Documents suggest possible coordination between CIA, FBI, Obama WH and Dem officials early in Trump-Russia probe: investigators Newly uncovered text messages between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page suggest a possible coordination between high-ranking officials at the Obama White House, CIA, FBI, Justice Department and former Senate Democratic leadership in the early stages of the investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, according to GOP congressional investigators on Wednesday. The investigators say the information provided to Fox News “strongly” suggests coordination between former President Barack Obama’s Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, then-Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, and CIA Director John Brennan — which they say would “contradict” the Obama administration’s public stance about its hand in the process. Page texted Strzok on Aug. 2, 2016, saying: “Make sure you can lawfully protect what you sign. Just thinking about congress, foia, etc. You probably know better than me.” A text message from Strzok to Page on Aug. 3 described former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe as being concerned with “information control” related to the initial investigation into the Trump campaign. According to a report from the New York Times, Brennan was sent to Capitol Hill around the same time to brief members of Congress on the possibility of election interference. Days later, on Aug. 8, 2016, Strzok texted Page: “Internal joint cyber cd intel piece for D, scenesetter for McDonough brief, Trainor [head of FBI cyber division] directed all cyber info be pulled. I’d let Bill and Jim hammer it out first, though it would be best for D to have it before the Wed WH session.” In the texts, “D” referred to FBI Director James Comey, and and “McDonough” referred to Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, the GOP investigators said. FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page texted about a briefing given to former Obama Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, seen here. (Reuters) “We are not making conclusions. What we are saying is that the timeline is concerning enough to warrant the appointment of an independent investigator to look at whether or not the Obama White House was involved [in the Trump-Russia investigation],” a GOP congressional source told Fox News. An FBI spokesman did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment. The congressional investigators pointed out to Fox News that the CIA and FBI are supposed to be “independent agencies,” and noted that “coordination between political actors at the White House and investigators would be inappropriate,” raising questions about the level of involvement of Obama White House officials. Former CIA Director John Brennan, seen here, briefed then-Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., two days before the Democratic leader wrote a letter to Comey. (AP, File) But weeks later, on August 25, 2016, Brennan went to Capitol Hill to brief Harry Reid — and it was unclear whether FBI officials attended the briefing, a congressional source told Fox News. Two days after the briefing, Reid penned a letter to Comey requesting an investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. “The evidence of a direct connection between the Russian government and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign continues to mount and has led Michael Morrell, the former Acting Central Intelligence Director, to call Trump an ‘unwitting agent’ of Russia and the Kremlin,” Reid, a Nevada Democrat, wrote. “The prospect of a hostile government actively seeking to undermine our free and fair elections represents one of the gravest threats to our democracy since the Cold War and it is critical for the Federal Bureau of Investigation to use every resource available to investigate this matter thoroughly and in a timely fashion.” Reid cited reports in his letter, noting “methods” Russia was using to influence the Trump campaign and “manipulate it as a vehicle for advancing the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin.” Reid added that “recent staff changes within the Trump campaign have made clear that the Trump campaign has employed a number of individuals with significant and disturbing ties to Russia and the Kremlin,” urging Comey to make the investigation “public.” The New York Times first reported on Reid’s letter to Comey on Aug. 29, 2016. Former Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, seen here, penned a letter in August 2016 to former FBI Director James Comey requesting an investigation into potential collusion with Trump campaign associates and Russia. (AP) The following day, Aug. 30, 2016, Page texted Strzok: “Here we go,” sending a link to the Times report titled, “Harry Reid Cites Evidence of Russian Tampering in U.S. Vote and seeks FBI inquiry.” Strzok replied: “D [Comey] said at am brief that Reid called him and told him he would be sending a letter.” Congressional investigators suggested that the Reid letter possibly provided “cover” for the fact that the FBI and Justice Department had already begun investigating the Trump campaign in mid-July on what they called “questionable ethical and legal grounds.” “The ‘here we go’ text between Strzok and Page indicates the FBI/ DOJ knew the letter from Reid was coming,” a congressional source told Fox News. “This created the inference they knew it would create public calls for an investigation into Russian interference — covering them.” The source told Fox News on Wednesday that investigators were neither “passing judgement” nor “claiming a smoking gun,” but suggested that the timeline was “incredibly concerning.” “At some point, the amount of concerning information becomes enough for a special counsel to look into it.” http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...arly-in-trump-russia-probe-investigators.html
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...ly-misleading-testimony-on-trump-dossier.html By Catherine Herridge, Pamela K. Browne, Cyd Upson | Fox News Fusion GPS co-founder accused of misleading Congress A top Republican senator is accusing the founder of opposition research firm Fusion GPS of providing testimony that was “extremely misleading, if not an outright lie,” regarding the anti-Trump dossier. Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson was asked about his firm’s work on the dossier during closed-door testimony in August 2017. When asked specifically whether that work continued after the 2016 election, Simpson responded: “I had no client after the election.” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, however, challenged that answer in a new letter to committee colleague Sen. Christopher Coons, D-Del. “As we now know, that was extremely misleading, if not an outright lie,” he wrote. He said that, “Contrary to Mr. Simpson’s denial in the staff interview, according to the FBI and others, Fusion actually did continue Trump dossier work for a new client after the election.” The letter cites the House Intelligence Committee’s Republican-authored Russia report, which included a footnote detailing a March 2017 interview between the FBI and Daniel J. Jones, a former staffer for Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein. According to the footnote, Jones told agents he was leading a research organization called the Penn Quarter Group, which had “secured the services” of dossier author and former British spy Christopher Steele; an associate; and Fusion GPS “to continue exposing Russian interference” after the election. The committee report said that thePenn Quarter Group “was being funded by 7 to 10 wealthy donors located primarily in New York and California, who provided approximately $50 million.” Grassley noted that Jones said his group planned to “push the information he obtained from Fusion and Steele to policymakers on Capitol Hill, the press, and the FBI.” Jones, according to his LinkedIn profile, worked four years for the FBI doing “international analysis” and as a staffer for Feinstein. Feinstein, who is the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary committee, unilaterally released a transcript of Simpson’s testimony in January. Grassley said Simpson and Jones’ statements are subject to the federal statute 18 USC 1001, which bars lying to federal investigators. “So, despite the fact Mr. Simpson said he had no client after the election, he in fact did, and that client revealed himself to the FBI,” he wrote. Grassley, working with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., back in January sent a criminal referral on Steele to the Justice Department – claiming the ex-spy lied about his contact with the media regarding allegations against members of the Trump campaign. “As with the circumstances surrounding the Steele referral, we once again have two seemingly contradictory statements in contexts where material lies are criminal. I would welcome your views on what actions you are willing to take with regard to Mr. Simpson’s testimony,” Grassley wrote. Grassley wrote the letter in response to Coons’ concerns about potential inconsistencies in Donald Trump Jr.’s committee interview. Grassley countered with his own concerns. Separately, as reported by Fox News, after much legal wrangling on both sides of the Atlantic, Steele is expected to sit down for a videotaped deposition on June 18 in London for civil litigation filed against Buzzfeed, which published the unverified Steele memos in January 2017. The Steele-written memos were funded by the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton through Washington, D.C.-based law firm Perkins Coie, which hired Fusion GPS for $1.8 million. The unverified information was also used by the FBI and pushed to various journalists during the 2016 campaign. Evan Fray-Witzer, the Boston-based lawyer for Russian technology executive Aleksej Gubarev, who is suing Buzzfeed for defamation of his companies, said in a statement: “We look forward to asking both Mr. Steele and Mr. Simpson about the work they performed after the election, which is when the memo concerning our clients was written. Obviously, if the work was performed for the Penn Quarter Group, it’s just more evidence that this was paid-for, private opposition research and not – as Buzzfeed tries to portray it – some sort of ‘government investigation.’” There was no immediate response from Simpson’s attorney or Daniel Jones. Making materially false or fraudulent statements to Congress can be pushishable by fines and imprisonment of up to eight years in prison. Catherine Herridge is an award-winning Chief Intelligence correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC) based in Washington, D.C. She covers intelligence, the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security. Herridge joined FNC in 1996 as a London-based correspondent.
True, I do t like that tactic. But what I also don’t do is listen or read Fox and expect forthright reporting, same with racheal maddow or Huff post on the left. It’s all just smoke and mirrors with such obvious agenda that it’s totally garbage.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t listen/watch/read any of that crap, I do and often enjoy it. I just never expect much credibility. Well, that’s not even totally true, although fox and huff post are both garbage, I do think Racheal Maddow, although totally biased, is truthful in her reporting. She may obfuscate the truth by not telling both sides but what she does say seems to be truthful, huff & fox outright lie.
And yet it’s better than outright lying that we see more and more frequently from certain news outlets and many politicians. But I do agree that her show is certainly not a good choice to get an overview of any news story. I watch her show once I’ve read several less biased sources.
All networks seem to have an agenda but Catherine Herridge on the right is one of the few I respect. Also like Kirsten Powers on the left.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...corted-from-fbi-building-lawyer-confirms.html Russia Investigation 3 hours ago FBI agent Peter Strzok ‘escorted’ from FBI building, lawyer confirms Peter Strzok, the FBI agent under fire over a series of anti-Trump text messages, was ‘escorted’ from the FBI building, his lawyer confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday. Strzok's lawyer Aitan Goelman argued that even though his client has "played by the rules," he has been targeted by "unfounded personal attacks, political games and inappropriate information leaks." "All of this seriously calls into question the impartiality of the disciplinary process, which now appears tainted by political influence," a statement from Goelman said. He said that Strzok "has complied with every FBI procedure, including being escorted from the buidling as part of the ongoing internal proceedings." The attorney did not say exactly when Strzok was escorted out. "Instead of publicly calling for a long-serving FBI agent to be summarily fired, politicians should allow the disciplinary process to play out free from political pressure," Goelman said. "Our leaders and the public should be very concerned with how readily such influence has been allowed to undermine due process and the legal protections owed to someone who has served his country for so long. Pete Strzok and the American people deserve better." The FBI had no comment when contacted by Fox News. News of Strzok's removal came after Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz confirmed during a Congressional hearing earlier Tuesday that his office was looking into whether Strzok's anti-Trump bias played a role in the launch of the bureau's Russia probe. Horowitz's report on the Clinton email investigation, which was released last week, revealed a text sent by Strzok to his then-colleague and lover Lisa Page. The IG report said Page texted Strzok in August 2016, prior to then-candidate Donald Trump's election night win, saying "[Trump's] not ever going to become president, right? Right?!" "No. No he won't. We'll stop it," Strzok responded. When asked to comment about FBI official being escorted from the agency, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) told Fox News that "it's way past time for PEter Strzok to hopefully start to find a different career and restore some credibility to the FBI that most of us love and admire." Fox Business' Bruce Becker and Fox News' Bill Mears, Brooke Singman, Alex Pappas and Jason Donner contributed to this report.
