berg80
Diamond Member
- Oct 28, 2017
- 14,975
- 12,385
- 2,320
I got in to a debate on this recently so.............................
Factual inaccuracies (or RWM media lies) about the dossier's role in the approval of warrants and how much the FISA court knew about the motivations for its writing got a big boost when Devin Nunes released the Repub memo on the subject. A memo that was quickly refuted by one from the Dems. What follows is an attempt to set the record straight.
What to Make of the Carter Page FISA Applications
Second, for those who don’t remember, the controversy about these FISA applications first arose in February when House intelligence committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes released a memo claiming that the FBI misled the FISA Court about Christopher Steele, the former British secret agent who compiled the “dossier” on Trump-Russia ties and who was a source of information in the FISA applications on Page. The main complaint in the Nunes memo was that FBI whitewashed Steele—that the FISA applications did not “disclose or reference the role of the DNC, Clinton campaign, or any party/campaign in funding Steele’s efforts, even though the political origins of the Steele dossier were then known to senior and FBI officials.”
In response to the Nunes memo, the Democrats on the committee released their own memo. That memo quoted from parts of the FISA applications, including a footnote in which the FBI explained that Steele was hired to “conduct research regarding Candidate #1,” Donald Trump, and Trump’s “ties to Russia,” and that the man who hired him was “likely looking for information that could be used to discredit [Trump’s] campaign.”
Based on this back and forth between the HPSCI partisans, I wrote on Lawfare at the time that the FBI’s disclosures on Steele “amply satisfie[d] the requirements” for FISA applications, and that the central irony of the Nunes memo was that it “tried to deceive the American people in precisely the same way that it falsely accused the FBI of deceiving the FISA Court.” The Nunes memo accused the FBI of dishonesty in failing to disclose information about Steele, but in fact the Nunes memo itself was dishonest in failing to disclose what the FBI disclosed. I said then, and I still believe, that the “Nunes memo was dishonest. And if it is allowed to stand, we risk significant collateral damage to essential elements of our democracy.”
What to Make of the Carter Page FISA Applications
Once again I find myself being frustrated with the limited amount of an article I can paste because of its length. But I'll try to paste the salient parts without running afoul of the rules.
5 Takeaways From the Release of the Democratic Memo
WASHINGTON — An application to wiretap a former associate of President Trump’s campaign in fall 2016 “made only narrow use” of information provided by a former British spy who compiled a notorious dossier about Mr. Trump and Russia, according to a memo released by Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee on Saturday.
The F.B.I. used only a small part of the information provided by Mr. Steele.
The Democratic memo says the application made “narrow use” of information from Mr. Steele’s sources. It describes multiple other categories of information, including yearslong suspicions that Mr. Page was being recruited by Russian spies, and revealed that the F.B.I. had interviewed Mr. Page about his ties to Russian intelligence officials in March 2016.
The surveillance court knew that Mr. Steele’s clients had a political motive.
The Democratic memo provides a verbatim excerpt from the application, which stated that the F.B.I. believed that Mr. Steele had been commissioned by someone “likely looking for information that could be used to discredit Candidate #1’s campaign,” referring to Mr. Trump.
Republican-appointed judges approved the surveillance of Mr. Page.
The Republican memo portrayed the wiretapping of Mr. Page as a partisan conspiracy. Notably, the Democratic memo reveals that all four judges on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court who approved the initial surveillance — which began in October 2016 — as well as three 90-day renewals were appointed by Republican presidents.
5 Takeaways From the Release of the Democratic Memo (Published 2018)
I readily admit to deriving great pleasure from chopping up dishonest Repub/conservative media misinformation in to little pieces. In this case, the never ending, specious effort to discredit the investigations of the Trump campaign's copious ties to Russia.
Factual inaccuracies (or RWM media lies) about the dossier's role in the approval of warrants and how much the FISA court knew about the motivations for its writing got a big boost when Devin Nunes released the Repub memo on the subject. A memo that was quickly refuted by one from the Dems. What follows is an attempt to set the record straight.
What to Make of the Carter Page FISA Applications
Second, for those who don’t remember, the controversy about these FISA applications first arose in February when House intelligence committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes released a memo claiming that the FBI misled the FISA Court about Christopher Steele, the former British secret agent who compiled the “dossier” on Trump-Russia ties and who was a source of information in the FISA applications on Page. The main complaint in the Nunes memo was that FBI whitewashed Steele—that the FISA applications did not “disclose or reference the role of the DNC, Clinton campaign, or any party/campaign in funding Steele’s efforts, even though the political origins of the Steele dossier were then known to senior and FBI officials.”
In response to the Nunes memo, the Democrats on the committee released their own memo. That memo quoted from parts of the FISA applications, including a footnote in which the FBI explained that Steele was hired to “conduct research regarding Candidate #1,” Donald Trump, and Trump’s “ties to Russia,” and that the man who hired him was “likely looking for information that could be used to discredit [Trump’s] campaign.”
Based on this back and forth between the HPSCI partisans, I wrote on Lawfare at the time that the FBI’s disclosures on Steele “amply satisfie[d] the requirements” for FISA applications, and that the central irony of the Nunes memo was that it “tried to deceive the American people in precisely the same way that it falsely accused the FBI of deceiving the FISA Court.” The Nunes memo accused the FBI of dishonesty in failing to disclose information about Steele, but in fact the Nunes memo itself was dishonest in failing to disclose what the FBI disclosed. I said then, and I still believe, that the “Nunes memo was dishonest. And if it is allowed to stand, we risk significant collateral damage to essential elements of our democracy.”
What to Make of the Carter Page FISA Applications
Once again I find myself being frustrated with the limited amount of an article I can paste because of its length. But I'll try to paste the salient parts without running afoul of the rules.
5 Takeaways From the Release of the Democratic Memo
WASHINGTON — An application to wiretap a former associate of President Trump’s campaign in fall 2016 “made only narrow use” of information provided by a former British spy who compiled a notorious dossier about Mr. Trump and Russia, according to a memo released by Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee on Saturday.
The F.B.I. used only a small part of the information provided by Mr. Steele.
The Democratic memo says the application made “narrow use” of information from Mr. Steele’s sources. It describes multiple other categories of information, including yearslong suspicions that Mr. Page was being recruited by Russian spies, and revealed that the F.B.I. had interviewed Mr. Page about his ties to Russian intelligence officials in March 2016.
The surveillance court knew that Mr. Steele’s clients had a political motive.
The Democratic memo provides a verbatim excerpt from the application, which stated that the F.B.I. believed that Mr. Steele had been commissioned by someone “likely looking for information that could be used to discredit Candidate #1’s campaign,” referring to Mr. Trump.
Republican-appointed judges approved the surveillance of Mr. Page.
The Republican memo portrayed the wiretapping of Mr. Page as a partisan conspiracy. Notably, the Democratic memo reveals that all four judges on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court who approved the initial surveillance — which began in October 2016 — as well as three 90-day renewals were appointed by Republican presidents.
5 Takeaways From the Release of the Democratic Memo (Published 2018)
I readily admit to deriving great pleasure from chopping up dishonest Repub/conservative media misinformation in to little pieces. In this case, the never ending, specious effort to discredit the investigations of the Trump campaign's copious ties to Russia.
