’m all for that. Concomitantly, let’s see Trump’s tax returns also since transparency is such a worthy & noble virtue.
Surely The Deep State could have prevented Trump from ever being “elected” POTUS, right? There are many ways in The Tool Chest to accomplish that task and yet The Deep State didn’t intervene. That tells me The Deep State wanted Trump for some reason or purpose that transcends tightening surveillance although no doubt tightening surveillance is certainly part of it.
Let’s also not forget that Putin was once The Soviet Union’s Deep State and now that former Soviet Deep State is now THEE State. I would imagine The American Deep State is a bit envious.
To elaborate, Trump is the unwitting foil of the Deep State and this spectacle that is the Trump Presidency and the partisan reaction to it is used by the Deep State as a foil & cover to its true intentions. It’s Kabuki Theater regardless of whether or not the various political thespians know it is.
But I feel the true intentions are more than just surveillance. There must be something more to all of this. What? That’s the question. What could be of such paramount importance that it requires the unthinkable & repulsive “election” of a Golem like Trump to the highest office in the land?
I feel it must be something much more heinously atrocious than just mere surveillance, but surely increased surveillance is part of it.
When unelected & undemocratic power such as this goes unchecked for this long, since Dulles convinced Truman to sign off on the creation of the CIA in the late 1940s, the end result can only be psychopathology at the highest levels of the pyramid.
Is there a point to this Game, The Game, or is merely a matter of playing? The goal isn’t to win or lose, but rather to play as long as you can because The Game must go on in perpetuity?
Mr. Steele was also involved in Litvinenko affair: http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2018/02/habakkuk-on-longtime-sources.html
“In the light of the suggestion in the Nunes memo that Steele was ‘a longtime FBI source’ it seems worth sketching out some background, which may also make it easier to see some possible reasons why he ‘was desperate that Donald Trump not get elected and was passionate about him not being president.’ There is reason to suspect that some former and very likely current employees of the FBI have been colluding with elements in other American and British intelligence agencies, in particular the CIA and MI6, in support of an extremely ambitious foreign policy agenda for a very long time. It also seems clear that influential journalists, such as Glenn Simpson was before founding Fusion GPS, along with his wife Mary Jacoby, have been strongly involved in this.
This agenda has involved hopes for ‘régime change’ in Russia, whether as the result of an oligarchic coup, a popular revolt, or some combination of both. Also central have been hopes for a further ‘rollback’ of Russia influence in the post-Soviet space, both in areas now independent, such as Ukraine, and also ones still part of the Russian Federation, notably Chechnya. And, crucially, it involved exploiting the retreat of Russian power from the Middle East for ‘régime change’ projects which it was hoped would provide a definitive solution to the – inherently intractable – security problems of a Jewish settler state in the area.”
Interesting. I’m familiar with Habakkuk. He’s always been quite friendly with the Communists even prior to the fall of the Soviet Union. Litvinenko was a Soviet too and a Whistle Blower.
But there appear to be some contradictions if this is a possible answer to my question. Trump is squarely in Israel’s corner. More so than Obama and Kerry, that’s for damn sure. He has moved the State Department to Jerusalem and acknowledges it as the capital of Israel when in fact Washington D.C. is actually the capital of Israel because without so many puppets on a string in D.C., Israel will cease to exist.
Also, how was Steele “involved” in the Litvinenko affair? Did he actually administer the Polonium 210 or does he know who did? I know The Spy Game can be byzantine & complex, but to imply Western Intelligence poisoned Litvinenko to make it look like the Russians did is going too far, imo. There’s no need for that since Russia has no problem looking bad all on its own without America jumping through hoops to make it look bad. This is not to say that America isn’t bad itself and doesn’t also look bad because it is and does.
Finally, and there’s probably more but this is it for now, if you look at my comments about Trump’s soon-to-be-announced nuclear arsenal expansion plans, it reeks of a Cold War Redux. It’s worse than anything “The Red Queen” may have sanctioned if she was POTUS. Nuclear Brinksmanship as much as anything else defined the Cold War Era.
If The Steele Dossier is the best The Deep State has to “resist” Trump and his backers, whoever they are, then The Deep State is a mythological Paper Tiger, but I don’t believe that’s the case. The Deep State had many more options to strangle Trump in his political cradle before he even ascended. It owns CNN & MSNBC and Twitter & Facebook and all of those combined gave Trump the publicity he needed to garner a base who’s consent was largely manufactured.
I still contend The Deep State wants Trump right where he is, more so than it wanted “The Red Queen”. Why? Why would they promulgate this MADNESS? What purpose does such a sadistic nihilistic strategy serve?
Cold N. Holefield – “Surely The Deep State could have prevented Trump from ever being “elected” POTUS, right? There are many ways in The Tool Chest to accomplish that task and yet The Deep State didn’t intervene.”
Oh, they most definitely DID intervene. 24/7 the media vilified Trump. I know because I used to watch CNN and some of the others back then. Their coverage was 95% disparaging of Trump and 5% treating Clinton with kid gloves. These guys were out for blood and they tried everything they could to damage Trump: Trump is Putin’s puppet, Trump is a racist, a misogynst (the “pussy” talk), he hates gays, etc.
And look at what we’re talking about right here – the Devin Nunes memo. It’s highlighting the fact that the FBI, Department of Justice, CIA, probably NSA, the Hillary Clinton campaign and the DNC set out to stop Trump winning and, failing that, they set out to impeach him.
They now have elicited the help of Google, Facebook and Twitter to cut off dissenting opinion. Propornot came on the scene and Robert Parry’s site was even put on the their list, along with Paul Craig Roberts.
The 1st and 4th Amendments are being crushed.
They did not in a million years think that Trump would win. If Hillary had won, none of this stuff would ever see the light of day. That’s why they never bothered worrying about what they did (the Clinton Foundation, Uranium One, Hillary’s illegal use of a personal server, exonerating Hillary before even interviewing her, doing no forensic investigation of her hard drives to discern whether they were hacked or leaked) or what they said (the FBI emails that are surfacing now). They never bothered covering their tracks because they were certain she would win. They were shocked and totally devastated when Trump won the election, and they have set out to get him ever since.
They are attempting to overthrow a duly-elected President. I would imagine the Deep State is more than worried
Cold N. Holefield – this is an interesting article re Putin. Please give it an open-minded read. This American woman lived in Russia for over 30 years. She worked for American NGOs. She describes Putin as not taking bribes. Now, I know that people CAN change, but they almost never do. Leopards don’t change their spots. People who start out early as thieves usually continue to be thieves, and vice versa.
“I became aware that this interviewer was different from other Soviet bureaucrats who always seemed to fall into chummy conversations with foreigners with hopes of obtaining bribes in exchange for the Americans’ requests. CCI stood on the principle that we would never, never give bribes.
This bureaucrat was open, inquiring, and impersonal in demeanor. After more than an hour of careful questions and answers, he quietly explained that he had tried hard to determine if the proposal was legal, then said that unfortunately at the time it was not. A few good words about the proposal were uttered. That was all. He simply and kindly showed us to the door.
Out on the sidewalk, I said to my colleague, “Volodya, this is the first time we have ever dealt with a Soviet bureaucrat who didn’t ask us for a trip to the US or something valuable!”
I remember looking at his business card in the sunlight––it read Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.”
She goes on:
“With no warning, at the turn of the year, President Boris Yeltsin made the announcement to the world that from the next day forward he was vacating his office and leaving Russia in the hands of an unknown Vladimir Putin.
On hearing the news, I thought surely not the Putin I remembered––he could never lead Russia. The next day a NYT article included a photo.
Yes, it was the same Putin I’d met years ago! I was shocked and dismayed, telling friends, “This is a disaster for Russia, I’ve spent time with this guy, he is too introverted and too intelligent––he will never be able to relate to Russia’s masses.”
Further, I lamented: “For Russia to get up off of its knees, two things must happen: 1) The arrogant young oligarchs have to be removed by force from the Kremlin, and 2) A way must be found to remove the regional bosses (governors) from their fiefdoms across Russia’s 89 regions”.
It was clear to me that the man in the brown suit would never have the instincts or guts to tackle Russia’s overriding twin challenges.”
In March of 2000, she met up with an old friend, a psychologist, who said she actually went to school with Putin. “She began to describe Putin as a quiet youngster, poor, fond of martial arts, who stood up for kids being bullied on the playgrounds.” The American then asked her friend what Putin would do with Yeltsin’s criminals in the Kremlin. Her reply was:
“If left to his normal behaviors, he will watch them for a while to be sure what is going on, then he will throw up some flares to let them know that he is watching. If they don’t respond, he will address them personally, then if the behaviors don’t change–– some will be in prison in a couple of years.”
Here’s the link for the above Putin article:
https://alethonews.wordpress.com/2018/01/28/is-putin-profoundly-corrupt-or-incorruptible/
Maybe the West don’t like Putin because he is incorruptible? He won’t take bribes in exchange for his country’s resources?
I don’t know what the truth is, but this is an interesting article.
Exactly right. You understand what is going on and let us hope they are worried for a change.
“…That tells me The Deep State wanted Trump for some reason …”
BINGO!
Trump was NEVER an “outsider.” He is NOT hated by the Establishment (as the skyrocketing stock market beginning the day after the election makes clear). And the MSM that spent 40 years building the Trump Brand nationwide, and then gave his campaign some $5 Billion in free advertising is NOT “The Resistance.”
I become more convinced with every “news story” that we are all viewing the first Reality TV Show Presidency. And like all Reality TV Shows, it is fully scripted.
I wonder if Nikki Haley got the red rose? Apparently Michael Wolf, the author of “Fire and Fury,” is backing down on that bit of salacious gossip “news.”
Meanwhile, the agenda of the 0.01% presses on, largely unnoticed and without “Resistance.”
Yes!! Thank you, Daniel. I’m not alone. We the few who see this because IT IS SO OBVIOUS.
Things we know are always obvious… once we know them. But remain opaque to us until we figure them out.
I fully believed the MSM narrative that HRC and the DNC were the favorites believed by the MSM and were rigging the primary unbeknownst to Bernie (they were, but he knew). I bought the MSM narrative that the Establishment abhorred Trump and was doing everything in their power to stop him. I mostly held onto these beliefs until after the Conventions.
But since I started seeing the “news” through this new lens, everything makes sense. It’s a theory that is proving valid and reliable (in the scientific sense of explaining both known and new information).
Agree, with Ray McGovern’s addenda above.
https://dissidentvoice.org/2018/02/liberal-totalitarianism-and-the-trump-diversion/#more-76427
Gregory – great article! Everybody should read this. Thanks for posting it.
Mr. Baraka laid it out well, didn’t he. This reflects the kind of knowledge and understanding that made Stein’s choice of running mate such a good call.
Totally agree, Thanks Gregory…
Now I really miss Robert. He at least knew Russia gate was a nothing burger. Caitlin “just doesn’t know” – it’s all “he said, she said” …
Fran, read Paul Craig Roberts.
He is a little more blunt, here is his latest – “Press Prostitutes Lie Through Their Teeth About House Intelligence Committee Report”
I cannot understand why my comment with one link is in moderation and yet multiple comments above with links have been approved or not moderated at all. I broke no rules with my comment. It hardly seems fair.
Democracy requires ALL voices be heard so long as those voices are sincere & genuine in purpose and intent. My comment is sincere & genuine.
Cold N. Holefield – sometimes that happens to me too (and others). What I do now is type in the “comment box” whatever I want to say, then hit the “Post Comment” button. Then I hit the “Reply” button to the bottom right of my post and type in: “Here is the link for the above article,” and then I post the link.
It seems to work for some reason. Try it.
Thanks. I’ll give that a try next time.
Every time you include a link the post goes into moderation. I guess that is so the moderator can check out what the link links to. I understand this policy and I have found that almost every time my linked posts eventually go through to post on the next business day. I don’t think there is a gag on you just a formality imposed by the website which I agree is a responsible thing to do. Who knows what someone might link to. I accept it and just wait for the post to be vetted and posted. You are not experiencing any kind of situation where you are being shut out of the conversation but just delayed until the links are cleared.
CitizenOne – but often you’ve got something timely to say, and if you wait until the next day for your post to appear, everybody is gone. Try it my way. When I post my links below (using the Reply button), it goes through right away. Go figure.
Thanks Joe. I’m not the only person on this website that has to worry about linking stuff. Great suggestion. I think I’ll try it
Here is the link
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/foles-eagles-knock-off-brady-patriots-in-super-bowl-lii/ar-BBIHRQ6?OCID=ansmsnnews11
Go Eagles! Fly Eagles Fly. On the Road to Victory.
It worked like a charm! Thanks!!
Regardless of which side of the Trump spectrum one falls on, how can anyone not be somewhat pleased that, for whatever reason, there still exists someone who has the courage to hold the Deep State, or unaccountable intelligence bureaucrats if you prefer, and all their ugly, ubiquitous manifestations, accountable. The intelligence agencies have a disclosed budget the size of Bulgaria’s GNP!
Perhaps passing false information in front of a FISA judge is just business as usual for our plutocracy but disclosing to the public the mechanism of subversion and the ensuing public debate must be encouraged. Transparency in institutions is the beating heart of their integrity.
THANK YOU, DENIZ!!!!!!!
Yes! Thanks for that and more transparency is now required!!! This “national security” fucking nonsense is 90% “person crying wolf” and attempting to cover someone’s ass.
Robert Parry’s reflections are essential in understanding his research, conclusions, and the the role of the “quirky” in so many of his discoveries. Here is a 2.5 hour interview with Gary Brecher: https://www.patreon.com/posts/radio-war-nerd-8732460
What he managed to discover over the many years of his investigations reveals how often people’s miscalculations lead to their intentions backfiring.
Thank you Haralambos and thanks to the podcast for providing a free exception here for non-subscribers.
That is an excellent interview. Very in depth. I learned a few things I had not been aware of, one of which is Bob began his career at my old home town newspaper in Framingham, Ma.
He also explained what Nixon’s “plumbers” were looking for. It was a missing document that revealed the Nixon campaign’s treasonous act of going behind Johnson’s back to sabotage the Paris talks to end the war. Never knew that.
The whole interview is a great history lesson whether you lived through the same events as Bob or not.
So was the investigation *of* Nunes concluded before or after the vote on FISA reauthorization? He was being investigated for his investigation of FISA abuses for several months and it ended just in time for reauthorization?
With the Nunes Memo the idea of it, was to make this a tie game. So now the Repub’s have turned the tables, or at least that’s their goal.
I must say, that seeing how the FBI investigated both Presidential candidates during the election season to me seems a bit unsettling. Ask yourself to what exactly the FBI was up to, and was there a plan to compromise the incoming president, no matter who won the election?
Sorry, but after so many times getting my hopes up that Washington may produce a game changer, such as what the people would love to see, just isn’t going to happen with the Nunes Memo.
I used to think that the Powers That Shouldn’t Be spend a lot of time and money digging up or creating dirt on politicians and others in power so as to blackmail them into doing the will of those Powers.
Now I think those Powers choose people who are already easily blackmail-able to then promote into power. They probably have thick files before a candidate even gets close to office.
I’d also add that today, things that would have ruined careers or even sent people to jail are now no big thing. Adultery, homosexuality, drug use and even the STRONG appearance of corruption are no longer blackmail-able.
So, the sorts of actions that can still be used as blackmail are REALLY dark.
Daniel, I truly believe that some of what most people find disgusting like people addicted to sexual perversion, are purposely promoted into high positions, as they are easy to manipulate. I think this is nothing new to history, but it is something which gets avoided through polite conversation.
Although the Nunes Memo may become a opening of a Pandora’s Box of intrigues, I will believe that we Americans are getting the upper hand on our nation’s political corruption when I start hearing names like Brennan, Clapper, DNC Operatives, the MSM, and etc. accomplices get yanked into this Russia-Gate conspiracy movement. Let’s hope Nunes is for real, and that his phase 2 packs a powerful punch, where the citizenry will get behind him.
My cynical side sees this whole thing as turning into just another political divide, but on another level if this Nunes Memo helps clean out the nest of conspiratorial coup critters then good, and then move on to the CIA, NSA, MSM, and on and on until all these slim buckets are all gone….good luck? Joe
The Nunes Memo controversy is not going to do that because the premise behind it is also a deceit. It’s a deceit within a deceit within a deceit.
Do you really believe Nunes and his ilk are on the Up & Up? That their intentions are pure & virtuous? Hardly.
Cold N. Holefield – yes, I believe Nunes’ and Gowdy’s intentions are pure and virtuous. There has been collusion in the Department of Justice and the FBI, most likely the CIA, with the Hillary Clinton campaign. That is the deceit.
I’m coming from your cynical side. Trump was never an “outsider.” This faux “war” between Trump and the Establishment or Deep State or MSM strikes me as nothing more (or less) than a brilliant psyop.
The Memo is yet another “limited hangout” diversion from the reality that this Administration is merely continuing and escalating the NeoCon wars and Neoliberal economic policies of those Powers That Shouldn’t Be.
Trump knew nothing. He’s as much the swamp as any other swamp critter. He just wants a more toxic swamp as is witnessed by him gutting environmental regulations.
Both The Donald’s staff and Bill Clinton’s staff have said that they overheard Clinton encouraging Trump to run, and then giving him pointers on how to message to a specific target demographic.
Somehow Candidate Trump said many of the right things to reach one segment of the 99%, just as Bernie reached a different segment of those who know “the system is rigged.”
Besides the advice of perhaps the best natural politician of my lifetime, Trump is a conman, which means knowing how to target a “mark.” And then there’s the whole Cambridge Analytica data massaging to produce key words and phrases that reach targets on an emotional level (which could explain why Trump would just blurt out of context things out at his rallies).
Good points, Daniel.
Best Friends For Life ( BFFL)
:-)
Back atcha. Been enjoying your posts.
I agree with this but it begs the question. If The Deep State is as omnipresent & omniscient & omnipotent as it appears to be, then the natural conclusion is that it wanted Trump as POTUS, otherwise Trump wouldn’t be POTUS and that could have been accomplished in many different ways, some more onerous than others.
Trump is the unwitting foil of the Deep State and this spectacle that is the Trump Presidency and the partisan reaction to it is used by the Deep State as a foil & cover to its true intentions. It’s Kabuki Theater regardless of whether or not the various thespians know it is.
But I feel the true intentions are more than just surveillance. There must be something more to all of this. What? That’s the question. What could be of such paramount importance that it requires the unthinkable & repulsive “election” of a Golem like Trump to the highest office in the land?
I feel it must be something much more heinously atrocious than just mere surveillance, but surely increased surveillance is part of it.
When power such as this goes unchecked for this long, since Dulles convinced Truman to sign off on the creation of the CIA in the lat 1940s, the end result can only be psychopathology at the highest levels of the pyramid.
Is there a point to this Game, The Game, or is merely a matter of playing? The goal isn’t to win or lose, but rather to play as long as you can because The Game must go on in perpetuity?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xJcu3vc9tI
“Christopher Steele dossier which is acknowledged even by its former MI6 author to be 10 to 30 percent inaccurate.”
As a complete outsider to intelligence, how bad is 10 to 30 percent inaccurate? I noticed that you are rephrasing Steel’s comment that “his dossier is 70-90% accurate.” To issue an warrant, what level of confidence is needed? 95%? 99%? Is 90% accuracy still tainted?
And that’s just Steele’s opinion on his own work. Anyone else would rate it with worse accuracy.
Oh, Andrew, Andrew ! Do you believe anything that Steele says????
Were you born yesterday????
My main point is it is interesting that the author, Caitlin, switches Steele’s words from “70 to 90% accurate” to “10 to 30%” inaccurate. Now, an intelligence work is always a work of judgment because no one has perfect information. So, my question is do intelligence analyst work on 90 or 95% confidence?
As a matter of comparison, scientists usually p < 0.05 to be significant. That means there is a 1 in 20 chance of being wrong, or 95%.
Andrew, that Steele, the author acknowledges as much as 30 percent inaccurate is interesting If he prepared the material, why not claim 100 percent accuracy. Only an independent examination of the dossier would do and the memorandum made clear that it was not completed by the FBI when it applied to FISA. If that is true, and the dossier was financed by the Hillary campaign, those who submitted the application should be in serious trouble on both counts.
One of the most promising things about this who debacle was that Nunes and Trump argued for transparency, admittedly in self defense. Politicians have used the classification system releasing the information when it was to their advantage and hiding behind the state secrets chimera when it was not. With few exceptions, is bunkum. and an attack on democracy.
100% accuracy never happens. For science our standard is p < 0.05, or 1 in 20 chance of being wrong. What kind of confidence level do intelligence community place on their reports? I would hope that intelligence analyst would have some intuition about their likelihood of being right.
Andrew,
In addition to the relevant point on the extent to which the “Steele Dossier” is accurate or not, the dossier stands out as the most dominant aspect of the entire (yet extremely concise, 6-pages – conjuring up images of an Etch-a-Sketch) now publicly available “Nunes Memo”. Perhaps the immediate 1st thought which arose after reading the memo is similarly shared by others here at Consortium News.
People should be made aware and/or otherwise given the opportunity to read and analyze the “Steele Dossier”. Please correct our misunderstanding or unawares if the “Steele Dossier” has indeed already been published and the American people can freely go over its information. To our knowledge the “Steele Dossier” has not been published.
If the dossier is available, we would greatly appreciate assistance from Consortium News readers in finding it for study.
If the Steele Dossier has NOT been made available to Americans, the obvious question becomes: “Why is the Steele Dossier not in the public domain?”
Thank you.
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3259984-Trump-Intelligence-Allegations.html
I haven’t seen the actual quote where Steele talks about 70 to 90 percent accurate, but I would assume that Steele was explaining what is typical for this type of intelligence work.
The standard for a warrant is “probable cause,” which, like “beyond a reasonable doubt,” is hard to translate into a specific percentage. It’s a higher bar than “more likely than not.” My understanding is that a warrant could not be obtained based on the Steele dossier alone because the FBI doesn’t know the identity of the sources and thus is not in a position to evaluate the reliability of the sources.
I applaud Ray McGovern for his point to stay focused. Was the law broken? If so, people should be prosecuted. Always thought, simplistically I guess, that the healthiest thing for our democracy is to put elected and unelected officials in jail when the commit a crime. What would have happened to our democracy if Bush was tried and convicted for his war crimes? It would scare hell out of the Congressman and Senators who think, when it comes to foreign policy, they are above the law
That will never happen. All a politician needs to do is say the words “I accept full responsibility…”–whatever THAT means. If a person robs a bank, and is convicted, he accepts responsibility by going to prison. If a politician says “I accept full responsibility and leaves office, he/she becomes a lobbyist or a political pundit.
David, the don’t leave office, they just say that they accept responsibility, and nothing happens. It’s just an empty mantra. There is no real accountability.
At the turn of the century in 2000 in the Uk there was near mass hysteria about the actual dawning of the day from 1999 to 2000. We were told that all computers would crash with hospital, public services and just about everything else would come to a standstill with catastrophic consequences. Many people were so spooked that they wouldn’t even celebrate new years eve. Pure madness of course and needless to say, absolutely nothing happened. As far as I can see this Nunes memo is similar to the 2000 debacle. NOTHING has happened and nothing is going to happen. Give it a week and it will have become another non event. One should never under estimate the capacity of the slime balls in the deep state and their rsole pals in the MSM to denigrate this memo and just ignore its findings.
The total Homeland (Un)Security Department budget is larger than the DOD on paper ….. there is a lot of lucre to be made spying on Americans. MORONS R/US.
The extreme reaction of the anti-Trump faction before the memo was released only served to make people think there was more in the memo than was really there. Most will never read it carefully. Therefore, the anti-Trump faction hurt itself.
It would have been far better off to do what Obama did, “Proceed Governor” or just “bring it on.”
Great analysis about the false gravitas over an innocuous internal memo. Politics is dirty and the kind of deep state alliances Caitlin describes are now the dominant force. It has become all about one party politically assassinating the other party. “Boom!”
It is also a complete distraction. The Russia Gate investigation is itself a complete distraction as was Server Gate and Benghazi.
Trump seems to have landed himself in trouble by attempting to fire the problem and now he looks like he was hiding something.
Perhaps the truth that will set the American People free from their partisan cages is not to be found in any investigation but to finally see how our completely dysfunctional government works.
This memo brings nothing of substance that is not already known. The FBI and democratic screeching about publishing it is because it publicly airs how the FBI was manipulated by politicians to turn the governments enormous power to spy on individuals into a campaign weapon.
Opposition research is one thing but this memo shows how during the election lines were crossed and likely abuse of state power. It goes along with the release of other FBI info regarding text messages between agents who seemed to think they were on a holy mission to get Trump. Just get him. Any way they could. To “save America”.
This is what happens when we give the state too much power and we give politicians too much money. Taking away the power and the money should settle things down except it won’t be that simple. The money problem will get worse unless somebody changes the rules on how contributions are made. As long as it’s a wild west, there’s going to be a lot of lawlessness.
Trump correctly identified the problem during his campaign. He knew he had to drain the swamp. It’s not clear if he knew he would be in the middle of it surrounded by alligators.
citizen one, you call the memo “innocuous”, and then you point out
the seriousness of it. C’mon, man!!!
THE MEMO IS ANYTHING BUT “INNOCUOUS!!!!!
I mean he allegations in the memo are not innocuous but issuing a position paper filled with one sided commentary for the inner circle to ruminate over hardly makes for a balanced news story. It’s like publishing the jailhouse confessions of a convicted killer. He would say anything to get out of jail. Implicate others etc. No it is not innocuous but it should be ignored just like the confessions of a convicted lifer.
This stuff has happened for ever. The FBI has always been a hit man for the establishment. Trump was a new incoming establishment and the dogs in old guard town were barking mad.
Kinda tribal isn’t it?
“There is no denying the fact that plutocrats, intelligence agencies, defense agencies and the mass media are both powerful and unelected, and there is no denying the fact that there are many convoluted and often conflicting alliances between them.”
And therein lie my issues with the “Deep State” notion. Conceiving of a single “Deep State” inherently makes the factions that fight to control those power structures look more “in tune” with each other than they might actually be.
My (maybe flawed) understanding of the strategic picture in the last 40-50 years moves from observing that the US current accounts have been in the negative (sometimes deeply so) since about the Seventies. That is: the US have been a net importer for the last fifty years.
Internally, the Globalization favored primarily the financial capitalistic class. Those rich people have an interest in being completely free to move their money across borders ad libitum, so that they may focus their resources where they are remunerated the most, with little constraints when it comes the time to move them again elsewhere.
But for the US as a country the Globalization also had a geopolitical dividend too. By delocalizing purchases in foreign countries, the US basically helped finance the growth of former third world countries in exchange for improved political relations. In other words, the US were basically funding a system of alliances in exchange for the improvement of their allies economic conditions (or at least, of the elites in those countries).
At first the US middle class benefited herself, at least to an extent. It had access to cheaper imported goods and to the relatively cheap credit that made possibile to live at conditions that the accounts didn’t look able to support.
The whole process was sustained by debt, and that was possibile thanks to the geopolitical supremacy that the Country enjoyed and the primacy of its currency as the world reserve currency, a fact that basically made possible to expand the dollar supply with almost no consequence at all (as far as I know).
But then things began to change.
Internally, the damage to the manufacturing and production industry came back to bite in the proverbial ass. Together with the 2008 financial crisis, this contributed to worsen the living conditions of millions of people, especially with regard to the lower classes. Social tensions followed and, if not faced, they may end up threatening the stability of the political power, in the long run.
Internationally, the world was witnessing a process of multipolarization, with big competitors emerging and reclaiming their own slice of the pie.
The slow erosion of the US hegemony meant that there was no certainty anymore that the endless debt cycle would be sustainable in the foreseeable future (slow de-dollarization).
So, here we are, witnessing the emergence of a new geopolitical position among one or more factions of the US elite, that seem strongly convinced that the future requires a new strategic approach, since the old one is not reliable anymore.
I suggest that the political-institutional battle that we are witnessing in the US today is fundamentally the result of a clash between two different, incompatible approaches to the common goal of keeping the US on top of the pyramid.
On top of that we also undeniably wtiness a personalization of the political battle, favored by the divisive, abrasive and inelegant figure of Trump, a man whose attitude doesn’t invite prestige and respect in his opponents.
But in my opinion this goes well beyond the person of Trump.
Actually Steele claimed 70-90 percent to be true in the article referenced; not 10-30 percent
That’s what Johnstone said , though it requires a bit of arithmatic :
“….which is acknowledged even by its former MI6 author to be 10 to 30 percent inaccurate.”
100% accurate less the 10-30% inaccurate equals 70-90% accurate.
Very insightful article. The reflective angle means you have looked deeper than most. The FISA renewal at the same time as a huge FISA scandal is a worrisome thing to think about and makes me question as to whether much will really change. Too much self interest going on the really “‘drain the swamp”. Do Americans really want to see how far the corruption goes this awful Orwellian state really goes? People prefer to have some sense of order in their lives and live the illusion.
Apologies for some awful typos!
“Do Americans really want to see how far the corruption goes this awful Orwellian state really goes?”
Good question Andy S. Certainly none of my friends do…
For more than a generation, the term “mutually assured destruction” was used to suggest that neither the US nor the Soviet Union would use a nuclear weapon against the other because it would result in their own annihilation.
Less understood, was that the term also applied to the collusion by both parties needed to obscure the Deep State from public view.
It’s delightful to see the truth oozing through the cracks.
Instead of referring to it as the Deep State, why not call it for what it is, the National Security State, and it’s meddled in the democratic process all the way back to the McCarthy era and has helped to de-democratize this country. The highly flawed Steele dossier was not only used by “… one presidential campaign to get permission to spy on another…” which is indeed significant, but it has also been used to escalate a new cold war.
I’m fine with either label. I prefer Deep State because much of what is done has nothing to do with “national” security. Many of their activities focus on providing “security” to selected corporate interests and their largest shareholders.
Deep State, at least to me, connotes a degree of secrecy not to protect the national interest but rather to hide their deeds and objectives from the American people. Worse, they use assassinations, false flag projects and leaking lies to their media friends to “manufacture consent”.
Allowing them to hide behind a “national security” title seems to only further their objectives.
Yeah, but it’s the National Security State that has overturned governments, slaughtered millions, and mostly to protect corporate interests and push our hegemonic agenda. I have no personal objection to the term, since I know what you’re talking about, but when people reference the Deep State to others who know little politically, and that’s most, they think you’re a conspiracy theorist.
Annie I had to post this link here, because if you watch the Real News interview of Coleen Rowley and Max Blumenthal, you will here Max refer to the Deep State as he would prefer to call it the National Security State as well. Listen to what Rowley and Blumenthal have to say.
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:21049:Max-Blumenthal-and-Ex-FBI-Agent-Coleen-Rowley-on-the-Nunes-Memo
I think the “National Security State” is really a servant of the so-called “Deep State”. They are the enforcers of the economic model upon which the Deep State oligarchs thrive. They include the bankers and the western backed multi-national corporations. The MSM propaganda/entertainment network is another branch of the service of the Deep State.
Very good observations of the significance of the Nunes Memo coverup on false “security” grounds until the FISA surveillance act was re-authorized.
Minor notes: I would remove the “Don’t be an idiot” line. Perhaps some reference to the sheep who believe an obvious deception. Perhaps also rework the “Whoa, Nelly” as generational.
Caitlin,
Brava!
Your points are well taken — and written.
A couple of quibbles, though — actually more than just quibbles.
You wrote:
“The FBI knowingly using extremely tainted evidence from one presidential campaign to get permission to spy on another would indeed be a very big deal.”
Caitlin, that’s what happened. I do not think all the Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee — even those who may be motivated by a overriding desire to protect the worst president the U.S. has ever seen — would have voted to approve that part of the Nunez memo ABSENT DOCUMENTARY PROOF THAT THIS IS PRECISELY WHAT TOOK PLACE.
You add:
“ … the memo is only an internal communication between Republican congressmen; it’s not a sworn testimony or legal transcript or anything legally binding. It’s basically just some Republican ideas about what happened.”
I do no think that is quite correct. We are likely to learn more, of course, in the coming weeks. There is, still, such a thing as truth. Sworn testimony and FISA applications “are what they are,” and speak for themselves.
Thanks again, though, for making the very important points you make. When NSA/FBI/CIA have ALL the communications of Congresspeople, history has shown that it is easy to persuade them to vote for Stasi-like “emergency measures,” and to justify their voting to approve continuation of such intrusive measures on the false pretext that they keep us safe from terrorists.
Again, BRAVA.
Ray McGovern
On this point I disagree. I’ll grant that you know vastly more about ‘intelligence’ stuff than myself, but the ability of Congressmen to act like a herd of sheep cannot be overestimated.
Personally, I’m waiting for more details. More “leaks”. Quite possibly this is round 1 in a series of revelations. I like what the xymphora blogger wrote about this:
For all I know this entire affair is a ‘faction fight’ between elements of the Powers That Be, and we’re getting only such information they figure is needed to alter our opinions.
h**p://xymphora.blogspot.com/2018/02/master-ful.html
Zachary I think we should wait on proclaiming Trump the worst president we ever had, since he has not completed his full term in office. Let’s see how many wars, how much death and destruction he imposes on the world, as did Bush/Cheney , which made it possible for Obama to go forward with his own wars. And by all means let us not forget the party he represents, and whose agenda he must follow. That Tax Bill he passed was a decades-long dream of Speaker Paul Ryan. That being said, I hate his policies, but then again the Republican party has never been my cup of tea, and at this point neither are the Democrats.
Ray, for a much better article than this one, read Paul Craig Roberts.
Thanks for that lead.
I would add that snark is a red flag in a news report or analysis. It’s a sign that the writer may be letting their emotions dictate their conclusions. It’s also noise that a reader has to pick their way through. I hope Consortium News retains Robert Parry’s standards of straightforward accuracy and clarity in reporting and analysis. That is what has made Consortium News so valuable. Not cascades of hyperbolic metaphors, as entertaining as those may be for the choir.
Good post.I agree.
Off Topic, but of interest to many here….Mattis admits US has no evidence of Syria using sarin gas
https://www.rt.com/usa/417758-mattis-syria-sarin-assad/
regards
D
I second Ray. I found CJ’s article semi-coherent and over-wrought. I found Ray’s article summing up the implications spot-on
Thank you for pointing that out, Mr. McGovern. I have read many of Ms. Johnstone’s articles over at Medium.com and have enjoyed her writing. The two points that you made are what I thought when reading this new one. You do not need to have voted for President Trump to see that Watergate pales compared to this truth made more transparent now. Perhaps she wasn’t around when Watergate was going on. People went to jail for those crimes (not all the people). We had a REAL press then that kept us informed in real time. One person’s involvement escaped prison. Of course he always does: George H.W.
Ray McGovern .. you echo my thoughts..
It is actually a huge thing that the FBI was doing favors for one presidential campaign by lying to the FISA court to spy on another presidential campaign.
It doesn’t mean the article doesn’t have some good points as well, but after watching and reading I think it is a big deal, not surprising, but still.
There’s a delightful irony in the way that the secret FISA court, authorized by Congress to spy on Americans (and others) without their knowledge, has taken a vicious bite out of the political establishment’s leg.
The whole idea of secret courts, whose very existence is also secret, should be utterly repellent to any free man or woman. For the USA to have created them and allowed them to operate for years is one of the clearest possible proofs that the USA is neither a democracy of any kind nor, indeed, even a free country.
Very true, unfortunately. We now can see that “security” rationale for the FISA court is as false as that of the Nunes meme, and as false as its protectors.
They are not at all concerned about “national security” and all of their acts have made our security far worse.
We can now clearly see that the real intent of the rich is to use secret agencies to maintain the dictatorship of the rich of both parties, to use secret agencies for political surveillance, profit, and retribution, by government officials, party members, mass media and Google. They are as corrupt as they know how to be.
I should clarify that the rationale for the FISA court itself is good, but it fails both because there is no way to verify the information it is given, and because the judicial branch is utterly corrupt and subverts the constitution at every opportunity. Secret agencies cannot be adequately regulated, and are incompatible with democracy unless small and tightly restricted.
US is a country in which the banks are too big to survive based solely on the quality of their own investment decisions whilst the police and the intelligence are too important to abide by the law.
Our Rulers are indeed masters of corruption, and secrecy is a basic tool of their control of society, as is basic and repeated lying, and false narratives to pacify the masses.
Tom Welsh and Sam F. Exactly, and devastatingly accurate. We as Citizens are well separated from our privacy and therefore not a free people. From the time that James Jesus Angleton began opening American’s mail, then turning that into a “fine art” we were lost. Somewhere between J. Edgar Hoover‘s extortion files and Richard Nixon’s “enemy list” Democracy failed.
Now, as Citizens, we’re confronted with a fictional press and media…
I suppose, given the right environment, we could devise a path leading to corrective measures, but without clear leadership that seems impossible.
Thank you again Caitlin Johnstone for another fine article.
http://spartacus-educational.com/SSangleton.htm
Yes, Bob, “without clear leadership” strong and steady movement toward a better America (and a better world) is impossible. Historical forces create the situations in which leaders can step forward and garner mass support and momentum. Bernie just showed how this happens. But our biggest problem right now is that Bernie is getting older by the day, and no one else has stepped forward–someone perhaps even more energetic, determined, and charismatic–to bring the movement he created to the next level. Two thousand years ago, John the Baptist had a guy from Nazareth. But who do we have waiting in the wings in the wasteland of today’s America? I don’t have that answer, but I do know the economic platform that he or she should run upon, c/o Bernie’s former economic advisor:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1SMjeuyF-Y
There are many who have stepped forward in principle, but cannot gain public attention or election due to the corruption of US mass media, elections, and political parties by money power. That is the key: we cannot even broadly discuss the constitutional amendments needed to restore democracy, because those are the very tools of democracy. We await the chain of catastrophes that enrage the people to rise in rebellion against the historically powerful and repressive oligarchy of money.
Thank you Newton Finn for the fine reply. And many thanks for the link to Stephanie Kelton. I did not know about her and was very surprised to hear that she attended CSUS as did I. I’ll pass along Ellen Brown’s name with a link. She’s a prime mover in Public Banking. If these two women could be influential in American Government Economics, large numbers of people would be helped.
Please stay in touch on this forum as we work through our troubles possibly to end up in a better World…
http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/
I thought that the Trump victory would see Democrats begin to throw out the old bosses. Nothing of the sort happened. There will be no reform in the DP–it will drive pedal to the metal to the fascist right which about where it is now and outflank Trump and the Republicans on the right. This is bigger than the DP–this period is showing the stell fist within the velvet glove–the Deep State is showing itself. I doubt anyone will challenge whoever the official candidate is because someone will give that candidate an offer he or she cannot refuse. They are at the point they were in 1968–they will kill to stay in power.
Thank you Newton Finn for the fine reply. And many thanks for the link to Stephanie Kelton. I did not know about her and was very surprised to hear that she attended CSUS as did I. I’ll pass along Ellen Brown’s name with a link. She’s a prime mover in Public Banking. If these two women could be influential in American Government Economics, large numbers of people would be helped.
Please stay in touch on this forum as we work through our troubles possibly to end up in a better World…
http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/
Bob V…Ahhh yes the sinister J.J. Angleton. It wouldn’t surprise me if the vast majority of incriminating evidence ended up “misplaced” by the “intelligence” hierarchy i.e. Mary Pinchot Meyer’s diary or Seth Rich’s laptop.( Spartacus has proved to be a very valuable resource).
Thank you BobH. It’s justice for people like Mary Pinchot Mayer and Seth Rich that I long for…
Here’s a link to Peter Janney’s book. I know he often visits this site…
http://www.marysmosaic.net/bio.htm
Secret courts = Oligarchic dictatorship.