Horowitz tells Graham he is unable to say if political bias did or didn't motivate FBI agents to withhold information that undercut Steele dossier.— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) December 11, 2019
The second thing that is now appearing obvious is that Horowitz is not claiming that there was no bias (the bias was obvious to anyone paying attention), just that under the parameters of his investigation he couldn't know whether or not obvious bias played a part in any of the decision making. This is basically punting at the key point of the investigation. But it's not like he could simply ask people and have them admit to making biased decisions. Again, it if sounds much like the Mueller decision to not make a legal call on obstruction, it's because it is. But again, you won't see the media handing the two situations the same way.
The reality here is that there are two parts of this report. The executive summary is nothing more and nothing less than the opinion being provided that is limited by what an IG can and cannot make determinations about. Given the high bar of proving something like bias, and given the extremely low bar provided for allowing an FBI investigation to start, Horowitz might be hamstrung from being able to push certain theories too far.
But the meat of the report shows that dozens of individual actions were taken by the FBI that were outside of protocol, outside of regulation, and in at least one case outside of the law. You cannot take back the reality that many individuals have already been fired, demoted, and otherwise disciplined for their behavior. When you add it all together, either James Comey ran the most incompetent FBI in the history of our country, or they actually knew what they were doing (which indicates bias).
Take your pick!
18 comments:
He should really describe the R senators trying to apply some clerical issues with one FISA tap and discount the whole report as BS.....a typical game that our esteemed host plays all the time....The fact is that he found no bias in the start of the inquiry something that completely blows you and trump out of the water....I am amused that the R senators are all grandstanding like that asshole jordan in the congress...It is telling how all they have is opinion and are doing nothing but second guessing a complete review because they don't like it......BWAAAAAAAA!!!!! Yeah, a real fair hearing my ASSS!!!!!!!!!!
Watchdog details internal tensions over FBI’s probe of Trump
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz said U.S. Attorney John Durham failed to convince him that the FBI's 2016 investigation of the Trump campaign was improperly opened.
When the inspector general's report was released, Durham issued an unusual statement saying he did not agree with Horowitz’s conclusion.
And no wonder why trump can't wait for the Durham report which has all the potential to be cooked in his favor....Yep, you R's are really into anarchy through deception!!!!!!
A few things that Lil Scotty omitted like the good little slurper he is, from his biased and erroneous screed!!!!!!!
By
Aaron Blake
Dec. 11, 2019 at 2:14 p.m. EST
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz is testifying about his report on the origins of the Russia investigation Wednesday.
Below are some key takeaways. We’ll update this as the hearing progresses.
1. Durham’s objection ‘surprised’ Horowitz
Perhaps the biggest revelation came when Horowitz revealed his interaction with U.S. Attorney John Durham, whom Attorney General William P. Barr appointed to conduct a parallel probe into the Russia probe’s origins. Both Durham and Barr have signaled in recent days that they disagree with Horowitz’s central finding: that the Russia investigation was legitimate based upon the known information.
But Horowitz suggests Durham’s disagreement might be narrower than expected. He said Durham told him in November that the evidence actually did support a preliminary investigation — though not necessarily the full one that was launched.
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“He said during the meeting that the information from the friendly foreign government was in his view sufficient to support the preliminary investigation,” Horowitz said.
Horowitz said, though, that Durham “said he did not necessarily agree with our conclusion about the opening of a full counterintelligence investigation, which is what this was."
That’s significant because it suggests Durham doesn’t believe this whole thing was indeed the complete witch hunt that President Trump has alleged. Durham said in his statement about Horowitz’s report Monday that “last month we advised the Inspector General that we do not agree with some of the report’s conclusions as to predication and how the FBI case was opened."
Durham’s quibble was apparently minor enough, in Horowitz’s mind, that he said he was “surprised” to see Durham release the unusual statement about an ongoing investigation.
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We’ll apparently have to wait awhile for Durham’s final word, though.
2. Horowitz won’t bite on ‘spying’
The idea that the FBI was “spying” on the Trump campaign has crept into the mainstream. Initially regarded as a hyperbolic claim by Trump, eventually Republicans warmed to it and started using it. Barr has also controversially used it.
But Horowitz isn’t going there. Under questioning by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), he was given two chances to label what the FBI allegedly did to the Trump campaign “spying.” He demurred both times.
Graham asked him about when an FBI agent went in to brief Trump but also used the meeting to collect information for the investigation. “Was that FBI agent spying on Donald Trump when he went in there?” Graham asked.
Horowitz responded, “It was a pretext meeting that I’m not going to —” Horowitz then trailed off.
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Soon after, Graham asked him hypothetically whether it would spying if you “don’t have a legal foundation to surveil somebody, and you keep doing it.” (This was not a conclusion Horowitz actually reached about the surveillance of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.) Horowitz would say only: “It’s illegal surveillance. It’s not court-authorized surveillance.”
Continues
3. No vindication for Comey
Former FBI director James B. Comey did a victory lap after Horowitz’s report was released Monday, authoring a Washington Post op-ed and going on cable news, where he claimed that he was vindicated by Horowitz’s finding that the Russia investigation and investigations of four Trump campaign officials were legitimate.
“So it was all lies,” Comey tweeted. “No treason. No spying on the campaign. No tapping Trumps wires. It was just good people trying to protect America.”
But Horowitz doesn’t seem to agree that Comey is coming out smelling like roses. Graham asked him whether Comey was right that the report vindicated him. Horowitz didn’t directly answer, but the thrust of his answer was clearly “no.”
“I think the activities we found here don’t vindicate anybody who touched this FISA,” Horowitz said, referring to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) applications to monitor Page.
4. The Rudy Giuliani/leaks probe continues
The Russia investigation, of course, isn’t the only thing the FBI did that raised eyebrows during the 2016 election; so too did Comey’s announcement of newly discovered Clinton emails a week and a half before the election. Clinton and others continue to blame that for her narrow loss.
At issue here for Horowitz is Comey’s indication that part of the reason for the announcement was because of leaks from the FBI’s New York field office. Top Trump ally Rudolph W. Giuliani, who has close ties to that office, signaled before the announcement that he had been getting information about it.
There was more BULLSHIT thrown at the walls than anything I have ever seen....The graham opening tirade was full of hyperbole and lies and than this.......!!!!! Especially sad that one of these assholes was convicted and Lindsey made him a fucking hero!!!!!! Yep, the R's have overthrown the rule of law!!!!!!!
6. Graham’s sympathy for Carter Page and ‘this poor guy’ George Papadopoulos
In a stemwinder of an opening statement — lasting more than 40 minutes — Graham focused heavily on texts between former FBI agent Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, the FBI lawyer who Horowitz found had altered a key document in the FISA process and on other matters.
Some of his more interesting comments, though, came when talking about the Trump campaign advisers who really got this investigation off the ground.
Of Carter Page, the one adviser who was surveilled, Graham suggested that he wasn’t exactly worth the FBI’s time. “If you’ve ever met Carter Page, one thing you will never accuse him of is being James Bond.” (This, of course, ignores that foreign governments don’t generally go after high-level spies when cultivating assets; they go after people they can leverage.)
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Graham even referred to George Papadopoulos, whose mid-2016 comments to a foreign diplomat about the Russians having dirt on Hillary Clinton started the Russia probe, as “this poor guy.” Papadopoulos, you may recall, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. In addition, Horowitz’s report found Papadopoulos’s conspiracy theories about being proactively targeted by the U.S. government to be baseless.
Graham summed up: “This national security team was literally picked up off the street.”
It was quite an argument about the team assembled by the now-president of the United States.
eat a pistol denny.
ESAD you dumb fucking idiot!!!!!!!
Again asshole from NY shows us his true IQ......>BWAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!
His testimony clearly justified his investigation into the Russian government in the last major election.
Some people in lower level of the investigation team had texted irresponsibly. But they were not decision makers.
He destroyed your incoherence beliefs that the FBI/DOJ were attempting to overturn the last election.
I watched it live and I didn't go to a "Fake News " website unlikely your deep throating website like The Washington Times articles.
He destroyed your incoherence beliefs that the FBI/DOJ were attempting to overturn the last election.
I watched it live and I didn't go to a "Fake News " website unlikely your deep throating website like The Washington Times articles.
That's incoherent
That's incoherent
not only is it incoherent, it's patently false. every word of it.
the alky's all proud of himself because he "watched it live."
the other residents in the home let him have his turn with the remote in the TV room.
Election Meddling Bill Blocked Again In Senate
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) blocked an attempt by Democrats to pass legislation meant to prevent Russia and other countries from interfering in elections, The Hill reports.
Senators first introduced the legislation in early 2018, but that the bill has stalled amid pushback from GOP senators and members of leadership.
______________
"Putin, Trump's low in popularity. Please help get him elected again like you did last time."
HA!:
Exxon found not guilty in New York climate-change securities fraud trial, ending 4-year saga
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/10/exxon-did-not-mislead-investors-a-new-york-judge-ruled-on-tuesday.html
the NY AG laquishaniqua james loses again.
and the pederast, as usual, leaves out the best part -
Crapo — who is chairman of the Banking Committee, which is one of two Senate panels with jurisdiction over sanctions — noted that the upper chamber had already passed sanctions legislation targeting Moscow in 2017.
"I think that President Trump has probably put more sanctions on the Russians than any president in our history," Crapo said.
He added that he was open to considering further legislation but warned that sanctions are a "two-edge sword."
"The mechanisms in this bill have been designed more to attack the Trump administration and Republicans than to attack the Russians and those who would attack our country and our elections," Crapo added.
"When we can stop trying to make it anti-Trump or anti-Republican or make politics out of the problems that Russia truly is creating for us, maybe we can come together and pass yet another strong piece of legislation to move forward," he said.
That's incoherent
We now have 2 spell checkers who are dumb fucks.....WOW!!!!!!!! Like the R senators....you have nothing but idiotic opinions to discount the IG report.....Second guessers and trump controlling the discussion with nothing but BULLSHIT!!!!!! Imagine if they had some facts to back up their opinion trump was spied upon......BWAAAAAAAAAA!!!! Lab dog fat ass Barr fellating trump on pennyslvania avenue!!!!!!!!
Lindsey the liar called the investigation a massive conspiracy to bring down trump......He's really turned into the fucking laughingstock of the senate!!!!! Like rat, blows lots of crap out his ass!!!!!!!
Irony flies right over fatty’s head
"the other residents in the home let him have his turn with the remote in the TV room."
Lol@Roger
Fatty failed to follow the last Thread and repeats his failures here.
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