Rantburg

Today's Front Page   View All of Tue 04/23/2024 View Mon 04/22/2024 View Sun 04/21/2024 View Sat 04/20/2024 View Fri 04/19/2024 View Thu 04/18/2024 View Wed 04/17/2024
2020-05-24 -Lurid Crime Tales-
How Russiagate Began With Obama's Iran Deal Domestic Spying Campaign
[Tablet] Barack Obama warned his successor against hiring Michael Flynn. It was Nov. 10, 2016, just two days after Donald Trump upset Hillary Clinton to become the 45th president of the United States. Trump told aide Hope Hicks that he was bewildered by the president’s warning. Of all the important things Obama could have discussed with him, the outgoing commander in chief wanted to talk about Michael Flynn.

The question of why Obama was so focused on Flynn is especially revealing now. The Department of Justice recently filed to withdraw charges against the retired three-star general for making false statements to the FBI in a Jan. 24, 2017, interview regarding a phone call with a Russian diplomat. The circumstances surrounding the call and subsequent FBI interview have given rise to a vast conspiracy theory that was weaponized to imprison a decorated war hero and a strategic thinker whose battlefield innovations saved countless American lives. There is no evidence that Flynn "colluded" with Russia, and the evidence that Flynn did not make false statements to the FBI has been buried by the bureau, including current Director Christopher Wray.

So if the Obama administration wasn’t alarmed by Flynn’s nonexistent ties to Russia, why was he Obama’s No. 1 target? Why were officials from the previous administration intercepting his phone calls with the Russian ambassador?

The answer is that Obama saw Flynn as a signal threat to his legacy, which was rooted in his July 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran—the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Flynn had said long before he signed on with the Trump campaign that it was a catastrophe to realign American interests with those of a terror state. And now that the candidate he’d advised was the new president-elect, Flynn was in a position to help undo the deal. To stop Flynn, the outgoing White House ran the same offense it used to sell the Iran deal—they smeared Flynn through the press as an agent of a foreign power, spied on him, and leaked classified intercepts of his conversations to reliable echo chamber allies.

In March 2017, after seeing evidence of the Obama administration’s surveillance of Trump associates, Congressman Devin Nunes said it had nothing to do with Russia or the FBI’s ongoing Russia investigation, or similar Russia probes conducted by congressional committees. Nunes’ contention was difficult to make sense of at the time. Wasn’t everything about Russia and whether or not there was, as Congressman Adam Schiff said, more than circumstantial evidence of collusion?

In fact, as Trump prepared to take office after his 2016 upset victory, the Obama White House was focused on the Middle East. "Russia collusion" was the narrative that Hillary Clinton operatives seeded in the media and fed to the FBI to obtain a warrant to spy on the Trump campaign. After the election, the Obama team took it over and used it to hobble the incoming administration.
Posted by Besoeker 2020-05-24 00:00|| || Front Page|| [10 views ]  Top

#1 That's an extraordinary piece. Haven't read it through it all, but it's compelling, sober, thoroughly researched and logically laid out.

It's also sickening. Obama and his band of knaves and fools are the most corrupt crew to hit D.C. in our lifetimes. Thank God this is finally being exposed by people like Lee Smith.
Posted by Lex 2020-05-24 08:28||   2020-05-24 08:28|| Front Page Top

#2 Superbly detailed and sourced work. Of particular note is the little know fact that Flynn planned a complete review of the justification of every senior staff position throughout the entire IC. It explains why so many got onboard to protect cushy rice bowls. Plus, the Iranian influences in that administration are clear. ValJar still lives with Champ and the Wookie to this day.
Posted by NoMoreBS 2020-05-24 10:52||   2020-05-24 10:52|| Front Page Top

#3 Yeah, I noticed that part, too, NoMo.

Seems the knives were drawn vs Flynn in many quarters.
Posted by Lex 2020-05-24 11:12||   2020-05-24 11:12|| Front Page Top

#4 I have seen reported that fear of Flynn damaging the Iran nuke deal - and risking nuclear holocaust- was very high, justifying virtually any action against him.
Posted by Glenmore  2020-05-24 13:04||   2020-05-24 13:04|| Front Page Top

#5 OK. We've learned our lesson. NO MORE PRESIDENTS FROM CHICAGO.
Posted by Tom 2020-05-24 14:23||   2020-05-24 14:23|| Front Page Top

13:01 Super Hose
12:56 Super Hose
12:54 Super Hose
12:51 M. Murcek
12:45 Grom the Reflective
12:44 trailing wife
12:26 mossomo
12:25 Grom the Reflective
12:20 Tom
12:19 SteveS
12:08 M. Murcek
12:04 Frank G
12:04 Whiskey Mike
11:17 SteveS
11:08 Abu Uluque
11:04 Abu Uluque
11:01 SteveS
10:58 49 Pan
10:57 49 Pan
10:52 Super Hose
10:52 49 Pan
10:49 49 Pan
10:49 49 Pan
10:48 Super Hose









Paypal:
Google
Search WWW Search rantburg.com