Trump declassifies FISA documents and text messages
This news has been long-predicted and long-awaited:
President Trump on Monday ordered the declassification of several key documents related to the FBI investigation of Russian actions during the 2016 presidential election, including 21 pages of an application for a renewed surveillance warrant against former campaign aide Carter Page, and text messages from disgraced FBI figures Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump had ordered the documents released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the Justice Department “[a]t the request of a number of committees of Congress, and for reasons of transparency.”
The documents to be declassified also include all FBI reports on interviews with Justice Department official Bruce Ohr and all FBI reports of interviews prepared in connection with all other applications to surveil Carter Page.
Trump also ordered the Justice Department to release text messages from a number of the key players in the Russia investigation “without redaction” — including Ohr, Strzok, Lisa Page, former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe…
The 21 pages only make up a small part of the 412 pages of FISA applications and warrants related to Page released by the FBI earlier this year in heavily redacted format.
The usual Democrats have the usual objections. They love it when they are in control of the unofficial leaks, but having the GOP in control of official releases is a no-no.
The trouble with all of this, however, is its complexity. How many people are willing to follow it in any detail? Most people still rely on the MSM to filter it and report on it, and that is a very biased source. Of course, it’s difficult to find an unbiased source (except yours truly, of course).
Will DNI, DOJ & FBI comply? That is the question.
How far will the swamp go to pretend there is no swamp?
I am hopeful that this is the dam buster that is needed to start draining out those who are undermining the US from the halls of power in DC.
You are biased. You think Serena is one of the greatest tennis players, ever.
“She couldn’t break the top 1000 on the men’s circuit. She couldn’t break eggs on the men’s circuit.”
Other than that, I think you are usually spot on.
I am biased. Or I am Spartacus. Or something.
Milwaukee:
Male tennis players and female tennis players are in different—but valid—categories. Tennis fans appreciate the enormous skills of both. It is similar to the weight classes in boxing, or in weight-lifting, just to take two examples. Of course, women and men are not the same, and that’s why they don’t compete against each other. But the men’s champions and the women’s champions are both great in their respective classes. If you prefer men’s tennis, that’s fine. It’s a different game with somewhat different skills. A great many people like both, as I do—or at least, I used to like both, back when I followed tennis more closely.
Chris Evert was a great great tennis player. Of course she couldn’t beat the best men. That doesn’t make her less great. Same with Sugar Ray Robinson, who couldn’t beat the heavyweights and yet was a great, great boxer. In fact:
Milwukee:
I realize you were being sort of facetious. But people do make that claim very seriously, and so I answered seriously.
Transsexuals will end women’s sports. “Renee Richards” was the first.
The Tucson bike race in 2017 was won in the women’s division by a trannie.
It’s coming.
My middle daughter, who is very pretty and was into martial arts was looking for a sport at UCLA that she could get some exercise in. She made the mistake of going to a women’s rugby practice.
She told me it took her months to get rid of the burly lesbians calling her.
Good for Trump. It is long overdue.
Let the Democrats and their shills bleat; but, I seriously doubt that there is information that will compromise our security. Trump knows what is on the redacted pages, so he knows the consequences of releasing the unredacted versions. I suspect that they will air a lot of dirty laundry; and there is the rub.
I am hopeful that this is the dam buster that is needed to start draining out those who are undermining the US from the halls of power in DC. John Guilfoyle
John, don’t you think the necessary information is already out there? And has been out there for months?
There is some event that is missing. The event that will cause people to focus on this story with more concern. Maybe it will be a charge from Mueller; maybe it will be something external that threatens our security. Things are going well, economically and militarily, and so nobody cares enough. Something is going to make them care enough, I think. Not the election, whichever way that goes. Something else. We will probably know it when we see it, but for the time being people are content to skate along and let the processes keep playing out.
Or maybe Sessions will finally take a decisive, surprising action to prosecute someone. I have wondered if he and Trump are in some delicate maneuver to bring this to unexpected fruition at the moment of their choosing — Trump blusters, Sessions ignores and avoids, we all curse the darkness of inaction — and then boom, one day, charges against Hillary, the Podesta brothers, Mrs. Weiner, Samantha Power, whomever. What else could explain the weird dynamic with Sessions?
What’s this tennis stuff doing here? Where did it come from? Youth wants to know.
“How many people are willing to follow it in any detail?”
That’s why we have you, and others like you, doing the dirty work that some of us are unable to do. Personally I am thankful.
I have the same concern as John G., to wit:
“I hereby order the declassification and release of all documents associated with …”.
“Yeah? Make me.”
A suspicion: (a) it will only happen in a trickle, to be followed with an endless game of call-outs, and (b) there will be monumental attempts to distract and deflect, whenever any piece is actually released?
There are folks out in the right-wing blogosphere who will take the time to go through whatever actually is released in excruciating detail. Will they attract a useful degree of attention? That remains to be seen.
In any case, I do admire the timing of the order.
I see stories saying that those in the DOJ and FBI charged with producing these unredacted documents will do everything they can to slow roll their production.
I’d say great, because that means they will have identified themselves.
Their supervisors and ultimate bosses may be able to shield them and justify their slow rolling to some extent, but Trump and his staff, like anyone else, can get a copy of one of these expensive insider three ring binder personnel directories that cover all government agencies, and identify specific people pretty far down into the bureaucracy by function.
Thus, it should be possible to figure out who is actually doing the slow rolling, and who their supervisors are.
These are the people who, if they don’t immediately produce these documents as ordered, have nominated themselves for firing.
Amen, Steve Walsh. I quote Neo constantly to try to educate Dear family members who are wandering in the wastelands of Liberalism. I tell them each time that I cite her, that I do so because she faithfully does her research, and her opinions are invariably faithful to the facts. Sadly, it does not penetrate their brain-washed consciousness.
We just don’t discuss politics, because… the personal stakes are too high; and attitudes are set. My wife recently had to cut off a daughter with that reminder because she is getting increasingly militant. (Both daughters are in the medical field and for reasons I will never understand think that it would be a good thing to give the government more control over our medical care.)
Actually, I have practically given up. I live in California, don’t you see? I will vote, and it will mean nothing. I see my political options as slight and slighter. On the other hand, I will no longer let politics, and the future of the country control, my emotions. Damn, once you reach 83, you come to realize that whatever transpires will be someone else’s problem.
Besides, fishing is apolitical. Getting old eyes and stiff fingers to tie intricate knots, not to mention the effort to move a kayak across the bay, are challenge enough. Fish are also apolitical, and unapologetically predatory. I love them for that; it liberates me.
My wife does not understand my attitude. She is still “tuned in”.
Oldflyer:
Sometimes I wish I didn’t care so much about what happens politically.
But I continue to love my relatives who are on the other side of the political fence.
It is also both very providential and instructive that Project Veritas’ latest video, out yesterday, shows a State Department employee bragging about how he does Democratic Socialist work when he should be doing the work he is being paid to do, how the “ethics officer” at the State Department has apparently never actually looked at the required conflict of interest paperwork he fills out every year but just rubber stamps it, apparently unread, and, thus, has not caught on to his conflicts of interest and, then, how he is doing everything he can to “Resist everything… Every level. F**k sh*t up.” as his part of the resistance to Trump movement.
A useful illustration of the fact the our very Left-dominated Federal bureaucracy–a reported 90% or more of the employees of each Executive Department who donated to political candidates or parties donated to Democrats–is very likely chocked full of many little “resist” saboteurs, just like him.
Bingo Neo, bingo! As balanced as anyone I read.
Neo, I know. Wait a few years. You may reach the stage of accepting that you can’t change anything; and that the people on the other side will one day have to live with the results of their activities–but, you won’t. It is only very recently that I arrived. You will still love the country you knew, and may grieve a little, but you simply don’t have enough time left to waste any on things beyond your control.
I understand why folks are concerned that the denizens of the “Deep State” might simply refuse to comply. That is why the President has unconstrained authority to fire anyone at the Executive level. I sincerely hope that, where necessary, he will wield that authority as though it were a battle axe. So, I guess I still care.
Oldflyer, you are so right, I think we are sailing in un-charted waters as a society and at some point, at some time, things might come to a boil. My family and friends seem to be on the same page with me, love of country, appreciation of the military and respect for our flag. There are a lot of them and a lot of us and in my 70’s I have mixed emotions about living long enough to see how this plays out.
A good friend of mine who was mostly conservative died just before the election in 2016 and his comments were that we were in a most interesting unprecedented time and he hope to live long enough to see the results of the election since he was dying of cancer, we had his funeral a week before the election and I do miss him and his perspectives of life.
What it comes down to from my point of view is that none of us on either side can do much to change this heavy freight train that is moving to some sort of a destination. What I can do is enjoy every day and love my family and friends and try my best to take care of my little part of the whole, damn, wide wold.
My our good Lord bless us one and all as this works itself out.
OldTexan–Unfortunately, I think that–unless there is a radical change in direction–that train is headed straight towards the breakup of the U.S.–probably a lineup consisting of the West Coast, New England, and the Bost-Wash corridor on one side, against the South the the middle of the country–and a second Civil War.
Kai Ackler…I appreciate your point…that we already know so much BUT nobody seems to care…
You’re not wrong…but I think the real issue is not so much what is IN those documents, but that Trump is ordering them released unredacted AT ALL… whatever piddling secrets are still left will be out before the world in spite of the slow walking foot dragging kicking & screaming from all the usual suspects.
His release order, in accord with Congressional Oversight requests, has the swamp media & the swamp denizens fouling their knickers and appears to have kickstarted the Kavanaugh approval process that was bogged down in BS…It’s light that disinfects dark places…and who knows what else might emerge when all those little pieces of paper finally reach public eyes?
I, for one, can’t wait for Neo to read them all & tell me! 😉
When President Trump’s staff issues specific guidance on what is to declassified don’t be surprised if unofficial channels that so far have fed the media and democrat talking points begin to reveal details that do not favor the Democrats and media. Heads may finally begin to roll. Details of the FISA process for instance that have been known, but redacted, by House and Senate Intelligence committee Republicans in Congress may become public. The fan dance of hints and winks is about to stop.
Speculation is that the Democratic media have had the unredacted details (82 pages) of the FISA process documents for quite some time courtesy of the indited Senate Intelligence Committee staffer (a Mr Wolf, IIRC) who fed it to his media squeeze Ms Whatshername.
I understand why folks are concerned that the denizens of the “Deep State” might simply refuse to comply. That is why the President has unconstrained authority to fire anyone at the Executive level. I sincerely hope that, where necessary, he will wield that authority as though it were a battle axe. –Oldflyer
Of course you still care! The President did eliminate COLAs for the upcoming year, did I not hear that correctly? Owing to the financial emergency or some such. What emergency is that? Interest costs skyrocketing on our debt. Next step will be along similar lines only more so — though not as targeted as many would like, LOL — a 10% RIF. Remember RIFs?
I would LOVE to see Trump take his smartphone camera, and make photos of the pages he wants released.
Then use Twitter to show them, one by one, to his 53 million followers.
Then start to fire those who insubordinately refused to release the unredacted copies. Including Rosenstein.
While I prefer mass indictments and prosecutions, and hope for a Trump or Trump-Sessions “October surprise” of more Dem criminals in gov’t, I think Trump firing people for insubordination would go a long way in getting the executive branches to act more professionally.
The Deep State hiring practices need to be more thoroughly reviewed and revised, the secret discrimination against Republicans is terrible. But it is culturally worst in K-12 schools, due to PC-bullies in the Universities.
Living in Slovakia doesn’t make me love the USA less — but I spend most USA time on national issues.
The evil of involuntary socialism remains terrible, altho crony corrupt capitalism and excess pay & wealth & power of the rich continues to make socialism seem to have some justice. (Many different rants …)
Trump releasing the truth of the documents is a start. Maybe impeaching the FISA court, who is not supposed to accept incomplete info…
Have y’all seen the letter posted at the Conservative Treehouse, from Democrats in Congress asking Rosenstein and Wray to honor their verbal commitment not to release classified documents to the White House? What??
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/09/18/corruption-junction-desperation-amid-democrat-members-of-the-intelligence-gang-of-eight/
I have long been mystified by the apparent tension between Trump and AG Sessions. Sessions was well regarded at the time Trump took office, based in part on the long history of Sessions’ support for Trump from the early days of the campaign. But in the past year Trump has repeatedly berated his Attorney General in a way that makes me wonder why Sessions does not just resign.
Unless. . .
What if this is all a quietly orchestrated pas de deux between the two men, made to appear as an unreconcilable feud, so no one (especially in the MSM) can accuse Sessions of improperly covering for the President? How else, reasonably, to explain the abuse Sessions has endured at Trump’s hands? Is it possible they’re playing an epic game of “good cop, bad cop” that has lasted nearly two years and completely fooled Trump’s critics? I sure hope that is the case! And I note that Sessions’ recusal could well be explained by this scenario. Since he has recused himself, there can be no hint that he has in any way influenced or tainted the progress of Mueller’s investigation.
If true, this would be a masterful example of the art of the deal! I hope it is true!
The Daily Caller has the same story, with a link to the letter, in which Schumer, Warner, Pelosi, and Schiff ask Rosenstein and Wray not to share information with the White House.
I sure hope that the President’s direct order to declassify these documents has a deadline attached to it, a time certain by which all the documents specified by the President’s order have to be both declassified and released–in their entirety–to the public.
Giving high officials at the DOJ and FBI the opportunity to disobey a direct order from the President would seem to be a great way to first identify, and then fire a whole bunch of the main, high level resisters/obstructors/saboteurs in those agencies–see how Acting AG Sally Yates became ex-government official Sally Yates.