House memo states disputed dossier was key to FBI’s FISA warrant to surveil members of Team Trump
www.foxnews.com
A memo that shows alleged government surveillance abuse has been released and includes testimony from a high-ranking government official who says without the infamous Trump dossier, the FBI and DOJ would not have secured surveillance warrants to spy on at least one member of the Trump team.
The House Intelligence Committee released the memo on Friday afternoon.
The memo, which has been at the center of an intense power struggle between congressional Republicans, was declassified ahead of its release Friday.
READ THE FISA MEMO (below)
It also claims the FBI and DOJ used media reporting to lend credibility to the dossier, while the firm behind the dossier, Fusion GPS, briefed major American news outlets to include New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, New Yorker, Yahoo and Mother Jones.
The memo shows that after former British spy Christopher Steele was cut off from the FBI, he continued to pass information, as did Fusion GPS, through Justice Department Official Bruce Ohr. Ohr’s wife Nellie began working for Fusion GPS as early as May 2016.
It also claims evidence that Steele has a personal animus for the President Trump.
"Steele admitted to Ohr his feelings against then Candidate Trump, in September of 2016, when Steele told Ohr, that he Steele 'was desperate that Donald Trump not get elected and was passionate about him not being president," the memo reads, according to an excerpt obtained by Fox News.
"Steele 'was desperate that Donald Trump not get elected and was passionate about him not being president'"
- FISA memo
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump, who has read the memo, called the contents “a disgrace.”
“A lot of people should be ashamed of themselves,” he said.
The impending release of the four-page memo comes after the House Intelligence Committee voted earlier this week, over Democratic objections, to make the document public. This led to a rare and stunning rebuke from the bureau, which said Wednesday they had “grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.”
The memo includes alleged abuses involving FISA, or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
In a last-ditch objection, the top Democrat on the House committee claimed overnight that Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., had made “material changes” to the memo that was sent to the White House for review.
But Nunes’ office described the changes as minor and blasted the complaint as a “bizarre distraction from the abuses detailed in the memo.”
The White House has backed the memo’s release, calling for “transparency.”
TRUMP BLASTS ‘POLITICIZED’ FBI, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Earlier Friday, President Trump unleashed an early-morning tweet at a Justice Department he said has been "politicized" by Democrats.
GOP-led House investigators believe the FBI used a dubious dossier, initially prepared as campaign opposition research for Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid, to get permission from a secret federal court to eavesdrop on Trump campaign and transition team communications.
"The top Leadership and Investigators of the FBI and the Justice Department have politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats and against Republicans - something which would have been unthinkable just a short time ago," Trump wrote. "Rank & File are great people!"
Just more than two weeks, Republican lawmakers first drew attention to the memo, with some calling it “shocking,” “troubling” and “alarming” and one likening the details to KGB activity in Russia. They argued the memo should be immediately made public, leading to a social media #ReleaseTheMemo campaign.
The actual document:
View on Scribd... by on Scribd
Cool memo.
The left has special counsel, 4 indictments, Trump associates singing like canaries and plea deals we don't even know the details on yet.
The right has this committee memo. Basically an interoffice communication.
How satisfying for the right, finally some REAL justice!
Cute attempt at spin.
The "special council's" investigation is now in serious trouble and Mueller has admitted so in his request to delay the action against Gen. Flynn.
The 4 indictments you cite have nothing to do with Donald Trump or his campaign.
The memo exposes corruption by Obama DOJ & FBI officials and criminals acts by thee same.
Your dodge and weave shows you are in a panic.
"serious violations of the public trust" by intelligence and law enforcement agencies investigating Russian interference in the 2016 campaign.
Cool memo.
The left has special counsel, 4 indictments, Trump associates singing like canaries and plea deals we don't even know the details on yet.
The right has this committee memo. Basically an interoffice communication.
How satisfying for the right, finally some REAL justice!
Cute attempt at spin.
The "special council's" investigation is now in serious trouble and Mueller has admitted so in his request to delay the action against Gen. Flynn.
The 4 indictments you cite have nothing to do with Donald Trump or his campaign.
The memo exposes corruption by Obama DOJ & FBI officials and criminals acts by thee same.
Your dodge and weave shows you are in a panic.
The indictments are part of a plea deal. As long as the indicted talk and give incriminating evidence against higher ups, that is all they will be charged with. If they refuse, the charges will get more serious. That is how a plea deal works. If you do not understand that, you have no business discussing any of this.
BTW, FISA warrants have to be approved by judges. And the judges saw enough to allow a warrant.
[Edited on 2/2/2018 by jkeller]
Well, Trump pulled the plug on the swamp today. Memo just proves the collusion was bogus and that entities with-in our govt. used police state tactics to illegally spy on Trump. I see Obama, Hillary, and many others going to jail for this. Makes you wonder what other underhanded things they were involved in.
FISA judges could be in trouble as well if they knew the dossier was fake too.
Gonna be a lot of job openings in Washington.
"serious violations of the public trust" by intelligence and law enforcement agencies investigating Russian interference in the 2016 campaign.
Maybe they should have asked Russia to hack emails of another American, like Trump did.
This memo is a nothingburger. It was a few items cherry picked by a Trump supporter, and the GOP blocking the response to this memo proves it is a nothingburger. It's like releasing a court testimony and not releasing the cross examination.
If it makes you happy, you can continue to consider this some important relevation, but it doesn't change a thing. If Trump had nothing to hide, he and his supporters wouldn't be doing everything on their power to somehow discredit the investigation before it's concluded. Innocent people don't act this way.
Well, Trump pulled the plug on the swamp today. Memo just proves the collusion was bogus and that entities with-in our govt. used police state tactics to illegally spy on Trump. I see Obama, Hillary, and many others going to jail for this. Makes you wonder what other underhanded things they were involved in.
FISA judges could be in trouble as well if they knew the dossier was fake too.
Gonna be a lot of job openings in Washington.
Why do you think the dossier is fake?
Cool memo.
The left has special counsel, 4 indictments, Trump associates singing like canaries and plea deals we don't even know the details on yet.
The right has this committee memo. Basically an interoffice communication.
How satisfying for the right, finally some REAL justice!
Cute attempt at spin.
The "special council's" investigation is now in serious trouble and Mueller has admitted so in his request to delay the action against Gen. Flynn.
The 4 indictments you cite have nothing to do with Donald Trump or his campaign.
The memo exposes corruption by Obama DOJ & FBI officials and criminals acts by thee same.
Your dodge and weave shows you are in a panic.
The indictments are part of a plea deal. As long as the indicted talk and give incriminating evidence against higher ups, that is all they will be charged with. If they refuse, the charges will get more serious. That is how a plea deal works. If you do not understand that, you have no business discussing any of this.
BTW, FISA warrants have to be approved by judges. And the judges saw enough to allow a warrant.
[Edited on 2/2/2018 by jkeller]
Corrupt officials at Obama’s DOJ & FBI used the fake and discredited Trump Dossier to obtain FISA warrants to spy on American Citizens for purely political purposes.
Those same crooked Obama officials failed to tell the FISA judge that the fake and discredited Trump Dossier was created by a British spy and Russians and bought and paid for by the Clinton campaign and the DNC for $12 Million dollars.
The Democrats and their left-wing lemmings said that the memo contained classified information and that if released would expose sources and methods.
The actual memo proves they lied.
The Democrats and their left-wing lemmings said that the memo contained classified information and that if released would expose sources and methods.
The actual memo proves they lied.
This I agree with. The memo showed nothing, absolutely nothing other than an opinion by one of Trump's biggest cheerleaders. A lot of publicity over nothing.
Mule posted a link for us to the "actual document". Thank you Sherlock Holmes. I wouldn't have been able to find it without your assitance.
The Democrats and their left-wing lemmings said that the memo contained classified information and that if released would expose sources and methods.
The actual memo proves they lied.
This I agree with. The memo showed nothing, absolutely nothing other than an opinion by one of Trump's biggest cheerleaders. A lot of publicity over nothing.
The memo proves the widespread corruption by officials at Obama’s DOJ & FBI and had nothing classified in it.
What was the big reveal? I missed it.
Decorated war veteran, POW, and Republican Senator John McCain: "We are doing Putin's job for him."
What was the big reveal? I missed it.
The memo shows that the U.S. government surveillance abuses is a "devastating blow" to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.
The memo shows that the U.S. government surveillance abuses is a "devastating blow" to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.
The memo says nothing of the sort. You would know this if you read and understood it.
BTW, FISA warrants are approved by judges, not the FBI/ Carter page had one FISA warrant and 3 extensions. That means that the FBI went before the courts 4 times and got approved each time.
The memo contains a number of bombshell allegations, including that the FBI and Justice Department relied on the infamous fake anti-Trump dossier to secure FISA surveillance warrants to spy on members of the Trump team.
It also claims the former British spy who compiled the dossier, Christopher Steele, had a personal animus for President Donald Trump.
"Steele admitted to [former FBI official Bruce] Ohr his feelings against then-candidate Trump, in September of 2016, when Steele told Ohr that he Steele 'was desperate that Donald Trump not get elected and was passionate about him not being president," the memo reads.
"That information goes to the idea that Steele had a political agenda when he was gathering this information for Fusion GPS and they were being bankrolled by the DNC and the Clinton campaign,"
They lied and misrepresented their case to the FISA Judges.
The memo contains a number of bombshell allegations, including that the FBI and Justice Department relied on the infamous fake anti-Trump dossier to secure FISA surveillance warrants to spy on members of the Trump team.
It also claims the former British spy who compiled the dossier, Christopher Steele, had a personal animus for President Donald Trump.
"Steele admitted to [former FBI official Bruce] Ohr his feelings against then-candidate Trump, in September of 2016, when Steele told Ohr that he Steele 'was desperate that Donald Trump not get elected and was passionate about him not being president," the memo reads.
"That information goes to the idea that Steele had a political agenda when he was gathering this information for Fusion GPS and they were being bankrolled by the DNC and the Clinton campaign,"
They lied and misrepresented their case to the FISA Judges.
The ultimate goal of the FISA warrant was to surveil Carter Page, who was known to have many Russian connections. Everything that was in the memo was cherry picked. Why won't Ryan allow the Dem memo be released? If Trump has nothing to hide, why would he attempt to subvert the investigation? Innocent people want all of the facts out. What is Ryan, Nunes and Trump trying to hide?
The Democrats and their left-wing lemmings said that the memo contained classified information and that if released would expose sources and methods.
The actual memo proves they lied.
The memo exposes Christopher Steele as a former FBI source SEPARATE from the "Dossier" that was created for Fusion GPS. That is exactly what the Democrats said. It would expose one source. Steele is a former British spy and he was not previously exposed as a source to the FBI.
The Democrats are not lying.
The Republicans are staging a political stunt with some info exposed and some info (including Democrat rebuttal memo) purposefully withheld.
I hope that winning a 24 hour news cycle was their biggest goal.
Go get 'em Mule! Save America from Hell!
MAGA bittches!! Make America Gay Again 😛
So I don't get it. Is it "nothing" or did releasing it somehow create "grave concerns"?
The Right:
"there was no grave concern in releasing it"
The Left:
"don't do it, you'll compromise national security"
It's released
The Right:
"look at this big deal here with what the memo says, deep concern with the top of our intelligence agency"
The Left:
"nothing to see here, nice try"
So I don't get it. Is it "nothing" or did releasing it somehow create "grave concerns"?
The Right:
"there was no grave concern in releasing it"The Left:
"don't do it, you'll compromise national security"It's released
The Right:
"look at this big deal here with what the memo says, deep concern with the top of our intelligence agency"The Left:
"nothing to see here, nice try"
I don't see anything that compromises national security, but Republican John McCain did. Of course I never said it shouldn't be released as long as the response to it was released as well.
Chris Stewart (R-UT) who sits on the House Intelligence Community and of course voted for the memo to be released, made him self available for a good bit today on CNN. He says "as a duty to report to the American people what we find". But he also said that he thinks Russia for sure meddled in the election drawing the distinction between meddling and collusion. He says Putin has won, their plan has succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. He said he fully supports the investigation continuing. So as long as he is telling the truth, in his eyes, this isn't or wasn't an attempt to derail the whole investigation and protect the President - unless that is really what he wants and isn't able to admit as much. He would seem to be on the side of McCain.
He also said he fully supports releasing the McCabe testimony transcript that the Democrats now want released in the context of what McCabe did or didn't say about the dossier being the sole basis for the FISA warrant.
I think this stuff should be kept behind closed doors. The time and place to bring it out is after the investigation concludes, not now.
Are the Democrats making counselors available to the far-left extremists on their day of shame?
Are the Democrats making counselors available to the far-left extremists on their day of shame?
Not necessary. However, legal counsel is needed by Nunez, Ryan and, of course, Trump.
So was President Trump correct again, that Obama bugged his organization?
So was President Trump correct again, that Obama bugged his organization?
Obviously.
Watch the lefties here freak out.
The main takeaways?
Warrants on Carter Page wouldn’t have been possible without the phony dossier
The FBI and DOJ relied on media reporting to lend credibility to the dossier, meaning there was a lot of “circular reporting” in this case
Christopher Steele said he was “desperate that Donald Trump not get elected and was passionate about him not being president”
DOJ and FBI officials KNEW about the shady dossier but excluded it from the FISA applications
FBI and DOJ officials knew the truth behind the phony dossier and used it anyway
Holy mother of corruption.
They used the Foreign Electronic Surveillance Act on US citizens during an election campaign.
Carter Page was an advisor to Trumps presidential campaign, so the govt. was spying on the campaign and possibly moving behind the scenes to influence the outcome of the election.
The Director of the FBI AND the Attorney General had to approve this warrant for the surveillance on a US citizen and the Trump campaign to be issued.
The warrant is only valid for 90 days of surveillance and has to be renewed after that, it was renewed THREE times, so that is 9 months of spying on a presidential campaign.
Comey signed THREE of those applications.
Information used to justify why they needed the warrant came from Mr. Steele who was paid $160,000 from Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign, though they are careful to not say that the payment was for a "dossier" of info. on the Trump campaign. They just assert that he was working for the campaign doing benign things.
Spying on a presidential candidate and campaign by the FBI, using Foreign Intelligence Surveillance for NINE months, with the head of the FBI authorizing it. This is much worse than Watergate, those people bugged the hotel to try to hear what their opponents were talking about, this goes waay beyond that.
[Edited on 2/2/2018 by gina]
