The FISA court applications on Carter Page have been released. They’re heavily redacted but you can look at them here and get some informed analysis on what they mean here. Because of the redactions, this disclosure doesn’t advance our knowledge much, but there’s enough information there to thoroughly (further) discredit Rep. Devin Nunes, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
Contrary to Nunes prior assertions, the applications are very clear that the information coming from Christopher Steele was collected as part of a contract to dig up dirt on Donald Trump and discredit his campaign. Nonetheless, the FBI asserted that they found Steele and his information credible largely because they had found him to be reliable in the past.
It appears that the FBI incorrectly asserted their belief that Steele was not a source for an article Michael Isikoff wrote in September 2016 for Yahoo News, but there’s no indication that this was anything other than an honest misjudgment. When they later learned that Steele had in fact talked to reporters, they ended their relationship with him and disclosed this to the court. Nonetheless, they continued to assess that Steele and his information were credible.
This renders past Republican talking points inoperable. The FBI did not mislead the court about the dossier and they corrected a mistake in judgment they made to the court at their first opportunity.
There are pages and pages of information about Carter Page and the Trump campaign that are completely blacked out, so we cannot know anything close to the full picture. We don’t know what kind of information they gathered before or during their surveillance or why the application was renewed repeatedly before being discontinued.
We don’t know why Page has not been charged with a crime or whether or not he is still likely to be charged with a crime. One thing that is clear from the applications is that the FBI suspected Trump himself of changing his policies towards Russia during the campaign and was willing to suggest that the influence of advisers and campaign workers with Russian connections (including Carter Page) might be the explanation.
Pretty much anyone who saw what just happened in Helsinki would have to agree that the FBI was certainly hot on the trail of something real.
Love the optimism but if I have learned anything about Republicans at all it is that their talking points are NEVER inoperable.
That’s their lesson from Nixon. Never stop denying, always destroy the tapes, start your own propaganda channel, accuse your adversaries of what you are doing so their attacks sound reactive instead of true, appeal to the baser instincts of greedy, hateful people because they are impervious to the truth or their non-existent egged nature.
The Laugher Curve, climate change denial, the Bell Curve are all examples of how they have closed their minds to reality, progress,
principle.
There will never be a Nixon-Goldwater moment based on principle since principle does not exist for them any more.
Non-existent better nature – sorry for the typo
. . . nature” had me completely baffled re: what you meant, even under the presumption of a typo.
While I’m here: Laffer (not Laugher) Curve, for this “economist”/Snake-Oil-Merchant.
Although using “Laugher” instead of “Laffer” seems appropriate given the proven absurdity of the economic baloney on offer.
. . . i.e., play on words, though I didn’t get that impression from reading it.
Good points all, since Trump and The Truth have never been neighbors.
Timing is of importance here. Though it’s rotten decision making to allow for a FISA app to fall under a FOIA request it seems that the FBI and DoJ are using this instance as a tool to push back hard against Nunes, his investigation, his majority report and those that signed onto it.
By releasing it the same week as the Helsinki meeting obviously it will have more open eyes and ears. I’d even say it’s part of the FBI screaming at us, ‘look, we’ve known Trump was trouble for a long time, we’re not the problem, wake up!’ The report will now be viewed in the context of Helsinki.
I hope Nunes’ opponent in California buries him with this report.
When it comes to some of these releases, they have a feel of `preparing the public’.
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What is Lindsey Graham playing at?
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/22/graham-carter-page-wiretap-russia-trump-735562
There’s always one more sucker who thinks he can ride this tiger and is willing to climb into the bucking chute.
Maybe … the theory is, at some point the regime will collapse and those that are left will be in a position to take it over. Graham has no realistic chance of being the king or the kingpin any other way.
Graham has never been in the clown car. He has been running right behind while constantly looking over his shoulder. He cannot loose the appearance that he has a good relationship with the donald. Otherwise fund raising might become a problem.
“Graham has never been in the clown car. He has been running right behind while constantly looking over his shoulder.”
No, he’s been riding in the rumble seat, so he can (technically) be outside the car but still with it when it arrives at whatever destination the clowns are driving to.
For those old enough to remember Watergate, remember Deep Throat’s advice?
“FOLLOW THE MONEY!”
The gangsters who run Russia (the 130 oligarchs around Putin who own 40% of the country – didn’t know that did you?) really believe they can accomplish anything with money, fear and violence. Hey, they’re successful gangsters, what can I say? Worked for the Mafia.
Two minor predictions:
Graham surely knows his argument is BS, at best, and at worst an outright attempt to deceive and muddy the waters. Especially since, we can be sure, he is aware the Steele Dossier wasn’t the only basis for the warrant, as any layman reading of the warrant spells out. Even if the dossier never existed, there is plenty evidence supporting the warrant.
This is Graham disingenuously melding his moderate republican shtick with protecting the Orange Fuhrer.
. . . concern-trolling me right now, . . .
. . . it’s James Fucking Comey.
Please have the minimal decency to just go away and Shut The Fuck Up, Jim! You’ve done enough damage. Your self-rehabilitation campaign deserves to fail.