WhatFinger


Mueller's moment has come and gone. Barr's barrage has just begun

Barr set to target State Department to unmask spying ringleaders


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By —— Bio and Archives May 4, 2019

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Barr set to target State Department to unmask spying ringleadersAttorney General William Barr's revelation to a Senate Appropriations sub-committee on 10 April that he intended investigating possible spying on the Trump campaign during the 2016 election campaign should concern the Obama Administration, the 2016 Democratic National Committee and unsuccessful 2016 Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
"AG BARR: As I said in my confirmation hearing, I am going to be reviewing both the genesis and the conduct of intelligence activities directed at the Trump campaign during 2016. And a lot of this has already been investigated, and a substantial portion of it has been investigated and is being investigated by the office of the Inspector General, but one of the things I want to do is pull everything together from the various investigations that have gone on, including on the Hill and in the [Justice] Department, and see if there are any remaining questions to be addressed." SEN. JEANNE SHAHEEN: And can you share with us why you feel a need to do that? AG BARR: Well, you know, for the same reason we're worried about foreign influence in elections, we want to make sure that during elections--I think spying on a political campaign is a big deal. It's a big deal...
The initial decision to spy on Carter Page in the first FISA application--identified Page as:
"a US person and an agent of a foreign power ... The status of the target was determined in or about October 2016 from information provided by the Department of State."
The next sentence in the Application has crucially been redacted. Page had been a foreign policy adviser on the Trump campaign committee from 21 March 2016 until September 2016. John Kerry was Secretary of State in 2016. Page had reportedly been the subject of a secret intelligence surveillance warrant since 2014. John Kerry was also Secretary of State in 2014--having replaced Hillary Clinton who had served as Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013. The Obama-administration's first FISA Application had successfully gained access to Trump campaign material disseminated through Carter Page. Spying on an opponent illegally Watergate-style had become prima facie legal FISA-style. Investigating four seminal events occurring over just one month could help Barr unmask the ringleaders of this spying operation.


  1. 9 May 2017: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's dismissal of FBI Director James Comey.

    Comey signed the first three FISA Applications to spy on Carter Page in October 2016, January 2017 - whilst Kerry was still Secretary of State - and April 2017.

    Comey also exonerated Hillary Clinton of committing any criminal offences in relation to the storage of classified information on her private server whilst Secretary of State.
  2. 16 May 2017: Rosenstein reportedly arguing with Andrew McCabe, then the acting director of the FBI, about the president, according to a senior Justice Department official.
    "Well, what do you want me to do, Andy, wear a wire?" Rosenstein asked at the meeting, which also included FBI lawyer Lisa Page and four career DOJ officials, according to the senior official. One of the career civil servants was Scott Schools, who would later go on to sign off on the firing of McCabe, the official said.
  3. 17 May 2017: Rosenstein's appointment of Robert Mueller as Special Counsel to investigate " any links an or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump"
  4. June 2017: Rosenstein signing the Approval to file the fourth FISA Application--certified by Andrew McCabe--six months after Trump's swearing-in.
Page has never been prosecuted. Mueller's moment has come and gone. Barr's barrage has just begun.

David Singer -- Bio and Archives | Comments

David Singer is an Australian Lawyer, a Foundation Member of the International Analyst Network and Convenor of Jordan is Palestine International—an organization calling for sovereignty of the West Bank and Gaza to be allocated between Israel and Jordan as the two successor States to the Mandate for Palestine. Previous articles written by him can be found at: jordanispalestine.blogspot.com


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