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Here Are the Messages From Anti-Trump FBI Agent That Prompted Call for New Investigation

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Newly unearthed messages sent by former FBI agent Peter Strzok have prompted a call for an additional investigation into the bureau’s handling of the Russia probe, particularly the FBI’s “apparent awareness of leaks by other agencies or entities to the media.”

In a letter sent to Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson on Monday, Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) highlighted two newly unearthed messages from Strozk — who headed up the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails and was removed from the Russia probe after his biased messages against Donald Trump came to light. The messages raise more questions about the intelligence community’s role in leaking information about the Russia investigation. . .

They then point to a new pair of messages from Strzok which appear to relate to “the FBI’s apparent awareness of leaks by other agencies or entities to the media.” The first is a text sent by Strzok to Page in December 2016:

Think our sisters have begun leaking like mad. Scorned and worried and political, they’re kicking in to overdrive.

. . .

“These texts and emails raise a number of serious questions and concerns,” write Johnson and Grassley. “For example, who are the ‘sisters’ and what does it mean to say that the ‘sisters have [been] leaking like mad’? What are they worried about, and what are they kicking into ‘overdrive’? Which ‘agency’ is he referring to and why does Strzok believe the referenced news article highlights that ‘agency as [a] source of some of the leaks’?” (Read more from “Here Are the Messages From Anti-Trump FBI Agent That Prompted Call for New Investigation” HERE)

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FBI Attempted to Use ‘Attractive’ Woman for Information From Trump Aide

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After two years, over 2,800 subpoenas, and nearly 500 search warrants and witness interviews, Special Counsel Robert Mueller “did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election.” While the “Trump-Russia collusion” conspiracy theory that has largely driven the mainstream news cycle for two years is dead, the story behind the investigation is getting juicier by the day.

More details about how U.S. intelligence attempted to infiltrate, or “spy” on, the Trump campaign have come to light, including that the FBI used an “attractive” female undercover investigator in an ultimately fruitless attempt to draw out some relevant “collusion”-related information from Trump aide George Papadopoulos.

“The conversation at a London bar in September 2016 took a strange turn when the woman sitting across from George Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign adviser, asked a direct question: Was the Trump campaign working with Russia?” The New York Times reported Thursday. “The woman had set up the meeting to discuss foreign policy issues. But she was actually a government investigator posing as a research assistant, according to people familiar with the operation. The F.B.I. sent her to London as part of the counterintelligence inquiry opened that summer to better understand the Trump campaign’s links to Russia.”

The role of the woman, who told Papadopoulos her name was “Azra Turk,” is “one previously unreported detail of an operation that has become a political flash point in the face of accusations by President Trump and his allies that American law enforcement and intelligence officials spied on his campaign to undermine his electoral chances,” the Times notes.

Trump has decried the FBI’s investigation into his campaign as “Spygate” — and the name seems more appropriate with each new revelation. The Times admits as much, noting that the “Azra Turk” wrinkle could give Trump and his defenders “ammunition” about their “spying” allegations. (Read more from “FBI Attempted to Use ‘Attractive’ Woman for Information From Trump Aide” HERE)

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New Investigation Opened on FBI for 2016 Trump Surveillance

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By The Blaze. After years of complaints from Republicans and allies of the president, Attorney General William Barr revealed that the FBI is being investigated over FISA surveillance on the Trump campaign in 2016.

“The Office of the Inspector General has a pending investigation of the FISA process in the Russian investigation, and I expect that that will be complete in probably in May or June, I am told,” said Barr during congressional testimony Tuesday.

The president alleged that he had been “wire tapped” by the former Obama administration, which later admitted that some members of the campaign had been surveilled during an investigation into claims of Russian interference in the 2016 election. . .

“More generally,” Barr said, “I am reviewing the conduct of the investigation and trying to get my arms around of all the aspects of the counter-intelligence investigation that was conducted during the summer of 2016.”

(Read more from “New Investigation Opened on FBI for 2016 Trump Surveillance” HERE)

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Barr Redactions Could Spark More Displeasure From Mueller’s Team

By Politico. As Attorney General William Barr decides how much of Robert Mueller’s report to release publicly, recent reports about discontent within the special counsel’s team send a clear message to Barr: redactions are subject to debate.

Legal analysts and lawmakers overseeing the Russia probe — including House members who grilled Barr on Tuesday — say that even if Barr blacks out key portions of Mueller’s report — citing factors like grand jury secrecy, classification and confidentiality — before releasing it, Mueller’s associates might second-guess him via the media or Congress.

Barr “might not have quite as much discretion without some consequences here,” said Andy Wright, a former associate White House counsel to President Barack Obama. Wright said the message is that Barr “only has so much time and so much wiggle room” to delay and redact Mueller’s report before its public release without risking “further disclosures from that team.”

The reports about sentiments within the special counsel’s team started last week in The New York Times and led to follow-up coverage in other media outlets describing frustrations inside Mueller’s team over how Barr portrayed its work and declined to release detailed executive summary materials they’d prepared. (Read more from “Barr Redactions Could Spark More Displeasure From Mueller’s Team” HERE)

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FBI Director Christopher Wray Has a Shocking Admission About the Mueller Report

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By Townhall. During a hearing about the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) budget on Thursday, FBI Director Christopher Wray was asked about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the 2020 FBI budget.

“Have you had an occasion to read the Mueller report?” Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL) asked Wray at the beginning of the hearing.

“I have not,” Wray replied.

What’s interesting about this: Mueller turned in his report almost two weeks ago. During his almost two-year investigation, Mueller utilized three dozen agents from the FBI, which falls under the Department of Justice, The Hill reported.

Attorney General William Barr provided Congress with a summary of Mueller’s report on March 24th, at which time no further indictments were brought forth against President Donald Trump’s campaign team. Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein also concluded there was not sufficient evidence to say Trump obstructed justice. (Read more from “FBI Director Christopher Wray Has a Shocking Admission About the Mueller Report” HERE)

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FBI Director Says He Hasn’t Read the Mueller Report

By The Hill. Mueller delivered the confidential report concluding his 22-month investigation to Attorney General William Barr two weeks ago. The report’s contents have remained closely held within the Justice Department as officials review it for public release.

The FBI is part of the Justice Department, and Mueller’s team was assisted by more than three dozen agents from the bureau.

In a four-page letter to Congress on March 24, Barr revealed that Mueller did not charge anyone associated with President Trump’s campaign with conspiring with the Russian government to meddle in the election. Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein also concluded after reviewing Mueller’s report that there was not sufficient evidence to accuse Trump of an obstruction of justice offense, despite the special counsel not making a judgment one way or another.

House Democrats are pressuring Barr to release Mueller’s report in its entirety, without any redactions. Barr has indicated he plans to restrict details that could impact ongoing investigations, grand jury information, classified material and “information that would unduly infringe on the personal privacy and reputational interests of peripheral third parties.” (Read more from “FBI Director Says He Hasn’t Read the Mueller Report” HERE)

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James Comey Responds to Hillary’s Claim the FBI’s Reopened Investigation Cost Her the Election

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Failed 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton claimed for months after her defeat that the FBI’s reopened investigation into her emails cost her votes. Former FBI Director James Comey announced they were resurrecting the investigation just 11 days before the election.

“I was on the way to winning,” she said in May 2017, “until a combination of Jim Comey’s letter on October 28th and Russian WikiLeaks raised doubts in the minds of people who were inclined to vote for me but got scared off. And the evidence for the intervening event is, I think, compelling, persuasive.”

“I respect her view,” Comey said in response in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday. “I accept the criticism. It doesn’t change how I think about it though.” . . .

“My view, and the view of my team was, we cannot conceal from the American people that the investigation we told them, and fought to tell them, is done, is not done,” Comey reasoned. “And the result could change. We just couldn’t do that.” (Read more from “James Comey Responds to Hillary’s Claim the FBI’s Reopened Investigation Cost Her the Election” HERE)

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Trump Advisor FBI First Targeted for ‘Collusion’ Gives New Details About Feds’ ‘Preposterous’ Claims

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Carter Page, the man who federal investigators first targeted for surveillance on the unfounded premise that he was a potential agent for Russia, part of the feds’ now debunked “collusion” claim against the Trump campaign, wasn’t charged — or even so much as mentioned — in Mueller’s various indictments, none of which were related to the original focus of the investigation. Having been finally vindicated with Mueller’s report submitted to the attorney general and no further indictments issued, Page is now getting his chance to tell his story without the cloud of the years-long investigation hanging over his head.

In an interview with former CBS investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson published by Full Measure Sunday, Page describes the FBI’s “outrageous, preposterous” claims against him. Full Measure offers a description of Page, details of which most reports citing him over the last two years have somehow failed to emphasize: He was “a Naval officer in Europe and the Mideast with a brief stint in Navy intelligence,” holds two Masters and a PhD, was “a successful investment adviser and worked in Russia from 2004-2007,” and — the part that really didn’t get much play by the mainstream outlets — has a long history of helping the FBI and CIA in counter-Russia investigations.

“It’s been reported that you assisted the FBI years ago in the case of corporate espionage by a Russian spy case. Is that true?” asked Attkisson.

“I had alluded to the fact that I’d helped out CIA and FBI going back decades,” Carter responded, citing relationships he developed in his time in the military as aiding him in those endeavors.

“So the theory was, at the time, that a guy who had helped the FBI and CIA in the past, including with potential spy cases, himself became a spy while being watched by the FBI?” asked Attkisson. (Read more from “Trump Advisor FBI First Targeted for ‘Collusion’ Gives New Details About Feds’ ‘Preposterous’ Claims” HERE)

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SHOCKER: Newly Unsealed Court Documents Reveal Who Shared the Russia Dossier With the FBI and Media

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By Townhall. Previously sealed court documents reveal how Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and one of his associates, former State Department official David Kramer and McCain Institute fellow, shared the Democratic National Committee-funded Russia dossier with the FBI and various media outlets. McCain previously denied being BuzzFeed’s source after the outlet published the dossier.

According to Fox News, “former senior counterintelligence FBI agent Bill Priestap confirmed that the FBI received a copy of the first 33 pages of the dossier in December 2016 from McCain.”

In a 2017 court filing, Kramer confirmed that British spy Christopher Steele provided the dossier to him. Kramar then turned around and provided the dossier to reporters at McClatchy, NPR, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed and CNN’s Carl Bernstein, The Daily Caller reported.

The report was also shared with State Department official Victoria Nuland, Obama National Security Council official Celeste Wallander and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL).

It is speculation that Fusion GPS sought out McCain because of his political standing. (Read more from “Newly Unsealed Court Documents Reveal Who Shared the Russia Dossier With the FBI and Media” HERE)

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Court Files Reveal Role of McCain, Associate in Spreading Anti-Trump Dossier

By Fox News. Newly unsealed court filings show how the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and an associate shared with the FBI and a host of media outlets the unverified dossier that alleged the Russians had compromising information on now-President Trump.

McCain had denied being the source for BuzzFeed after it published the dossier, which was funded by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, but had acknowledged giving it to the FBI.

In a newly unsealed declaration from September, former senior counterintelligence FBI agent Bill Priestap confirmed that the FBI received a copy of the first 33 pages of the dossier in December 2016 from McCain.

In another filing, David Kramer — a former State Department official and McCain associate — said in a Dec. 13, 2017, deposition that the dossier was given to him by author and former British spy Christopher Steele, which he then provided to multiple journalists at outlets including CNN, BuzzFeed and The Washington Post. The details were first reported by The Daily Caller. (Read more from “Court Files Reveal Role of McCain, Associate in Spreading Anti-Trump Dossier” HERE)

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Trump Slams McCain for Second Straight Day

President Trump on Sunday criticized late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for a second consecutive day amid reports that one of McCain’s associates had shared a dossier of allegations about Trump’s ties to Russia with the media.

“So it was indeed (just proven in court papers) ‘last in his class’ (Annapolis) John McCain that sent the Fake Dossier to the FBI and Media hoping to have it printed BEFORE the Election,” Trump tweeted. “He & the Dems, working together, failed (as usual). Even the Fake News refused this garbage!”

. . .Sunday marked the second straight day Trump went after McCain, who died in August after a lengthy battle with brain cancer. . .

“He had far worse ‘stains’ than this, including thumbs down on repeal and replace after years of campaigning to repeal and replace!” the president tweeted, referring to the Arizona lawmaker’s vote against the GOP Senate majority during the Republican attempt to repeal ObamaCare in 2017. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Obama DOJ Blocked FBI From Scrutinizing Clinton Foundation

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House Republicans have released the transcript of a closed-door interview of disgraced and fired former FBI official Peter Strzok, who acted as a point man for both the FBI’s Hillary Clinton email server investigation and its Trump-Russia probe.

The Strzok testimony, which is from June 2018, is creating a buzz on social media and appears to offer more insight into the FBI’s activities during the 2016 presidential election season.

Strzok testified that Hillary Clinton and the Department of Justice seemingly struck a deal that blocked the FBI from accessing her private, home-brew email server for information relevant to the Clinton Foundation.

Jerry Dunleavy of the Washington Examiner reports:

When asked by then-majority general counsel Zachary Somers if “the Clinton Foundation was on the server”, Strzok testified that he believed it was “on one of the servers, if not the others.” But Strzok stressed that due to an agreement between the [Department of Justice] and Clinton, they were not allowed to search Clinton Foundation emails for information that could help in their investigation.

Strzok further explained in his testimony:

“According to the [DOJ] attorneys, we lacked probable cause to get a search warrant for those servers and projected that either it would take a very long time and/or it would be impossible to get to the point where we could obtain probable cause to get a warrant.”

The Clinton Foundation has developed a reputation as a corrupt influence-peddling racket. The Department of Justice under President Trump has reportedly launched an investigation into whether the foundation acted as a “pay-to-play” scheme.

The release of the Peter Strzok transcripts comes the same week that Republicans released the transcripts from an interview of Lisa Page, Strzok’s FBI colleague and mistress. Page’s bombshell testimony confirmed that Hillary Clinton received what amounted to a secret pre-pardon from the Obama Department of Justice.

Both Strzok and Page were dismissed from Robert Mueller’s special counsel staff after texts surfaced showing that they not only had personal animosity against candidate Trump, but they were also prepared to take action in their official capacity as FBI agents to “stop” him from winning the 2016 election. The two also discussed an “insurance policy,” which Page later admitted was the Russia investigation, that was intended to delegitimize Trump’s mandate. (For more from the author of “Obama DOJ Blocked FBI From Scrutinizing Clinton Foundation” please click HERE)

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DOJ Prevented FBI From Pursuing Gross Negligence Charges Against Clinton

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By The Epoch Times. Early in the Hillary Clinton email case, the Department of Justice reached a decision that would have far-reaching implications in the FBI’s investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server. . .

Notably, Comey had been convinced to remove the term “gross negligence” to describe Clinton’s actions from his prepared statement by, among others, FBI lawyer Lisa Page, FBI agent Peter Strzok, senior legal counsel Trisha Anderson, and FBI analyst Jonathan Moffa.

Because of Comey’s statement, many have mistakenly concluded that the FBI acted independently from DOJ influence in their investigation of Clinton. Congressional testimonies by high ranking FBI officials involved in the investigation reveal, however, that this was not the case. . .

Comey had also hinted at the influence exerted by the DOJ over the Clinton investigation in his July recommendation, stating that “there are obvious considerations, like the strength of the evidence, especially regarding intent.” . . .

But Lisa Page, a lawyer by training, seemed to have a very different understanding of what would be allowed by the DOJ. Page appeared to indicate during her testimony that because of the DOJ’s position, there was no reason for the FBI to even pursue evidence related to the specific statute of gross negligence. (Read more from “DOJ Prevented FBI From Pursuing Gross Negligence Charges Against Clinton” HERE)

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Hillary Clinton Says She ‘Can’t Imagine’ Running for President Again

By The Hill. Hillary Clinton says she “can’t imagine” running for president again but says in a new interview that she’s “going to keep speaking out” about President Trump.

“I can’t imagine that, no,” the former secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee said Monday on Tina Brown’s podcast “TBD” when asked whether she could change her mind about running in 2020.

“I am very worried about the direction that Trump and his allies are taking us,” she added. “Just because I’m not running, I’m not going to keep my mouth shut. I’m going to keep speaking out.”

Clinton discussed the challenges for women running for president in 2020, such as Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).

“How does a woman stand up for herself on the biggest stage in the world without … looking aggressive, maybe a little bit angry, that somebody is behaving like that, being willing to go toe-to-toe when there are so few memories embedded in our collective DNA where women do that?” Clinton said of presidential debates. (Read more from “Hillary Clinton Says She ‘Can’t Imagine’ Running for President Again” HERE)

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Former Top FBI Lawyer: 2 Trump Cabinet Officials Were ‘Ready to Support’ 25th Amendment Effort

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Former top FBI lawyer James Baker, in closed-door testimony to Congress, detailed alleged discussions among senior officials at the Justice Department about invoking the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office, claiming he was told Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said two Trump Cabinet officials were “ready to support” such an effort.

The testimony was delivered last fall to the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees. Fox News has confirmed portions of the transcript. It provides additional insight into discussions that have returned to the spotlight in Washington as fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe revisits the matter during interviews promoting his forthcoming book.

Baker did not identify the two Cabinet officials. But in his testimony, the lawyer said McCabe and FBI lawyer Lisa Page came to him to relay their conversations with Rosenstein, including discussions of the 25th Amendment.

“I was being told by some combination of Andy McCabe and Lisa Page, that, in a conversation with the Deputy Attorney General, he had stated that he — this was what was related to me — that he had at least two members of the president’s Cabinet who were ready to support, I guess you would call it, an action under the 25th Amendment,” Baker told the committees. . .

In his testimony, Baker said of McCabe’s state of mind: “At this point in time, Andy was unbelievably focused and unbelievably confident and squared away. I don’t know how to describe it other than I was extremely proud to be around him at that point in time because I thought he was doing an excellent job at maintaining focus and dealing with a very uncertain and difficult situation. So I think he was in a good state of mind at this point in time.” (Read more from “Former Top FBI Lawyer: 2 Trump Cabinet Officials Were ‘Ready to Support’ 25th Amendment Effort” HERE)

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