ICIG complaint alleges Trump-Ukraine whistleblower may be soliciting illicit donations By Gregg Re | Fox News EXCLUSIVE: A newly filed complaint to the Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) alleges that the whistleblower whose allegations touched off House Democrats' impeachment inquiry may have violated federal law by indirectly soliciting more than a quarter-million dollars from mostly anonymous sources via a GoFundMe page. The complaint, which was filed last week and obtained by Fox News, alleged the donations from roughly 6,000 individuals "clearly constitute" gifts to a current intelligence official that may be restricted because of the employee's official position pursuant to 5 CFR 2635.203 and other statutes. To date, the GoFundMe has raised over $227,000. The complaint also raised the possibility that some of the donations may have come from prohibited sources, and asked the ICIG to look into whether any "foreign citizen or agent of a foreign government" contributed. Tully Rinckey PLLC, the law firm representing the individual reporting the allegations, is closely guarding the identity of their client, though Fox News is told the individual is the holder of a top-secret SCI security clearance and has served in government. "I have not seen anything on this scale," Anthony Gallo, the managing partner of Tully Rinckey PLLC, told Fox News, referring to the fundraising. "It's not about politics for my client -- it's whistleblower-on-whistleblower, and [my client's] only interest is to see the government ethics rules are being complied with government-wide." Fox News reported in September that the nonprofit Whistleblower Aid worked with the whistleblower's attorneys at the Compass Rose Legal Group to start the GoFundMe. The whistleblower's attorneys have called the GoFundMe a way to "help support the Intelligence Community Whistleblower [to] raise funds," and the GoFundMe page itself states that "A U.S. intelligence officer... needs your help" in the form of a "crowdfunding effort to support the whistleblower’s lawyers." The fundraising page claims that "donations will only be accepted from U.S. citizens." But, the majority of the GoFundMe donors to the whistleblower's campaign were not named, and legal experts have told Fox News that the ICIG likely would need to subpoena the website to obtain more information on their origins. The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) warned federal government employees earlier this year that they "may not accept any gift given because of the employee's official position," meaning that the gift would "not have been given had the employee not held the status, authority, or duties associated with the employee's federal position." The OGE also cautioned that gifts may not be accepted from "prohibited sources," including anyone who "conducts activities regulated by the employee’s agency" or who "has interests that can be affected by the performance or non-performance of the employee’s official duties." The new ICIG complaint alleged that the donations through the GoFundMe page indeed constitute a "gift" for a federal employee, and that they were made due to the whistleblower's official "status, authority or duties." It further alleged that the whistleblower and his legal team appeared to be exploiting their access to classified information. "[M]y client believes ... that the federal employee you are protecting and their attorneys apparently have strategically weaponized their alleged whistleblowing activities into a very lucrative money-making enterprise using a charity incorporated under a different name than the trade name it is using for fund-raising purposes, which would appear to my client to be a clear abuse of the federal employee's authority and access to classified information," Gallo wrote in the letter to ICIG Michael Atkinson, the same government watchdog who originally received the Ukraine complaint from the whistleblower. That paragraph was a reference to Whistleblower Aid, which is also known as Values United, co-founded by whistleblower attorney Mark Zaid. (Values United tax documents show it paid $258,085 for advertising and consulting services to West End Strategy Team, whose founder Matt Dorf was quoted on the group's website saying he "influences progressive politics, skillfully shifting the conversation to achieve the goals of West End Strategy clients.") "We are requesting you investigate whether [criminal statutes or regulations have] been violated by the federal employee you are protecting when they reportedly requested an investigation into a matter that they had no direct personal knowledge of, and on account of which they were able to obtain sizeable gifts from unknown persons because of their official duty," Gallo concluded. The Ukraine whistleblower's complaint -- about President Trump's effort to pressure Ukraine to announce politically advantageous investigations -- triggered an impeachment inquiry that will shift into a public phase this week with the launch of House hearings. Trump's GOP allies have sought to learn more about the whistleblower motivations, however, and Trump himself has criticized Zaid -- after Fox News reported last week that the attorney had tweeted about the beginning of a "coup" against the president in 2017. Zaid later defended the tweets as reflecting "the sentiments of millions of people" at the time. The law firm has also demanded the White House stop attacking the whistleblower, reportedly warning that Trump’s rhetoric and activity are putting the individual in danger. The latest ICIG complaint, meanwhile, noted that the Internal Revenue Service's criminal investigations division has been notified. GoFundMe campaigns have seen a surge in popularity in recent months, as former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and former FBI agent Peter Strzok have each established campaigns that raised tens of thousands of dollars. But, those campaigns began after McCabe and Strzok left government service, making the whistleblower's GoFundMe a unique fundraising effort. Fox News is told the ICIG typically replies to complaints swiftly. "I hope that it's acted on expeditiously," Gallo told Fox News. "The time is ripe to address these issues." https://www.foxnews.com/politics/icig-complaint-ukraine-whistleblower
Chief Deep State witness lied under oath... Yovanovitch communicated with Dem staffer on 'delicate' issue after complaint, emails show, despite testimony By Gregg Re | Fox News EXCLUSIVE: Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, a key witness in House Democrats' impeachment inquiry, communicated via her personal email account with a Democratic congressional staffer concerning a "quite delicate" and "time-sensitive" matter -- just two days after the whistleblower complaint that kickstarted the inquiry was filed, and a month before the complaint became public, emails obtained Thursday by Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight" show. The emails appear to contradict Yovanovitch's deposition on Capitol Hill last month, in which she told U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., about an email she received Aug. 14 from the staffer, Laura Carey -- but indicated under oath that she never responded to it. The communication came "from the Foreign Affairs Committee," and "they wanted me to come in and talk about, I guess, the circumstances of my departure" in May as ambassador to Ukraine, Yovanovitch testified, describing Carey's initial email. "I alerted the State Department, because I'm still an employee, and so, matters are generally handled through the State Department." Yovanovitch continued: "So, she emailed me. I alerted the State Department and, you know, asked them to handle the correspondence. And, she emailed me again and said, you know, 'Who should I be in touch with?'" Fox News is told it is a breach of normal procedure for congressional staff to reach out to a current State Department employee at their personal email address for official business. Asked directly whether she responded to Carey's overtures, Yovanovitch testified only that someone in the "Legislative Affairs Office" at the State Department had responded to Carey, to the best of her knowledge. Yovanovitch did not indicate that she had responded to Carey's first email in any way, and testified explicitly that she did not reply to Carey's follow-up email concerning whom she should contact at the State Department. However, emails obtained by Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight" showed that in fact, Yovanovitch had responded to Carey's initial Aug. 14 email, writing that she "would love to reconnect and look forward to chatting with you." On Aug. 14, Carey reached out to Yovanovitch with pleasantries about the last time the two had "crossed paths" -- "when I was detailed to" the Senate Foreign Relations Committee -- before noting that Carey had resigned from the State Department to join the House Foreign Affairs Committee staff performing oversight work. "I'm writing to see if you would have time to meet up for a chat — in particular, I’m hoping to discuss some Ukraine-related oversight questions we are exploring," Carey then wrote to Yovanovitch. "I'd appreciate the chance to ground-truth a few pieces of information with you, some of which are quite delicate/time-sensitive and, thus, we want to make sure we get them right." Carey continued: "Could you let me know if you have any time this week or next to connect? Happy to come to a place of your choosing, or if easier, to speak by phone at either of the numbers below. I'm also around this weekend if meeting up over coffee works." On Aug. 15, Yovanovitch responded: "Thanks for reaching out -- and congratulations on your new job. I would love to reconnect and look forward to chatting with you. I have let EUR [Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs] know that you are interested in talking and they will be in touch with you shortly." On Aug. 19, Carey wrote, "Great -- thanks for the response and I look forward to hearing from them. As mentioned, it would be ideal to connect this week... assuming this week is doable for you schedule-wise?" Zeldin told Fox News on Thursday it was "greatly concerning" that Yovanovitch may have testified incorrectly that she did not personally respond to Carey's email. "I would highly suspect that this Democratic staffer's work was connected in some way to the whistleblower's effort, which has evolved into this impeachment charade," Zeldin said. "We do know that the whistleblower was in contact with [House Intelligence Committee Chairman] Adam Schiff's team before the whistleblower had even hired an attorney or filed a whistleblower complaint even though Schiff had lied to the public originally claiming that there was no contact. Additionally, while the contents of the email from this staffer to Ambassador Yovanovitch clearly state what the conversation would be regarding, Yovanovitch, when I asked her specifically what the staffer was looking to speak about, did not provide these details." Zeldin added: "I specifically asked her whether the Democratic staffer was responded to by Yovanovitch or the State Department. It is greatly concerning that Ambassador Yovanovitch didn't answer my question as honestly as she should have, especially while under oath." "It is greatly concerning that Ambassador Yovanovitch didn't answer my question as honestly as she should have, especially while under oath." — U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y. A Democratic House Foreign Affairs Committee spokesperson, however, characterized the outreach as innocuous, saying it was related to Yovanovitch's public ouster as the envoy to Ukraine. "The committee wanted to hear from an ambassador whose assignment was cut short under unusual circumstances," the spokesperson said. "This staff outreach was part of monthslong efforts that culminated in the September 9 launch of an investigation into these events. Congress has a constitutional duty to conduct oversight. The State Department doesn’t tell Congress how to do that job, and should be more concerned with the culture of retaliation and impunity that has festered under this administration." Neither Carey nor the State Department immediately responded to Fox News' requests for comment. President Trump ordered Yovanovitch to be recalled from her post this past May following allegations of partisanship and political bias. Democrats have suggested her service was terminated so that the Trump administration could carry out illicit foreign policy with Ukraine. George Kent, a career official at the State Department, told House investigators conducting the impeachment inquiry that a Ukrainian official told him Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani had conspired with Yuriy Lutsenko, the then-prosecutor general of Ukraine, to "throw mud" as part of a “campaign of slander” against Yovanovitch. That accusation came out in testimony released earlier Thursday. "Well, Mr. Giuliani was almost unmissable starting in mid-March," Kent told investigators. "As the news campaign, or campaign of slander against, not only Ambassador Yovanovitch unfolded, he had a very high media presence, so he was on TV, his Twitter feed ramped up and it was all focused on Ukraine." Gregg Re is a lawyer and editor based in Los Angeles. Follow him on Twitter @gregg_re or email him at gregory.re@foxnews.com.
William Barr says FISA report release is 'imminent' by Daniel Chaitin | November 13, 2019 04:44 PM | Updated Nov 13, 2019, 05:34 PM Attorney General William Barr said a release is "imminent" for the Justice Department inspector general's report on alleged Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuses. The product of a year-and-a-half-long investigation, Inspector General Michael Horowitz's findings are poised to create a new rift between Republicans and Democrats in their clash over the federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. "It's been reported and it's my understanding that it is imminent," Barr told reporters Wednesday in Memphis, Tennessee. "A number of people who were mentioned in the report are having an opportunity right now to comment on how they're quoted in the report. And after that process is over, which should be very short, the report will be issued. That’s what the inspector general himself suggests." President Trump's GOP allies assert Horowitz's report will show top Justice Department and FBI officials misled the FISA court by using an unverified dossier compiled by British ex-spy Christopher Steele to obtain warrants to electronically monitor onetime Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. Democrats, as well as current and former FBI officials, dismissed allegations of wrongdoing and have raised concerns that information about U.S. intelligence gathering could be weaponized to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller. Touting Horowitz as a "fiercely independent" and "superb" investigator who "conducted this particular investigation in the most professional way," Barr said he expects his report to be "a credit to the department." Some Republicans and conservative media figures have vented their frustration in recent months at what appeared to be repeated delays in the investigation that Barr initially predicted could be completed by May or June. It was reported last week that a public copy was expected to be released by about Thanksgiving or later. The actual investigation was completed in September, and Horowitz provided an update to Congress on Oct. 24, saying a classification review by the Justice Department and the FBI was "nearing completion." In what should be a final step, Horowitz has invited people interviewed in his investigation and their lawyers to review a draft of the report. This process, which will allow the individuals one final chance to offer input, will take place over the next two weeks. Page claims to be one of them, saying he got "constructive feedback" from Horowitz's team. In response to requests by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions and members of Congress, Horowitz announced the investigation in March 2018, writing that his review would "examine the Justice Department’s and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) compliance with legal requirements, and with applicable DOJ and FBI policies and procedures, in applications filed with the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) relating to a certain U.S. person. As part of this examination, the OIG also will review information that was known to the DOJ and the FBI at the time the applications were filed from or about an alleged FBI confidential source." In addition, Horowitz said he would "review the DOJ’s and FBI’s relationship and communications with the alleged source as they relate to the FISC applications" and "if circumstances warrant, the OIG will consider including other issues that may arise during the course of the review." His announcement followed the February 2018 release of a memo from the House Intelligence Committee, which at the time was led by Republicans, outlining allegations that DOJ and FBI officials misled the FISA court. Democrats put together a rebuttal memo that defended the actions of the DOJ and FBI. Horowitz's findings could be useful for U.S. Attorney John Durham, who is scrutinizing the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation, examining the conduct of the Justice Department, FBI, and the intelligence community. Last month, Durham shifted his administrative review to a criminal inquiry that gives his team the power to impanel a grand jury and hand down indictments.
HE’S BACK Mysterious Professor at Heart of Russian Investigation Returns for Impeachment Proceedings Joseph Mifsud has returned from the abyss just as impeachment proceedings begin against President Donald Trump—or has he? Barbie Latza Nadeau Correspondent-At-Large Published 11.13.19 3:51PM ET ROME—Joseph Mifsud, the erstwhile professor from Malta whose promise to help then-candidate Donald Trump’s campaign aide George Papadopoulos get his hands on Russian “dirt” about Hillary Clinton has reportedly resurfaced. On Wednesday, the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera posted a six-minute audio recording in English it says Mifsud sent from an anonymous email account late Tuesday night. A short time later, the Italian news agency Adnkronos published a clip it received. Whether other publications received the Mifsud missive is not clear, nor is the more important question of whether it’s genuine. Last summer Attorney General William Barr and U.S. Attorney John Durham traveled to Rome twice to learn what they could from Italian secret service officials about the professor as part of their investigation into the Russian investigation led by Robert Mueller. Mifsud has not been seen for two years and speculation has swirled around the question of whether he is still alive and, if he is, who is supporting him. The Corriere clip starts with a brief introduction. “Today is the 11th of November 2019” and continues, “I am Joseph Mifsud speaking, this is my voice.” It does sound like other recordings of Mifsud. He goes on to say that he has had “no contact with friends and family for a number of months now.” While he doesn’t say where he is or where he has been, it is clear that—if this is Mifsud—he hopes that he can come back out from under whatever rock he has been hiding under for the last two years. “It is extremely important finally … that I am given the possibility of coming back to life,” the voice says. “It has been very, very difficult for me to live like this, without any human contact, without a human experience, and I believe that I should be given the opportunity to do that. It is extremely important that somebody somewhere decides to let me breathe again.” He does not say who is keeping him from resurfacing or why he has chosen to go underground. But he does make a laborious attempt to explain that he is “just a networker” who connects people who might be interested in “similar topics.” “It’s been almost two years to date that the whole issue—blown up issue—has been presented to the world’s media and on the world’s stage, as if I had something to do with issues concerning countries,” the man says, without naming which countries or issues those are. He then goes on to deny infiltrating “programs, contacts or any other institutions of the world.” The Mifsud voice does not mention that he has been accused of being a Russian asset in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Nor does me mention Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I. about their interactions. Nor does the man who says he is Mifsud say he has also been accused by deep state conspiracy theorists that he was sent as a lure to trap Trump by then-President Barack Obama. Instead, he calls all accusations that he is anything but an academic absurd. “I try to bring one group in contact with another,” he said. “Not, not repeat and underline, nobody in any service, secret service, intelligence service or anybody of this sort.” He then goes on to qualify that if he had met any such spooks, he didn’t know it. “If I had any contact with this, I have not known that this person or that person had any link with any institution,” the man claiming to be Mifsud says. Mifsud’s own lawyer, Stephan Roh, has insinuated that his client was forced into hiding by Italian intelligence officials to avoid compromising the investigation into Mueller’s investigation. “I think Mifsud is still alive, he was at least until last Spring. I know he was hiding because he feared for his life, I also know that someone forced him to hide,” Roh told Italian news agency Adnkronos last year. “Mifsud had to disappear, because he could compromise the whole investigation of Mueller against Trump.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/josep...sage-to-italian-paper?source=articles&via=rss
John Durham interviewed Australian diplomat whose tip prompted Trump-Russia investigation by Daniel Chaitin & Jerry Dunleavy | November 12, 2019 02:41 PM U.S. Attorney John Durham reportedly interviewed the Australian diplomat whose tip about George Papadopoulos effectively started the counterintelligence investigation into President Trump's campaign in July 2016. Alexander Downer, who was Australia's high commissioner to the United Kingdom up until last year, met with Durham's team last month in London and is said to have told investigators he was not part of a conspiratorial plot to undermine Trump, according to the Australian. Under the supervision of Attorney General William Barr, Durham is conducting an investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation, examining the conduct of the Justice Department, FBI, and intelligence community. Last month, Durham shifted his administrative review to a criminal investigation that allows his team the power to impanel a grand jury and hand down indictments. He has also been in communication with DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, who recently completed an investigation into allegations of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuses by the DOJ and the FBI. Horowitz's report is expected to be released in the coming weeks following a classification review. Downer met Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, at London's Kensington Wine Rooms in May 2016. At this meeting, Papadopoulos said the Russians had damaging information on Hillary Clinton, Trump's Democratic rival in the 2016 election. Two months later, when WikiLeaks published stolen emails from the Democratic National Committee, Downer informed the United States about what Papadopoulos had told him. This prompted the FBI's counterintelligence investigation, called Crossfire Hurricane, in July 2016. It is believed that controversial FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok signed the order that launched the inquiry. The counterintelligence operation was later wrapped into special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, which concluded earlier this year and was unable to find sufficient proof to establish a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia. While in London, Durham viewed a confidential cable Downer sent to Australia's capital Canberra in May 2016 after speaking with Papadopoulos. He also interviewed another Australian diplomat in London, Erika Thompson, who arranged and attended Downer's meeting with Papadopoulos. The Justice Department declined to comment following a request for confirmation from the Washington Examiner. Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty in October 2017 to making false statements to the FBI about his contacts with Russians and served 12 days in prison late last year, claims the man who informed him that the Russians had "dirt" on Clinton in the form of "thousands" of Clinton's emails was Maltese academic Joseph Mifsud. Mifsud denied to the FBI he knew or mentioned anything about emails. Durham's team is also looking into Mifsud, who has not made a public appearance since 2017. Barr and Durham recently flew to Rome to meet with Italian intelligence to obtain government information on Mifsud and listen to a secret recording of the elusive academic. Mueller said in his Russia investigation report that Mifsud may have ties to Russian intelligence, but Papadopoulos, Republican allies of Trump, and Stephan Roh, a lawyer who claims to represent Mifsud, all believe he was actually cooperating with Western intelligence services in the U.S., United Kingdom, Italy, and Australia. Papadopoulos has said Downer was working with Mifsud in an effort to undermine Trump's campaign. The Australian government and Downer have denied this accusation. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/...whose-tip-prompted-trump-russia-investigation
More Deep State crimes in Ukraine. Senators press Amazon over Ring security concerns Oregon Ron Wyden said Ring doorbell cameras may pose national security concerns by: The Associated Press Posted: Nov 20, 2019 / 08:02 PM PST / Updated: Nov 20, 2019 / 08:02 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) – A group of Democratic U.S. senators is questioning Amazon about the security of its Ring doorbell cameras following reports that some Ukraine-based employees had access to video footage from customers’ homes. A letter to Amazon Wednesday from Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and four other Democrats said the internet-connected devices may pose national security concerns. News site The Intercept earlier reported that Ring employees in the U.S. and Ukraine had access to personal data from cameras around the world. The letter asks the company to explain its practices to address security vulnerabilities. Ring says it’s reviewing the letter. The letter comes after one of the senators in the group, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, on Tuesday released Amazon’s responses to separate privacy and civil liberty concerns. https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/senators-press-amazon-over-ring-security-concerns/
Newt Gingrich: Plot against president is real – And bigger than many think By Newt Gingrich | Fox News House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats' tunnel-vision focus on impeaching President Trump puts all of us, as Americans, at risk. This may sound extreme, but I lay it all out in this week’s episode of "Newt’s World." Since the day Trump was elected president, Democrats have been formulating and executing the plot we have been watching unfold. After Trump won a massive electoral majority, Democrats started digging. They have been determined to find something – anything – they can use to attack him. The central focus of all of this is to describe and define Trump as a corrupt president so often that people begin to accept the narrative. It’s not only the elected Democrats. Much of the intelligence community has been equally determined to “uncover” something on President Trump from the beginning. In my judgment, the liberal national news media is mindlessly repeating this narrative. Many in the media are implicitly biased against President Trump – but even those who are not are helping the Democrats by giving their message airtime, print real estate and attention. As this plot against Trump has continued, the American system has been bypassed, ignored, or misused to the point where it has been put it in jeopardy. Democrats, political operatives, American intelligence officials and the media have been forcing a manufactured narrative on the American people. Specifically, a group of these intelligence officials are breaking the law by leaking secrets to the media (whose members gladly overlook these crimes so long as it lets them accuse the president of something new). We have seen this pattern with the so-called Trump Towers in Moscow scandal, the Robert Mueller investigation, and now the Pelosi-Adam Schiff impeachment effort. Make no mistake: This is not politics as usual. It’s a concerted effort by one political party, the Washington bureaucracy, and the media to overrule the American people. This week on "Newt’s World" I spoke with Lee Smith, author of "The Plot Against the President: The True Story of How Congressman Devin Nunes Uncovered the Biggest Political Scandal in U.S. History." Smith has done perhaps the most comprehensive job yet of shedding light on this massive effort to undermine the American political system. I hope you will listen this week and help us combat this plot against the president. https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/newt-gingrich-democrats-are-putting-americans-at-risk
