The Nunes Memo, and Other Works of Fiction

Let’s face it; the FBI is made up of people. The Justice Department is made up of people. The Congress is made up of people. All people have opinions. Within those opinions, most will have leanings that fall to the left or right of the political center. Some of those people may even be far right or far left. It is a fact that everyone has an opinion. To think that the FBI, CIA, NSA, Congress, or Justice are made up of people who have no opinions and never let their political leanings color their actions is naïve.

Our National Security Agencies

Each of these groups has jobs to do that are important. We should expect/demand that each individual in these groups sets aside their political bias (as much as that is humanly possible) and works in a professional manner to achieve their stated goals to the best of their ability. On the other hand, each of these individuals has the same right of any citizen to express their opinions when those opinions are not being used to provide direction in their work. Supervisors in the chain of command should monitor the actions of their subordinates to make sure that political bias does not distort the proper direction of their agency or group. Supervisors should be held accountable for the activities of their respective areas of control.

National Intelligence Organization

With all of the above in mind, it should not be the goal of Congress or any of its subgroups to dictate to the FBI or the Justice Department how those agencies should act when, in the proper performance of their duties, the projected outcome may not be what their party would want. The mere fact that the FBI is currently run by Republican appointees and that the special counsel, Bob Mueller, was also a republican appointee, should be enough to let them do their jobs. Just because a Republican controlled Congress doesn’t like where the FBI investigations are headed is not enough for them to try to intimidate and discredit those agencies.

Red=Business Ties             Blue=Campaign Ties
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President Trump with Sergey Kislyak

The recent release of the Nunes memo is a blatant attempt by certain Republicans to discredit the FBI and the Justice Department because of the investigation of Carter Page, Trump’s former foreign policy advisor. The memo would seem to intimate that the FISA warrant was wholly based on the mere fact that Mr. Page was mentioned in the infamous Steele Dossier. It couldn’t be the fact that Carter Page is a close friend and confidant of Igor Sechin (Vladimir Putin’s close friend; former Deputy Prime Minister of Russia; and leader of the Kremlin’s Siloviki faction of former security services agents). 

Vladimir Putin and Igor Sechin

Who would consider a person with such ties of interest in an investigation of Russian collusion and influence in our election process? Apparently, a federal judge thought there was sufficient information to think that Page was a foreign agent providing intelligence for Russian operatives. Why would the FBI think that was suspicious? Why would anyone grant a warrant to monitor a suspected foreign agent?

Carter Page at Speaking Engagement

The 35-page Steele Dossier, you may remember, was originally commissioned as opposition research by a conservative website and financed by Republican donor Paul Singer. When Trump became the nominee, they no longer needed the commissioned intelligence and funding stopped.

Christopher Steele former MI6 Officer and Author of the Russian Dossier

Enter the DNC and their attorney Mark Elias, so the funding spigot was reopened and the Dossier research continued. Christopher Steele, the dossier’s author, was a former British MI6 officer (22 yrs.), and is now a head of a London based private intelligence firm. He had worked for MI6 in Moscow under diplomatic cover for two years and later headed their Moscow desk. His findings of collusion in the Trump campaign so disturbed him that he turned over his research to both British and US intelligence agencies.

Key Players in Russian (Steele) Dossier
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The Republicans call the Steele Dossier “salacious and unverified.” They are trying to discredit, without specifics, the facts presented in the dossier. They further insinuate that an FBI counterintelligence investigation by agent Pete Strzok was fueled by his “clear bias against Trump.” This investigation was into ties between Carter Page and George Papadopoulos. While it does appear that Mr. Strzok’s actions were motivated by bias, isn’t that also what motivated the Republicans to release the Nunes memo?

Golden Showers (pee tape) reference in Excerpt from Steel Dossier
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While the Steele Dossier alleges that the Russians have “kompromat” on Trump, this has not been verified. It has been verified however, that the Russians want existing sanctions lifted. Congress voted overwhelmingly to impose even broader sanctions on Russia and President Trump has refused. Why would a president ignore the wishes of the people and his own party when it comes to Russian sanctions? Could “covfefe” be the English translation of “kompromat?” The Steele Dossier may not have been fully vetted but the president’s actions seem to add credence to at least some of what it contains.

Excerpt From Steele Dossier Regarding Lifting of Sanctions
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It is not improper to investigate why Trump fired Comey.  While the firing itself is legal, if the intent was to shut down or impede the ongoing investigation into Russian collusion and interference in our election, that is illegal.  An official's conduct is legal only if the motives that initiated that conduct is legal.  Motive matters.  Corrupt abuse of power has no inherent constitutional immunity.

Mueller cannot base his prosecution solely on Comey's testimony.  He needs other evidence.  Testimony and evidence from and about Carter Page, Paul Manafort, and others is crucial.  I think it is obvious from a review of the requirements for a FISA warrant that the Steele Dossier was not the sole justification for the warrant to investigate Page.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) allows the FBI to get a warrant from a secret court, known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), to conduct electronic surveillance on U.S. persons if they can show probable cause that the target is an “agent of a foreign power” who is “knowingly engag[ing]…in clandestine intelligence activities.” In other words, the government has to show that the target might be spying for a foreign government or organization.  The FBI also has to conduct a threat assessment to determine grounds for an investigation.  To read more about these requirements use this link.

If you read the Nunes memo, there is nothing really there.  To paraphrase Monty Python, "and now for something completely stupid."  To hear the president tweet that he is now vindicated is absurd and shows that he still hasn't read the memo.  It would seem that the president's attention span is limited to 280 characters.  Carter Page was investigated and nothing in the Nunes memo refutes the legality or the legitimacy of that investigation.

"Their was no Collusion..."
@realDonaldTrump 9:40 AM Feb 3, 2018

"This is an American disgrace," I couldn't agree more.

So, what did the investigation into Carter Page, and his relationship with Paul Manafort, dig up that has this Republican group so fearful?  What has Roger Stone divulged about his role as "dirty trickster" and self-proclaimed "master of political dark arts?"  When did our democracy and the ideals upon which this country was founded, become secondary to the acquisition of power and money? When did political agendas take precedence over the good of the nation?

"A house divided against itself cannot stand."

Abraham Lincoln June 16, 1858, Speech