Wednesday, April 12, 2017

So it turns out that the FBI was actually pretty sure that one of Trump's campaign advisers was secretly working as a Russian spy. Update!

Spy? Do I look like a spy to you?
Courtesy of WaPo: 

The FBI obtained a secret court order last summer to monitor the communications of an adviser to presidential candidate Donald Trump, part of an investigation into possible links between Russia and the campaign, law enforcement and other U.S. officials said. 

The FBI and the Justice Department obtained the warrant targeting Carter Page’s communications after convincing a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge that there was probable cause to believe Page was acting as an agent of a foreign power, in this case Russia, according to the officials. 

This is the clearest evidence so far that the FBI had reason to believe during the 2016 presidential campaign that a Trump campaign adviser was in touch with Russian agents. Such contacts are now at the center of an investigation into whether the campaign coordinated with the Russian government to swing the election in Trump’s favor.

The article goes on to say that currently Page is not officially accused of a crime, nor is there any certainty that he will be in the future.


This by the way is NOT the "incidental collection" of data which Devon Nunes spoke of last month.

This is a full blown investigation into somebody that the FBI was able to convince a federal judge poses a serious threat.

Here's more:

The government’s application for the surveillance order targeting Page included a lengthy declaration that laid out investigators’ basis for believing that Page was an agent of the Russian government and knowingly engaged in clandestine intelligence activities on behalf of Moscow, officials said. 

Among other things, the application cited contacts that he had with a Russian intelligence operative in New York City in 2013, officials said. Those contacts had earlier surfaced in a federal espionage case brought by the Justice Department against the intelligence operative and two other Russian agents. In addition, the application said Page had other contacts with Russian operatives that have not been publicly disclosed, officials said.

For his part Carter Page said this:  

“This confirms all of my suspicions about unjustified, politically motivated government surveillance,” Page said in an interview Tuesday. “I have nothing to hide.” He compared surveillance of him to the eavesdropping that the FBI and Justice Department conducted against civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Oh yeah, Carter Page is JUST like MLK.

Let's not forget that even the Russians who recruited him thought Carter Page was "an idiot."

I will go out on a limb and suggest that there may be a few more of these FISA court orders for other members of Trump's campaign, and current administration, that we just have not heard about yet.

Update: Like I said. 

71 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:26 AM

    What are we waiting for?

    What happened to the public hearings and calling in witnesses?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:58 AM

      Two week vacation for Easter. By the time Congress returns, they're hoping that new shiny object has taken its place.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:40 AM

      "...hoping that new shiny object has taken its place." It will be a war or two.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:22 AM

      10:40 AM - and not orchestrated by Congress, according to The Constitution that they all claim to cling to, yet are quiet as church mice at his doing Jared/Ivanka's bidding.

      Un-freaking-believable.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous10:00 AM

    Don't try to bury the lede, Gryphen!

    Sure, the FBI may have been investigating the possibility of Russian collusion with the Drumpf campaign or the presence of Russian agents working inside the campaign. But is that such a bad thing if Emperor Drumpf was comfortable with or perhaps approving of the relationship? Of course not!

    The true significance of the story, as our shaved orangutan-in-chief will tell you, is that Kenyan-born, confessed Negro, crypto-muslin B. HUSSEIN Obama personally destroyed the United States of America and only the thin-skinned, narcissistic, uninformed, self-promoting, mendacious sack of warm orange pus can fix it!

    That's the lede...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:19 AM

      ......and why that no count n***** took his looong vacation out of the country after leaving office. To watch us burn while he laughs and avoids extradition for prosecution.

      A real life "Where's Waldo." To think that there's people who truly believe it! SMDH.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous10:05 AM

    OT?
    http://www.politicususa.com/2017/04/11/house-kansas-special-election-result-proves-democratic-momentum-real.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:12 AM

      http://www.rawstory.com/2017/04/kansas-republican-wins-congressional-seat-in-special-election/

      Delete
    2. Anonymous2:17 PM

      It would be better news if the Democrat had won.
      Beaglemom

      Delete
  4. Anonymous10:23 AM

    I knew that skeezy little bastard was guilty when I saw his interview with Anderson Cooper.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:42 AM

      He looked like a fool and a very bad liar. Not good traits for a spy. No wonder they ruskies called him an idiot.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous10:39 AM

    Is this Trump's threat to Comey that if you keep digging into Trump's dark closet you will be out of a job?

    Washington Post:
    Trump says he has ‘confidence’ in FBI Director Comey but it’s ‘not too late’ to fire him

    ReplyDelete
  6. WA Skeptic11:01 AM

    Manafort, Tillerson, Flynn, etc., etc., etc. Like there's a question anymore about the Putin/Trump connection?

    #ITMFA

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous11:05 AM

    EXCLUSIVE: The IC has lots of TS evidence on Trump's Kremlin ties. Here's why that may not be enough for the FBI.

    https://twitter.com/20committee/status/852152924146946048

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous11:07 AM

    ..."Kushner is meddling in a lot of things," according to one NSC official who spoke to the Free Beacon only on background. "Such direct control of foreign policy from the West Wing has never happened before. It just creates a lot of drama. People just don't know how to deal with it. We're respectful of his position, but it's confusing the policymaking process."

    Officials working at the NSC, State Department, and Department of Defense "are not happy that Jared is so powerful in foreign policy," said one White House official. "They are expected to implement the president's agenda, but have no input or ability to get ideas in front of Jared. It's a one-man show and that's creating a lot of frustration."

    The installation of Dina Powell, a confidant of Kushner's wife Ivanka, to the NSC is said to have been orchestrated by Kushner in order to solidify his power over the foreign policy organization, sources said.

    This helps Kushner keep tabs on the NSC's day-to-day operations, another move that is said to be causing conflict between the NSC and the West Wing.

    Kushner, in many ways, has even overshadowed McMaster, who sources described as seeking to avoid infighting in the White House. This has only minimized his power on the NSC, officials said.

    http://freebeacon.com/national-security/new-front-in-white-house-civil-war-as-kushner-asserts-authority-at-nsc/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:44 AM

      Jesus fucking christ on easyer week!
      Two slumlords ate running and ruining our country.
      Enough is enough!
      Where are the adults?

      Delete
  9. Anonymous11:11 AM

    http://www.politicususa.com/2017/04/12/reeling-republicans-rocked-evidence-surfaces-trump-illegal-contributions.html

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous11:15 AM

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2017/04/12/manafort-firm-received-ukraine-ledger-payout.html?via=desktop&source=copyurl

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2017/04/12/manafort-to-register-as-foreign-agent.html?via=desktop&source=copyurl

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous11:16 AM

    On November 7th, I reported at Heat Street that the FBI had obtained a FISA warrant covering the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia.

    I reported that the FISA warrant had been granted after an earlier, failed application to the court in the summer named Trump and “at least three other men, who have either formed part of his campaign or acted as his media surrogates“.

    Those names, sources said, were Donald Trump, with Paul Manafort and Carter Page (two men that had formed part of Trump’s campaign) and Boris Epshteyn, who at the time I reported, the eve of the election itself, had only acted as Mr. Trump’s media surrogate.

    https://patribotics.blog/2017/03/27/boris-epshteyn-named-in-july-fisa-application-did-nunes-obstruct-justice/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous4:17 AM

      Today is 4-12. The shit from Mensch is from last month.
      Kinda late, huh? Just now catching up with the rest of us? Thanks.....?

      Delete
  12. Anonymous11:18 AM

    UPDATE: Sources with links to the intelligence community have now confirmed that this theory is accurate, and I am therefore upgrading this story from my theory to a factual report.

    Here is my theory of how Donald Trump will be impeached, and scores of people around him jailed.

    It wasn’t just money laundering – it was “data laundering”.

    https://patribotics.blog/2017/04/01/alfa-bank-trump-tower-and-a-social-media-impeachment/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous4:18 AM

      2 weeks old, but at least it's from the current month, sheesh.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous11:19 AM

    Kushner and Trump: Taped At Secret Trump Tower Meetings With Russians?

    https://patribotics.blog/2017/03/28/kushner-and-trump-taped-at-secret-trump-tower-meetings-with-russians/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous4:18 AM

      OLD OLD OLD.
      At least post current crap from Louise, 'k?

      Delete
  14. Anonymous11:20 AM

    Exclusive Evidence: Carter Page met with the Russian Govt in July of 2016 w/Medvedev Deputy PM

    https://twitter.com/funder/status/852158048525328385

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous11:21 AM

    By ditching his press pool, Tillerson is giving Russian state media total control of the narrative. That's significant.

    https://twitter.com/margbrennan/status/852184678954143746

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous11:22 AM

    FBI investigated Russian mafia at Trump Tower for two years in probe unrelated to 2016 election

    Money-laundering ring operated three floors below President's Penthouse

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/fbi-russia-mafia-trump-tower-two-years-2016-presidential-election-us-money-laundering-alimzhan-a7642851.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:59 PM

      “He is prominent. He has extremely good connections in the business world as well as the criminal world, overseas, in Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, other countries."

      Delete
    2. Anonymous9:25 PM

      Haha 259 and when those Ogliarchs fall from their white ivory towers and go plunk, here we are waiting! See what happens when you keep the masses low down?
      No one likes a thief or liar! Ok some do like em!

      Delete
  17. Anonymous11:26 AM

    I Blame Us

    It is our fault. We allowed it. We are allowing it right now.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/58ed07bfe4b081da6ad0081d

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:47 AM

      Yep.
      We need continual mass protests. This weekend for taxes. Next weekend for science.
      BE THERE! Who cares that it is a holiday weekend for you if you are religious. There are no sky fairies to protect you. Get your ass out and protest if you want to continue to enjoy the easyer bunny next year!

      Delete
  18. Anonymous11:27 AM

    The Mystery of Trump’s Man in Moscow

    Reports of deep Russian ties swirl around Trump adviser Carter Page. Oddly, nobody in Russia seems to have heard of him.

    http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/the-mystery-of-trumps-man-in-moscow-214283

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous11:44 AM

    US Officials: Mitch McConnell Threatened Obama If He Exposed Trump/Russia Connection Before The Election


    Comments

    While there is still much we don’t know about Trump’s connection with Russia before the election, there are things we do know. More facts recently came to light following a report released by the CIA with information that proves Russia interfered with the US Presidential election to help Donald Trump win.

    It is also clear now is that the senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell (R – KY) was working toward to keep this information masked. More specifically, he attempted keep the CIA from releasing the information by threatening to blame the Obama White House of playing a game of partisan politics.

    http://theproudliberal.org/us-officials-mitch-mcconnell-threatened-obama-if-he-exposed-trumprussia-connection-before-the-election/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:57 PM

      Remember this:
      https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/01/11/when-did-mitch-mcconnell-say-he-wanted-to-make-obama-a-one-term-president/?utm_term=.1965c752033e

      Delete
    2. Anonymous4:20 AM

      So according to this, we can also blame PBO for putting us in this position?

      Delete
  20. Anonymous11:45 AM

    Trump’s Approval Ratings Are Already Lower than Nixon’s During Watergate

    They didn’t start high to begin with. But since his inauguration, President Trump’s approval ratings have been in a virtual free-fall.

    Gallop measures the President’s approval ratings, along with a slew of other politicians, groups, and policy decisions, on a weekly basis. In the the latest poll, Trump was registering an anemic 35% approval rating. And folks, that’s pretty bad.

    According to Political Line, that 35% is lower than a number of other presidents suffering through their most difficult times in office. All of these numbers come from Gallop, “Nixon Watergate Hearings – 36% W Bush post Katrina – 40% Iran Contra Reagan – 46% Ford pardons Nixon – 50% Trump today 35%”

    http://theproudliberal.org/trumps-approval-ratings-are-already-lower-than-nixons-during-watergate/

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous11:48 AM

    BREAKING: ACLU Hits Trump With Dramatic Legal Action; 13 Simultaneous Lawsuits

    https://www.aclu.org/news/aclu-files-lawsuits-demanding-local-documents-implementation-trump-muslim-ban

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous12:01 PM

    Nate Silver Releases 2018 Senate & House Predictions; It’s Very Good News

    http://www.bipartisanreport.com/2017/04/12/nate-silver-releases-2018-senate-its-very-good-news/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:48 AM

      OMG there is no time to wait for Nov 2018.
      We will be at war soon!!

      Delete
  23. Anonymous12:06 PM

    And kansas that voted repub are so dimb.
    They will lose more, stupids.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But their winning margin went from 30 to 7 with virtually no help from the DCCC. Imagine what might have been accomplished if the DCCC didn't just sit on their asses and contemplate their belly lint?

      Delete
  24. Anonymous12:11 PM

    Yep ks likes traitors.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous12:15 PM

    Haha he has no policies, no hiring still on positions, ivanka made dumbass drop bombs,....hahaha kansas likes all this

    Elementary teachings all along hallways in grade school I mean WH....haha kansas loves a stupid govt.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous12:16 PM

    The Trump presidency is in a hole

    http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21719794-and-bad-americaand-world-trump-presidency-hole

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous12:19 PM

    Trumpfat doesn't like bannon now? Didn't bannon help the old fart win?
    Ooooh, we need popcorn, going to get juicy.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous12:27 PM

    Trump threatens to fire the man in charge of investigating his ties to Russia

    Donald Trump is currently under federal investigation for possible coordination with Russia in stealing the presidential election, and he just threatened to fire the man who is in charge of that investigation.

    Trump’s threat is yet more evidence that we need an independent investigation and a special prosecutor — one whose job Trump cannot publicly threaten.

    http://shareblue.com/trump-threatens-to-fire-the-man-in-charge-of-investigating-his-ties-to-russia/

    ReplyDelete
  29. WA Skeptic12:41 PM

    Hey, Anon; quit spamming Gryph's comment section with all those links. If we want to read that we'll go find them ourselves from the links posted on the left-hand side of his page.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous1:19 PM

      Are you some kind of fucking idiot? Anonymous is a profile used for posting. Fuck off with your trying to play blog police. Gryphen can manage his blog just fine without your sniping crap.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous1:19 PM

      Kindly go fuck yourself.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous1:29 PM

      Hmmm, one of the things I find of huge value of IM is the collection of articles in the comment section I wouldn't necessarily be aware of if someone hadn't taken the time and energy to research and post them. Calling those useful and informative links 'spam' just reveals your ignorance. It's time you find some other venue to be an asshole, since Jesse seems to have no problem with people contributing to the richness and substance of his blog.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous1:32 PM

      Funny. I read your profile as WA 'Septic' at least a dozen times before i saw Skep-Tic.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous2:07 PM

      https://twitter.com/WaSkeptic

      Yeah, we know who you are.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous2:18 PM

      @2:07 Note this too>
      "Toothfairy-agnostic | Astronomer, coder"
      Joined 10:40 am January 24, 2017

      Delete
    7. Anonymous9:26 PM

      Ok and who cares 218?

      Delete
    8. Anonymous8:15 AM

      I agree with 1:29 !!!!

      Delete
  30. Anonymous1:11 PM

    ...also, too: Paul Manafort registered today as a foreign (Russian) agent!
    http://www.vox.com/2017/4/12/15277722/manafort-foreign-agent

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous1:50 PM

      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/paul-manafort-foreign-agent_us_58ee8e37e4b0bb9638e10909?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

      Delete
  31. Anonymous1:47 PM

    A former double agent says Russia has changed the way it recruits spies — and the FBI is playing catch-up

    Naveed Jamali, who secretly reported to the FBI for four years while pretending to work for a Russian spy, was invited by Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell to brief the House Intelligence Committee last week on Russia's techniques for recruiting foreign spies.

    Republican committee members did not attend the briefing, Swalwell told The Daily Beast. He did not say how many Democrats attended, however, and did not immediately respond to request for comment from Business Insider.

    But Swalwell told The Daily Beast that Jamali's presentation offered a nonpartisan look at how the Kremlin recruits intelligence assets in the US and elsewhere.

    Jamali, who is now a senior fellow in the Program on National Security at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, told Business Insider that his goal was to emphasize to lawmakers "the threat that Russia continues to pose" to US national security.

    "I did so by highlighting my own experiences working with both the Russians and the FBI," Jamali said in an interview. "I said that I see echoes of what the Russians did with me between 2005 and 2009 — in terms of targeting and recruiting intelligence assets — with what occurred throughout 2016."

    The former spy said he was worried that the FBI is still playing catch-up when it comes to identifying Russian assets.

    http://www.businessinsider.com/fbi-agent-naveed-jamali-briefing-on-russian-spies-2017-4

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous1:54 PM

    Dumpity can't learn anything unless touch or something. He is demented. Nato knows nothing about it, then finally in a meeting, yalks positive of it.
    What a toddler.
    Just an idiot.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous2:14 PM

    Frankly Carter Page, with his beady eyes, looks guilty as can be.
    Beaglemom

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:02 AM

      Don't equate appearances with character, or you'll be fooled every time.
      Some of the nicest looking people harbour the darkest souls.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:54 AM

      Marilyn Manson - Beautiful People

      @ 7:02

      Delete
  34. Anonymous2:36 PM

    Watch CNN’s Jake Tapper grill ex-Trump aide Carter Page: ‘You seem to side with the Kremlin. Why?’

    http://www.rawstory.com/2017/04/watch-cnns-jake-tapper-grill-ex-trump-aide-carter-page-you-seem-to-side-with-the-kremlin-why/

    http://www.rawstory.com/2017/04/shep-smith-cant-think-of-anything-more-damning-than-todays-news-about-manafort-and-page/

    ReplyDelete
  35. Anonymous2:42 PM

    The US voters had a tight to know before the election.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:52 AM

      Yes. This election needs to be nulled and voided. Uncharted territory. Do it again. Show the workd we really can be a true democracy. Cause right now we look like some sad developing country that has been taken over by a coup by despotic dictator.

      Delete
  36. Anonymous3:22 PM

    Carter Page Refuses To Disclose Who Brought Him Onto Trump Campaign

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/carter-page-wont-disclose-who-brought-him-on-trump-campaign

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous4:08 PM

    @LouiseMensch says that Page and Mannafort will most likely be arrested next week. Hope so. The true beginning of the end for Trump and his crew of traitors.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:53 AM

      Better act quick before they are suicided.

      Delete
  38. Second Trump advisor to register as an agent for a foreign power. I'm sure this one will come as no surprise to anyone.

    "President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort will register with the Department of Justice as a foreign agent, according to reports by The Associated Press and NBC News.

    Manafort reportedly led lobbying efforts on behalf of the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine, a front group for former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, in the United States from 2010 to 2014. (The Podesta Group, a lobbying firm run by Democrat Tony Podesta, also announced it would register as a foreign agent because it worked on the center’s behalf.)

    The AP verified on Wednesday that Manafort received at least $1.2 million of a suspected $12.7 million in off-the-books payments from Yanukovych’s political party while the Russia-allied leader was still in power.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/paul-manafort-foreign-agent_us_58ee8e37e4b0bb9638e10909?section=us_politics

    Manafort will be the second top Trump aide to retroactively register as a foreign agent. After Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn resigned as Trump’s national security adviser, he acknowledged that he had worked as an agent of the Turkish government to pressure the U.S. to extradite exiled cleric Fetullah Gulen, whom the Turkish government blames for a failed coup in 2016."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous4:28 AM

      Podestas and Hillary are real tight.
      Friendly. Like Ivanka and Chelsea.

      Delete

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