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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| Byron York: Next step: House Intel asks Trump to declassify rest of FISA application; tantalizing clues about pages 10-12 and 17-34 |
| 2018-07-25 |
| [Wash Examiner] The release of a heavily-redacted version of the FBI's application for a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant to wiretap onetime Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page has spurred calls to remove the redactions, to un-black out the pages blacked out by the FBI before the document was made public. The long sections of censored material have made it impossible to reach definitive conclusions about the warrant application. It has also led to the publication of de-contextualized sensational accusations. For example, page 8 of the original warrant application contains a passage which begins with two blacked-out lines, then includes the words "the FBI believes that the Russian Government's efforts are being coordinated with Page and perhaps other individuals associated with Candidate #1's [Donald Trump's] campaign," and continues with more blacked-out material. Is there a critical prefatory clause in that sentence fragment? The answer is unclear. Defenders of the FBI have begun to argue that the blacked-out portions contain the truly powerful evidence that supports their position. "There is clearly information the government provided separate and apart from 'Source #1' (Steele) and open source info ‐ and that fact that all those paragraphs are redacted suggests supporting info from OTHER sensitive methods and sources," tweeted CNN commentator Asha Rangappa, a lawyer and former FBI agent. It's a point that is impossible to assess as long as the application remains heavily redacted. Which is why House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes ‐ the man most responsible for bringing the application to light in the first place ‐ is asking President Trump to declassify the rest of the warrant application. "We want the president to take care of the rest of these redactions, so there is full transparency and sunlight for everyone to see," Nunes told Fox News' Laura Ingraham Monday night. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #5 Wasn't it Strzok eho said of the Russian collusion investigation: "There's no there there"? And yet this boondoggle drags on and on. It seems to have ensnared many of the people who created this rather than those for whom it was intended. That's a good thought to hit the hay on tonight. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2018-07-25 23:48 |
| #4 It seems like it was a set-up by the swamp. It's not clear when it went from an investigation of Carter Page in 2014 based on his relationships with Russia to a "Get Trump" effort to take down a POTUS. A look at the unredacted FISA applications and renewals would be interesting. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2018-07-25 16:30 |
| #3 Carter Page was an intelligence asset for spying on Trump. Somewhere in all of this is a piece of information that outed Page to Trump...hence his resignation. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2018-07-25 15:00 |
| #2 If Page was under investigation in 2014 by the FBI, why wasn't Trump notified that Page was under investigation and a possible security risk at the time Page was hired as a part of his foreign policy team in 2016? Just asking. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2018-07-25 12:07 |
| #1 One can only hope Trump is playing this game like a professional card-shark. Perhaps declassifying it will be his "October Surprise". |
| Posted by: Bobby 2018-07-25 09:19 |