In the last article, we talked about the Nunez memo and went over the story involving this Trump Dossier. Again, I did not know how much information would be in a four page document and did not think there could be much new. I have talked to many people about it and what they saw depended on their political party. Democrats thought there was not much in it (though they fought to keep it private) and Republicans said it was going to change the world.
It turns out both were right and both were wrong.
The memo does not have a lot new but what is new is big. It also fleshes out the story that I told yesterday. This memo is not going to change the course of history but it is important and damning. Her is what I got out of it.
The Story is a Little More Fleshed Out
The story I explained yesterday become a little more complete. The DNC law firm, Perkins Coie, were the ones who hired and paid Fusion GPS (with DNC funds) through a Fusion GPS representative named Glenn Simpson. It was Simpson who appointed Christopher Steele to create the dossier. This is not that big a deal. There is still no clear understanding how the dossier got from the DNC to the Justice department though the memo mentions the Clinton Campaign. Though one can assume it was the Clinton campaign there still does not appear to be any proof. So let us not assume that.
The Trump Dossier was Never Verified
Now we get into the meat of the thing.
When presented to the FISA court (called FISC), the dossier was in its “infancy” and very little corroboration. So how did it get pushed and seen as valid? Christopher Steele leaked parts of the dossier to numerous news outlets (Yahoo News and Mother Jones were mentioned). Then the DOJ used the news reports to corroborate the dossier. This is a huge issue. Though we do not know what news agencies received the leaked information, it might explain why a bunch of news agencies (including CNN, the Washington Post and the New York Times) had opinion articles that called for the memo to remain private (when has a news agency ever not want more news?).
This was done by Steele at the orders of Fusion GPS and with the knowledge of Perking Coie, the law firm for the DNC. This was such a huge no-no that the FBI fired Steele though they maintained contact with him and never prosecuted for lying to the FBI (Michael Flynn is looking at five years in prison for doing the same thing).
The Bias
The big question has been about anti-Trump bias in the DOJ and FBI. There seems to be plenty of it. Andrew McCabe, Deputy Director of the FBI, was having discussions with Peter Strzok about an “Insurance policy in case Trump gets elected”. Peter Strzok feelings about Trump were made public by text messages with his mistress, FBI attorney Lisa Page (both were married during the pair so you know they are quality people). Strzok was one of the investigators on the Trump/Russia collusion investigation (until he was fired by Robert Mueller) and the Hilary Clinton E-mail server investigation. Christopher Steele also had his bias against Trump. Andrew McCabe testified that Steele would do anything to keep Trump from being president.
Media bias is also shown here. The leaked information by Steele was debunked rather quickly. Though only Yahoo News and Mother Jones were mention in the memo (both very left wing “news” organizations), it shows that they will publish anything without vetting simply if it is against Trump. And we have seen this over the last couple of years from more “reputable” news organizations like CNN, ABC News and CBS News so we know it happens a lot. I wish I had a dollar for every time a reporter had to retract a story. The whole “Fake News” thing has been a tired talking point by Donald Trump but the base came from some really bad and biased reporting.
They Lied
The biggest issue is the FBI and DOJ lied to the FISC by not telling them all they knew about the dossier or how it was acquired. They did not tell the court about the DNC involvement, the possible Clinton links, the bias of Christopher Steele or that that the dossier was not fully corroborated. The problem with lying by omission is that it is very difficult to prosecute. I do not think anybody is going to do prison time over this but some will lose their jobs and, hopefully, getting a FISA warrant will be more difficult in the future.
Conclusion
Though this document is not the nuclear weapon that was advertised, it was big. It showed that there are some real issues with the DOJ, FBI and the FISA process. It shows that the DOJ and FBI are influenced by politics. I think it shows we need to investigate the relationships with all the actors and see if there was any corruption in the process. And it brings to light that we need to see the actual FISA application and should look into the process in getting a warrant to spy on Americans. We need to make sure it just is not that easy to spy on us (and I think this has been an issue that has popped its ugly head way too many times in the last ten years).
What this memo does not show is just as important. I saw an article that was entitled “Reading Between the Lines of the Nunez Memo”. This is a big mistake because we ignore the facts for opinions. I see way too many talking heads say this memo proves something that is not there. The relationship between the DNC, DOJ, FBI and Clinton campaign is not defined. Even the memo kind of assumed it (it was written by a Republican) but proved nothing. Corruption in the FBI and DOJ is not there. Again, one can reasonably assume but that is not proof. All we see is that certain members were politicized and we have seen that before (anybody remember J. Edgar Hoover?). The Trump/Russia collusion probe had nothing to do with this. It needs to continue. Trump should not use this memo as an excuse to fire Robert Mueller.
Next week, the Democrats turn in their response. They say the Nunez memo left out a lot of information. I cannot wait to read it. I also cannot wait until the FISA application is released. Stay tuned.
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