The Invisible Nunes Memo (updated 2feb18)

George Rebane

Rep Devin Nunes, chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, wrote a memo that summarized what the committee has discovered about the shady doings of the FBI and the DoJ regarding their investigation of all matters Trump during 2016, and now extending into President Trump’s 2017 year in office.

The national Left, led by its Congressional electeds, has gone apoplectic about Nunes’ intent to release the memo so everyone can see what’s been going on in these ‘non-partisan’ investigations.  That, according to every Democrat you ask, is the last thing that their party wants the American people to see.  Led by the committee’s ranking Democrat, Rep Adam Schiff, the memo is characterized as “profoundly misleading”, “political”, and “distorted”, and also too hot for us everyday folks to handle.  Why?  (Seatbelts please) Because part of its basis is classified or restricted, and therefore not available to the rest of us.

Were that the case for releasing findings on 90% of government activities, then there would be a virtual blackout of information of what the feds are doing, all for our benefit.  The obvious solution to avoid such barriers is to provide the verity of such deep backgrounds through trusted agents who are privy to such information.  In this case these would be our elected representatives.  But the Dems want no such sunlight revealing the now established dodgy manner of what the FBI, DoJ, and Mueller have been doing.  You’ll recall it all started with the 5jul16 press conference by then FBI Director Comey peremptorily delivering Hillary an unprecedented absolution of all criminal culpability re her emails and servers.

It is safe to say that over half of America knows nothing of the Nunes memo, and half of the remaining know very little of its importance in the scheme of things developing in Washington.  Depending on what outlets you frequent, the news of the memo and its disposition is reported in detail (e.g. WSJ, Fox News), or in the leftwing media is minimized (on page 17), vilified and misrepresented, or just plain omitted.  So in response, Schiff and company are now going to publish a counter-memo to fog over the contents of the Nunes memo, should it ever be allowed to see the light of day.

This asymmetrical and ideology-driven reporting by our Fourth Estate is an enterprise that no longer supports a democracy that depends on an informed public.  By coincidence, this week saw the publication of How Democracies Die, by two liberal political scientists, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, whose purpose for their essay “is to alert the public about the unique threat President Trump ostensibly poses to democracy.”  However, in their analysis of the broader question, these mavens “offer an unintentionally clarifying lesson in how democratic politics unravels.” The following quotes are taken from Jason Willick’s review. (more here)

The problem of competing party-resident ideologies is that the parties now play for keeps, both using tactics intended to wipe out the other as a continuing participant in the national practice of governance.   This is not new, other countries have been engaged in “playing for keeps, using every tool at their disposal to force rivals to their knees.”  In the US the parties, from time to time, have sought to ‘play by the rules’ whereby they “recognize the legitimacy of each other’s wins and losses”.  But this requires “an accumulation of trust and goodwill that only takes place under specific circumstances.”  And as we’ve seen, such specific circumstance have not been frequent, and for all intents and purposes are today absent from the national dialogue.

Levitsky and Ziblatt present “historical portraits of democratic dissolution, focusing especially on pre-WW2 Europe and postwar Latin America.  They offer that it is “brinkmanship” by one or the other side that starts the unforgiving tit-for-tat downward spiral.  The ongoing warfare is then continued by the entrenched party through “mechanisms” such as “capture the referees” by, say, packing the courts; “sideline at least some of other side’s star players” by, say, their gratuitous prosecution; and “rewrite the rules of the game” by, say, changing campaign finance laws.

The authors’ key lesson is that “it is poisonous in a democracy to treat rivals as treasonous, subversive, or otherwise beyond the pale” which produces an “institutional death match that explodes rule-based politics.”  And then they promptly launch into a one-sided tirade accusing only the Republicans of doing exactly that, and reveal their chief purpose for writing that book today – “to alert the public about the unique threat President Trump ostensibly poses to democracy.”  But the benefit of the authors’ analysis of how democracies die is to make us worry that “our collective decay of democratic norms may open the door to one down the line – perhaps even one of an entirely different ideological persuasion” than President Trump.

In response to such threats to our nation and democracy, there has arisen an organization that is trying to find cohesive solutions to the country’s problems in all major areas of public concern.  They advertise themselves as being above and beyond ‘labels’ the attachment of which to various notions and propositions is what they claim is a seminal irritant that leads to what we have seen Levitsky and Ziblatt describe.  In response they eschew all labels, and label their organization No Labels.  Founded in 2010, NL has a list of distinguished and/or recognized politicians as co-sponsors, chairmen, and what have you.  They also employ a team of supposedly non-partisan journalists to handle the day-to-day operations, publishing, and other communications.  NL’s efforts are directed to finding party- and ideology-independent solutions, while continuing to recognize their participants’ party affiliations, which are not supposed to enter into the problem solving process.

Looking at their No Labels Policy Playbook, I can find agreement with many to most of them.  What concerns me is that, according to my lights, their adopted MO does not seem to recognize or intend to operate in the real world.  I am currently trying to understand NL’s chances for success through a detailed dialogue with a longtime dear friend who is a member and serious devotee of NL.  I have to admit that it is a hard conversation to have, and I’ll have more to report on it in future commentaries.  But I am heartened that at least some people have decided to take a new tack to halt and perhaps heal our widening polarization.

Meanwhile, back in the world of dueling memos which none of us has yet to see … (more here and here)

[31jan18 update]  God willing and the creek (pronounced ‘crik’ in the midwest) don’t rise, the Nunes (aka now the GOP) memo will soon see the light of day.  In the interval I want to direct your attention to an essay by Hoover Institution’s Victor Davis Hanson on what the FBI and DoJ could plausibly have been doing during the 2016 campaign and election given the EVIDENCE that has been revealed so far.  Start with the thesis that has almost become a broadly accepted ground truth as we have witnessed the antics and corruption of Team Clinton over the last 25+ years, which is that -

Most elite bureaucrats understood the Clinton way of doing business, in which loyalty, not legality, is what earned career advancement.

Hanson’s ‘Hillary’s ‘Sure’ Victory Explains Most Everything’ is definitely worth a read if you want to see the most likely way that things all knit together.

[2feb18 update]  The Nunes memo is now out and can be read here.  A special sandbox has been opened for its extended consideration and debate here.

Comments

[MAGA Covfefe!]

What we know about Nunes is that he is a slut for stunts. Occam's razor applies. MAGA!

[George Rebane]

MAGA 222pm - Pray, who are the "we", and what evidence do have of his proclivity of being a "slut for stunts", especially since he has been sitting on this evidence for over six months weighing if/when/how the American people should be made aware of it?

And however did we invoke the memory of Father Occam in this regard?

[Walt]

Dougy is just at wits end.. This is how he lashes out.

[Paul Emery]

George

Do you believe that the FBI should vet the information because of concerns about classified information before it is released to the public?

[Paul Emery]

Even Fox News questions the memo:

Fox News anchor Shepard Smith rebuked Republicans in Congress and some at his own network for hyping the release of a memo reportedly detailing surveillance abuses by the U.S. government, calling the memo a "weapon of mass distraction" on his show Thursday.

In remarks Thursday afternoon, Smith dismissed the memo, compiled by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), saying it lacks real substance.

http://thehill.com/homenews/media/370778-foxs-shepard-smith-nunes-memo-is-a-weapon-of-mass-distraction

[Walt]

Paul, why is it that LIBS who refuse to read the memo want it kept under wraps?
The FBI is dirty. They can see it when the rest of us do.

[Walt]

Yes Paul, the LIBS are scared. They don't want the truth of the their domestic spying to get out.

[Don Bessee]

The po' ol' fakenewsman clearly lacks critical thinking skills or knowledge of the process. First @ 411- How could high drama shep know what's in the memo since it has not been released yet???? Second @4pm- The way it works is the house committee votes and then it works its way to the WH for Presidential approval. Remember the President is the final arbiter of declassifying.

Ya right let the FBI decide if their political hacks can stay out of sight! ;-)

[Walt]

The vote to release said memo is reported to be tomorrow.

[Gregory]

How does Shephard Smith know if the Nunes memo lack substance? So many people saying so much about what they cannot possibly have seen.

Smith's 'gravitas' has always been lacking... I'd not be surprised if someone brought him the cutesy "weapon of mass distraction" line and he went with it.

Paul E, if that's where youv'e been getting your news, your problem is even more obvious than I thought.
https://www.taleas.com/images/memes/your-problem-is-obvious.png

Folks, I'd not get your hopes up but even if the hype is 75% overblown it will be interesting.

[Paul Emery]

Walt, Don, Gregory

Do you believe that the FBI should review the information because of concerns about classified information before it is released to the public?

[Don Bessee]

The process is already in place so the question is irrelevant ya po' ol' fakenewsman. ;-)

[Walt]

So the guilty can have head start? So,, NO! Paul..
You in favor of weaponizing the DOJ and FBI against political opponents? That's just what "O" and Hillary did.

[Gregory]

Paul, 507pm

Does the Justice Department or FBI have primacy over the Congress? Who supervises who?

Does the FBI have the right to demand anything of Congress? Does Congress have the right to demand records from the FBI?

If you need help with any of these questions, just ask.

[Account Deleted]

You know - I could have sworn that Paul Emery was for releasing secret info. Wasn't Daniel Ellsberg Paul's hero just a couple of weeks ago? Was that info vetted?
Shine the light and the rats and roaches scurry for the exit.

[Paul Emery]

So Don you and I agree then that the information should not be released till the FBI takes a look at it.

Daniel Ellsberg acted on his own and was willing to suffer the consequences. Huge difference. This information dump is with the consent of the President and contrary to the FBI need to okay the release after removing sensitive information that may endanger agents and informants.

[Bill Tozer]

I see no national security issues with the little tiny 4 Page memo, and we all know Meuller has been interviewing and investigating all the players, even the outliers and know them all...where they are...trails them. It’s not like somebody will turn rabbit and become a futigive last seen in Tahiti. So, if the President does not object to releasing the memo, then by all means, it will be part of making America better. It’s a civil liberties issue and Congress has oversight. We the people and all that stuff. We the people.

Scott, you beat me to the punchy. I was just reading the comments and thinking, “what was that guy’s name, the one Punchy was driving home to make his point?” and there it was, you said Daniel Ellsberg. Yep.

Sunlight is the best disinfectant. Libs act exactly the same way when some groups want to poke around to validate the intergerty of the sacred right (reserved for US Citizens only) to vote, and the integrity of bunch of precincts, if not the whole system. They start screaming, “No!, No!, No!!!” as their knee jerk reaction before the words “memo” or “voter fraud investigation” even are finished hitting their ears.

[Bill Tozer]

Well, they slapped Nunes with those trumped up ethic charges when he started digging around and the Dems thought they got the Committee Chairperson to fold like Sessions and recuse himself. Not. Nunes got cleared. Now we know what he was doing when they and their Industrial Media Complex freaked out Nunes told Trump that Comey said behind closed doors the FBI are not investigation the President.

Dunes is relentless, an animal, and he’s looking to the rip the curtain off the hooks off and show us all the man behind the curtain. He is doing it for Daniel Ellsberg, for Tom Joan, and us Deplorables, and the forgotten man fighting against the mob mentality and all those control freak tyrants who would commit all of us political prisoners to the asylum to keep us down and under their thumb. Nunes is doing it for Utah Phillips and Ben Energy and so many unsung hero’s from sea to shining sea.

One voice rises amidst the cacophony of the mob mentality and his name isTruth, Justice, A Bunch Of Ggod Stuff, and his name is Nunes.

[Gregory]

Paul...

Did you know that the Senate Intelligence Committee can declassify anything in their possession?

Did you know that the House Intelligence Committee can declassify anything in their possession?

Did you know that the President can declassify anything he wants?

Did you know that in debate, any congresscritter can reveal anything they want without criminal charges?

[Don Bessee]

NO mr failure to comprehend @ 702. The process is a discussion between congress (oversight) and the President (executive) who is the boss of the FBI. The FBI has no part in the decisions process as previously noted. What a maroon. ;-)

[Don Bessee]

There needs to be an edit to the po' ol' party parrot @702.

instead of; sensitive information that may endanger agents

It should read; sensitive information that may endanger politically corrupt agents careers.

;-)

[Account Deleted]

"Daniel Ellsberg acted on his own and was willing to suffer the consequences."
Well, gee Paul. Just let me take a huge leap and point out that you thought he was a hero. Are you going to support Nunes if he just publishes the memo and you will support him in that endevor?
Funny how Paul quickly disavows his own thoughts and actions.
Ellsberg a hero? Well, maybe, sorta, kinda. Hey - he acted on his own! Yeah! That's it! He acted on his own! Now Nunes - well, that's different! There's that whole Right-Wing conspiracy thing. That's different!
You either want to shine the light or you don't.
Wankers and hypocrites can pound sand.

[Account Deleted]

Also - answer the question, Paul.

[fish]

Posted by: Scott Obermuller | 28 January 2018 at 08:06 PM

Hey mister.....Punch-E will ask the questions around here!

[Scenes]

Saint Paul sez:

"So Don you and I agree then that the information should not be released till the FBI takes a look at it."

Whoa, wait a minute.

Since when is the FBI the final arbiter in this kind of situation?

While I understand the Green Libertarian concept of the 17 intelligence agencies and their primacy in the US system of government, I don't accept it.

If the White House wants to let this go, let it go. I doubt there's any surprises there.

[Bill Tozer]

I think is is rather amusing that the FBI and DOJ has not seen the memo. Boy, if they could get just a look, just a glance or three at the memo. No. No is a complete sentence. No peeking.

Seems to me Nunes has trust issues with those who appear to be deeply and whole heartedly engaged in the Silent Coup...the coup d'état of a legally elected POTUS because they did not like the results of free elections in the United States of America.

[Don Bessee]

Emery?
Emery?
Emery?
Em..................

;-)

[Walt]

I see Paul isn't going to say the FBI is getting a bad wrap.

[Account Deleted]

St Paul's current position is that the accused gets to decide what should be released to the public. That has been his FIRM conviction for a least a few hours or so.
All other former FIRM convictions are null and void.

[Paul Emery]

Walt, Gregory, Bessee

In your view has a crime been committed?

[Account Deleted]

Still won't answer the question, Paul?

[Don Bessee]

WHY? WHY? WHY? Why do I fail so often? WHY? WHY? WHY? @943. ;-)

[Gregory]

Punchy 9:43pm

Why do you ask, Paul?

Do you?

I have a month's supply of Orville Reddenbacker's popcorn ready to pop.

Now, go back and answer the questions I posed for you at 741pm.

[Bill Tozer]

So Don, I assume you agree with Punchy that if you call for the Memo’s release, then you are a Putin cuddler.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/53693-feinstein-blames-russia-for-campaign-to-release-fisa-memo

Despicable corrupt fakenews man.

https://www.facebook.com/lastamericapatriots/photos/a.235087906641439.1073741826.235086849974878/990307387786150/?type=3&theater

[fish]

Posted by: Bill Tozer | 29 January 2018 at 04:31 AM

....I assume you agree with Punchy that if you call for the Memo’s release, then you are a Putin cuddler.

Oooh....the most cutting insult of all!

[Scenes]

It's interesting looking at a teensy bit of a sub-conspiracy in real time.

https://www.scribd.com/document/370009743/Grassley-Text-Message-Release-1-25-18

To really understand something like this would require some work.

I do love this timeline,watching these people crash and burn is a wonderful thing.

It really is a rare situation after all. Just imagine if McGovern had won and the 17 intelligence agencies (or however many existed at the time) had tried to take him down as a result. The countermove would be to dig into those agencies and into the Nixon campaign for numerous illegal deeds. It's all out there somewhere but the people running the coup d'etat are crafty and are roughly as powerful in the aggregate.

It's hard to tell how these intra-government wars turn out. Our local Hillary shills are beside the point and sometimes even when you win, you lose. JFK certainly found that out.

[Scenes]

Which begs the question, just what is in Devlin Barrett's emails and instant messaging accounts? Betcha they're already erased as best as he could manage.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DUeyEyeV4AAH-0K.jpg

[Paul Emery]

It's pretty simple if you think about. If the"memo" leads to a reasonable conclusion that a crime has been committed then it should be turned over to the FBI.

[Todd Juvinall]

It seems to me the FBI already has it and they want it suppressed. Must be something there that will embarasss them. McCabe out today!

[Walt]

WOW!! McCabe is running for the hills. The usual boilerplate.
" retiring to spend more time with family".
The memo isn't even out, and it's claimed it's first victim.

[Bill Tozer]

The memo is based on information the FBI and DOJ already has and knows full well what might be included within the short 4 page memo. The FBI just does not know exactly what information out of the thousands upon thousands pages of information the FBI is holding back will be released. They certainly have been dragging their feet on court ordered FOIA releases.
A nothingburger or Day of the Condor? Maybe is was some rogue ATF agents in Phoenix letting guns walk into the hands of the Mexican Cartel or some rogue IRS agents in Ohio demanding conservative groups applying for non-profit status to list every book they have read in the past and a list of their all friends and associates.

BTW, I heard that one of those Fast and Furious guns made it all the way to some terrorist in France of all places. Interesting times.

[Paul Emery]

What crimes do you allege McCabe committed Todd?

[Todd Juvinall]

Where did I say anything about a crime? You really are a terrible "journalist" You just make sh*t up.

[Paul Emery]

So Gregory, George, Walt and Scenes. I'm sure that following a consistent philosophy with your desire for openness in government, that you support these documents being released to the public as well.

Mark Warner: ‘We’ve Had New Information That Raises More Questions’

"Congress late last year received “extraordinarily important new documents” in its investigation of President Donald Trump and his campaign’s possible collusion with the 2016 Russian election hacking, opening up significant new lines of inquiry in the Senate Intelligence Committee’s probe of the president, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) says in an exclusive new interview."

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/01/29/mark-warner-global-politico-216545

[Todd Juvinall]

Paul Emery you are a total embarrassment here. No one will respond to your ludicrous BS if they are sober. Why did you support Harvey Weinstein last month? Waiting.

[Paul Emery]

More from Todd the liar::

Never supported Harvey Todd. Show me one time I did.

[Paul Emery]

So Todd if there is no alleged crime what's the big deal?

[Gregory]

Bizarre... but Punchy, Sen. Warner isn't calling for those brand new docs to be released. Just trust him, there's plenty there to keep him in business for months, looking for signs of Russian collusion.

[Paul Emery]

But you should want them released under your desire for openness in the so called "memo"

[Bill Tozer]

Warner is part of the mob mentality. Heresay, innuendo, and Russian Collusion! My, my.

http://dailycaller.com/2018/01/29/mark-warner-steele-russia-dossier-unproven/

Warner ain’t all bad. Have afriend who was an airline stewardess and her brother needed a liver transplant. Long wait on the list, death knocking on the door. She contacted Warner and her brother received a liver within a week up in WA State. After his recovery from the transplant, he got a job playing music in bars around here, which indeed did lead to his death. As a dog returns to its vomit......
Never hurt that my friend the stewardess said she had been screwing Mark for years whenever her flights had her doing stay overs in his neck of the woods and various spots scattered across the globe.

Yes, I know. Some have never heard such talk in all their lives. Distraction! Nevermind that Steele testified under oath that the information provided to him by agents of the Kremlin have not been verified....ever.
Opps, what was the topic????? Oh yeah, a little 4 page memo written by some evil R searching for the rest of the story.

[Don Bessee]

Oooops, the boss read the memo and a little visit-

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/01/29/house-panel-poised-to-vote-on-surveillance-memo-release-as-fbi-boss-pays-visit-to-hill.html

;-)

[Gregory]

Punchy 1132 responds with a left jab.

[fish]

Posted by: Gregory | 29 January 2018 at 11:51 AM

Punchy 1132 responds with a left jab.

Punch responds with further stamping of his little feet......not my president...not my president...not my president...

I can't wait for 2020 when Punch resets for another 4 years of petulance!

[fish]

I love html....

[Bill Tozer]

Well, here you have it. A good character reference of McCabe by the man who has been charged with contempt of Congress, the one and only esteemed former Attorney General, the honorable Eric Holder. Guess he stonewalled and lied to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Wonder what happened to Holder. Oh yeah, he was put on retainer by Jerry Brown. That makes perfect sense, but I digress.

“FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is, and has been, a dedicated public servant who has served this country well," former Attorney General Eric Holder tweeted Monday. "Bogus attacks on the FBI and DOJ to distract attention from a legitimate criminal inquiry does long term, unnecessary damage to these foundations of our government.”

Nothing to see here. Eric says it is just just those Fox News watchers conspiring to conspire from their Great Right Wing Conspiracy again.

[Paul Emery]

Gregory

Thanks for the compliment.

The left jab is the set up punch for the big one-a right cross. Ask Sugar Ray Robinson. Constantly keep an opponent off balance. "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."

[MAGA CoVfefe!]

Stunt Slut Nunes shenanigans back in 2017,

Devin Nunes, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is in hot water. Last Wednesday, he went to the White House to brief President Trump on secret intelligence documents—which Nunes refused to share with his own committee—that supposedly showed Trump and his associates had been incidentally surveilled during the presidential transition. On Friday, Nunes canceled a hearing at which Sally Yates—who was fired by Trump in January as acting attorney general—was planning to testify about conversations she’d had with the White House regarding Russia. On Monday, Nunes admitted that the private room where he had first seen the secret documents was on White House grounds.

[MAGA CoVfefe!]

NUNES' FBI MEMO BECOMES CONSERVATIVE RALLYING CRY ...and The Rebaniers are leading the charge!!!

[George Rebane]

MAGA 1224pm - Why again is Nunes "in hot water"?? And with whom is he in that state?

[Gregory]

Punchy, you didn't make the right cross.

A day after McCabe's boss reads 'the memo', McCabe got fired.

It might be unrelated.

[Bill Tozer]

The Empire strikes back.

Pushback time. Exactly who is this guy? Former fed prosecutor? Yo, former G-man, they already tried that and Nunes was cleared. You guys need a new playbook. Perhaps a triple reverse Statue of Liberty hook and ladder play or something.

What to do when it’s fourth and forty?? Oh, what to do, what to do. Oh bother.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/fmr-federal-prosecutor-memo-released-135907011.html

[George Rebane]

Administrivia - Pain in the ass! I had to delete a bunch of 'lizard' related comments that had nothing to do with my commentary. Please stay on the goddam topic.

[Bill Tozer]

Stop Trump’s obstruction of justice. Don’t be fooled. Do not let Trump get away with it.

https://www.facebook.com/RowdyConservatives/photos/a.217983685002343.55586.217926015008110/1247806568686711/?type=3&theater

[Todd Juvinall]

There may be some more heads rolling in the FBI soon. Draining the swamp is going to be tough but it is necessary.

[Paul Emery]

George

What does Todds lying accusations about my support of Weinstein have to do with this topic?

[Paul Emery]

example

Why did you support Harvey Weinstein last month? Waiting.

Posted by: Todd Juvinall | 29 January 2018 at 11:12 AM

[George Rebane]

PaulE 230pm - Gone. As I said, it's a pain in the ass cleaning up the off-topic and mostly asinine comments. I don't claim to do it perfectly. But you guys can help me out by not going off the rails in the first place.

[Walt]

The vote is done, and the memo will come out.(with all the red meat redacted out for sure.)
The Left is in full damage control.

[Todd Juvinall]

I do see why Paul Emery falls into the "fake news" segment of the journalism field. When the "memo" is released for our consumption we will see a vanilla response by them and he if it is critical of the left. The left does circle the wagons for their ilk when exposed for what they are. Unfortunately or maybe fortunarey, the right seems to be more careful as shown by the fact NO leaks so far from the R's on the memo/.

[Bill Tozer]

It find it hilarious that the NYT and Wa Compost suddenly are all concerned about the proper handling of classified material after gleefully leaking like a sieve classified info concerning anything and all things Trump. The NYT is running the interference with gusto. Why?, Why? Why? To protect their sources.

They have circled the wagons around the FBI and Mr. Rod Rosenstein in particular. The FBI and top members of the DOJ have been leaking classified info to the NYT and Wa Compost, again like a sieve. The NYT is leading the charge. They don’t give a hoot about civil liberties, yours or mine. It’s all about protecting their sources.

Consider the makeup of the Committee members who voted to release the Invisible Memo. Some are RINOS, some have distinguished prosecutorial backgrounds, some been there a long time....all are well versed in the importance of handling classified materials. All have read volumes of classified materials in performing their duties through the years. If there were any concerns covering National Security issues. outing agents/moles, need to protect the innocent or other concerns our Popinjay instantly repeated and raised here .....well, none were found. No such concerns were deemed sufficient to not release the memo by Congress.

FYI, Trump will not release the memo. Congress will...if our President does not object. The NYT should be focusing on Congress, not Trump at this juncture.

[Bill Tozer]

From 6 days ago.

“Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd, in a letter to the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), said the Republican push to release a memo they say reveals political bias at the FBI and DOJ would be "extraordinarily reckless" without a review by those agencies.”

Extraordinarily reckless. Hmmm. Is that like “extreme carelessness”?

[Gregory]

After a review by the FBI, McCabe got fired.

Either Trump will block the release or not. If he doesn't block it, the question would probably be does he give the go-ahead before the SOTU or afterwards.

He could also give the go-ahead during the SOTU. Which would be most fun?

[Don Bessee]

It would seem to be better to let the SOTU messages get out unencumbered and let it go public without delay from the WH so it can blow big before the super bowl. 4 days to the unveiling. ;-)

[Bill Tozer]

“He could also give the go-ahead during the SOTU. Which would be most fun?”

We can only dream. I don’t see Trump doing anything to take away from his first SOTUS. A unifying moment for the country as he reaches out to all Americans. Hmm. Well, the Dems won’t listen to a word he says anyway. If they do, all they will hear is “There’s a white Suprematist in the White House!”

On second thought, Trump does surprise folks. Keeps them off balance. Trump may not float like a butterfly, but his sting is worse than a bee’s or a wasp or any stinging insect. Much worse. Bigger bite. A whole different class of sting.

I may or may not listen to SOTUS. I can just wait for Punchy to give us the Democrat Party’s official response. He is such a sweet waterboy. Why read the Democrat Party response on the web when we will read it again from our Popinjay the following day, phrase for phrase. I can wait.

The REAL ISSUE is the 4th Amendment. Warrants and all that stuff. A rogue White House and top tier Justice/FBI executives breaking the law. Remember Valerie J boasting nothing goes on in the WH without her knowing about it? Nunes found what he needed in the WH reading room.

It’s all about the Fourth Amendment, not all this political postering, IMHO. Very interesting that 190 House R’s went to the House reading room to read the memo. Only 12 House D’s (excluding the Dems on the Committee) have read the memo. So, chances are all those chattering unhinged Dems blasting the memo have not even bothered to read the memo, ROFLMAO. This is too much fun.

Fun? Fun would be McCabe being convicted of a felony for knowingly and purposely using false information in filing for a FISA extension of that known Russian spy, Carter Page. A boney-fided agent of the Kremlin. Carter Page is a true Russian spy working for Putin himself!
A felony conviction could erase McCade’s entire pension and benefits he is waiting to receive in March.....after all those years of public service.

I can only dream.

[Don Bessee]

And pray @ 753! ;-)

[Bill Tozer]

@ 7:28 pm
I do like the idea the drip drip drip causing TDS, TDS, TDS. Congress’s announcement today, then SOTUS, then the unhinging of more exploding heads, then the Super Bowl. Or should I say the bam, bam, bam instead of drip, drip, drip.
Maybe Trump will change his mind and Tweet his decision during the half time show when kneeling players are featured...or whenever they SuperBowl airs their tribute to those who refuse to stand for the United States of America’s National Anthem. More exploding heads, more eruption of TDS. I may spill my bucket of popcorn.

I can hear it now. “How dare Trump use a sporting event to inject politics into the venue!” Horrible, impeach him now. Yep, tell that to ESPN, the Oscars, Grammys, Toni’s, and the Emmys.

Is it just me, or did anyone else miss all the Lefties’ wailing and gnashing of teeth when it came to light classified materials (and some super duper secret decoder ring top secret stuff) being downloaded by the metric ton by Huma directly onto her pervert husband’s computer. Odd, I must have missed that one or maybe the chirping crickets drowned out the outcry. I vaguely remember the Dems saying something aboutComey should be fired for releasing that small insignificant bit of info during the campaign.

[Scenes]

You gotta love Pelosi. Doin' the rounds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf3nmkDXZkE

[Scenes]

lol. This is pretty sweet. Keep in mind that this is zerohedge and not a more trustable news site (like the NYT?).

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-01-30/fbi-director-wray-shocked-his-core-fisa-memo-mccabe-removed-next-day-more-heads

[Bill Tozer]

Scenes
What got my ears perking up yesterday was not the Invisible Memo. Yes, the Committee Republicans orchestrated us to tell them to release the memo, lol. Yes, the NYT has been leading the charge against any conceivable consideration that the memo may be valid or factual. It’s just a Republican partisan hack job, fakenews. Yes, the NYT is protecting their sources. Yes to everything. But what clicked yesterday was something else, something bigger and far more reaching than the FISA memo: The impending Justice Department IG report.

With quotes from the NYT;
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/01/latest-leak-wray-humiliated-mccabe-focus-ig-horowitzs-report/

The IG report is expected to deal with the FBI’s handling of the Clinton e-mail affair. Maybe no one cares. Maybe it’s all water under the bridge. Or, maybe the IG report will dovetail the FBI’s handling of Email-gate with the FBI’s role in the Dossier in regards to Russian Collusion.....i.e., the FBI’s (and DOJ executives’) handling of investigations of Hillary Clinton from the campaign to the transition to May, 2017.

Maybe the memo was just the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Maybe this is why LE and the FBI were much more concerned with someone/anyone seeing the meeting on the tarmac than they were with any appearance of conflict.

Maybe this is why Hillary used her private server and did not want an IG at State.

[Robert Cross]

Under the "there ain't no collusion" department:

The White House announced that it would not impose further sanctions on Russia for meddling in our election because the Russians have been hurt enough by a decline in weapons sales.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-admin-russia-sanctions_us_5a6fba5de4b05836a255df52?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

[George Rebane]

Interesting to consider how many previous presidents have 'colluded' with Russia, Iran, China, North Korea, Cuba, ..., all without evoking national hysteria.

[Walt]

Bobby. Leave foreign policy to those who are there.
Where were you when "O" sent aircraft loads of untraceable cash to our enemies? I know... That was "different".

Oh.. and "O"'s "red line". What did your Dear Leader do? Tucked tail and ran. Russia shoots down a civilian airliner. Nothing.. OOOpppsss.."Strongly worded letter". Yup, tat will do the trick.

Ah Helll... "O" knew all about the Russian meddling. Yet did nothing.( the election was in the bag for Hillary. All was good)
" I told them to knock it off." Yup that did the trick.

[Mary Wanna]

Create a memo that includes partial quotes of unverifiable (because it is classified) conversations.
Violate Constitutional norms regarding release of classified materials to the public.
Attempts to dishonor FBI and other government agencies.

Yeah Republicans, go for it!

And they were up in arms about Hillary?

Looking forward to Trump's upcoming teleprompter recital. Will he talk about crowd size again?

[George Rebane]

MaryW 1104am - This person is a sackhead who clearly comments without reading the titled commentary.

And what "constitutional norms" would ever be violated were the memo released to the public???!! Ms Wanna's comments seem to continue in her established line of partisan prattle.

[Gregory]

Mikey Wanna 11:04am

Soooo...

What does the Constitution say about releasing classified materials?

Cue the Final Jeopardy! theme.

[Bill Tozer]

Oh Mary Hooch Wanna.

The Memo is an Oversight committee’s internal memo written by members of the committee. They can release their internal memo anytime they choose, with or without Trump or Intel’s or Justice’s say in the matter. Oversight means they have oversight.

It would be nice if “means and methods” are protected in the memo. The FBI and CIA do not like to ever ever ever reveal their means and methods.

From Mary Wanna’s point of view. Like, it’s all the Left Stream Media has been saying all day and all night and all day and...

https://thinkprogress.org/republicans-hype-fisa-memo-nunes-jordan-gaetz-trump-russia-3b9c044b5508/

https://www.yahoo.com/news/nunes-apos-cherrypicked-apos-details-141514582.html

https://sports.yahoo.com/lpga-golfer-trumps-golf-game-cheats-like-hell-163731043.html

and stuff like this:

“They came for McCade and I remained silent.
“Then they came for Mueller and.....”

[Mary Wanna]

Posted by: George Rebane | 30 January 2018 at 11:14 AM - Oh, so you agree that the Nunes memo is just more grandstanding by Nunes and a Republican controlled House attempt to smear the FBI do do some potential damage control for Trump? Just more brinkmanship?

I also viewed the nolabels.org site. Most people agree on most policy ideas.

Proof that the (fake) great divide has been driven by the likes of right wing talk show host Limbaugh for decades. Limbaugh and clones might as well be Russian bots.

[Gregory]

Mikey Wanna 11:04am, 1129am

Soooo...

What does the Constitution say about releasing classified materials?

Cue the Final Jeopardy! theme.

So, Michael P. Wanna, how can anyone who has not read The Memo "agree" it's just grandstanding?

One guy has already been fired by the head of the FBI within hours of reading the memo. Pretty powerful grandstanding, don't you think?

[fish]

Posted by: Gregory | 30 January 2018 at 11:43 AM

Rush Limbaughs fault......just has to be!

[Bill Tozer]

@ 11:04

“Will he talk about crowd size again”

Probably not, but I am certain you will mention Trump’s hands size.

Yo Flyboy, forget the memo. It’s the IG report. Won’t have anything to do with Meuller’s anal probe of Trump. Sure, there are some players that jumped from exonerating Hillary to gunning for Trump, but some are leaving or being reassigned to HR.

It’s all just the process of draining the swamp. The political is just Theater. You know, the theater is full of folks who Perfect their craft of pending to be someone else.
Heck, drain the Theater while we are at it.

I want 3 things and three things only:
1) An unbiased non partisan tough FBI doing what it does best...investigate, let the chips fall where they may, beat some bushes, shake some trees and let the rotten fruit fall to the ground.
2). Justice where justice is blind.
3) I want all departments in every branch to refrain from hanky panky. Stay in their lane, to use leftist babble. I think I will steal that one. Yep, all 4 estates are to stay in their lane.

Now, who could possibly be opposed to draining the swamp and protecting civil liberties in a world that demands more security.

Wait a minute. Lead investigator Loverboy Peter has been kicked over to the FBI’s HR division? Hmmm. Peter, HR, personnel files at his fingertips, can search and alter records....maybe it was not the wisest more to put Lisa’s peter over at HR....or maybe it was a plot. Like, two negatives in a sentence make a positive. I smell Deep State Propaganda. Hmmm.

[Scenes]

Paul sez: "and Scenes. I'm sure that following a consistent philosophy with your desire for openness in government, that you support these documents being released to the public as well."

I just caught this, and unlike you, I'll always answer a question.

Sure, why not. Just to throw out a few largely true statements.

. There are a lot of dirty dealings within the elite class.
. It's interesting to hear about them.
. These things are largely SOP and people should get less upset about them (Trump's statement about a billionaire's ability to grab pussy resulting in a million (wo)man hours of artificial concern is a canonical example)
. The larger the government's share of the pie, the more everything at that level matters. This is a situation that is relatively confined to the 20th C. and up.

In recent terms...Trump's decades of real estate / development shenanigans will probably turn up the odd tax or bribery issue not so much Russians, Bill and Hillary Clinton are outright criminals in terms of both rape and their foundation's financial magic, even Bernie Sander's wife is a crook. What can I say? The truth is that the only people who can run an empire are folks with a strong sociopathic impulse.

I'm more interested in the results. If Donald Trump is a necessary bit of medicine to save the West, it's worth swallowing. The Green Libertarians are the enemies of our civilization.

[Walt]

"Mary" is starting to sound a lot like Paul.

[Todd Juvinall]

Oh my Mary Wanna, did you know we bought Alaska from Russia? It was during the Lincoln Presidency and done by Mr. Sweard I think. Maybe some collusion there eh? That is about as nonsensical as you liberals get.

[Scenes]

Mr. Gregory says:

"Either Trump will block the release or not. If he doesn't block it, the question would probably be does he give the go-ahead before the SOTU or afterwards.

He could also give the go-ahead during the SOTU. Which would be most fun?"

I'm pro-fun. State of the Union sounds perfect, good times had by all.

From 3k miles away, the whole thing has the stench of coup d'etat, and the sound of rats scuttling is particularly sweet.

Even if that's unfair, there's a nihilistic joy in all of this. The McCains, Pelosis, McCabes, Bushes, Clintonses (like Hobbitses) of the world all need a good boot up their backsides.

[Walt]

"Two senior FBI officials have now reviewed a controversial Republican staff memo alleging abuses of government surveillance programs during the 2016 presidential campaign, a source familiar with the matter told Fox News – adding that the officials “could not point to any factual inaccuracies.”

RUUGHHH ROUGH!!!!

[Bill Tozer]

Gotta smoke ‘em out.

[Walt]

So.. Just what is going to elect a LIB anytime soon?
http://thehill.com/opinion/finance/371349-democrats-panic-over-avalanche-of-good-economic-news

The news for the Left isn't going to be good for a while.
The above news, the memo, the IG report,
It's a full broadside of artillery that's reached its apex and there is nowhere to run.

[Bill Tozer]

Scenes @ 12:16......and everyone, great and small.

“From 3k miles away, the whole thing has the stench of coup d'etat, and the sound of rats scuttling is particularly sweet.

Check out this recommended reading. Let the clueless Lefties stare at the individual trees and try to figure it out. I present to you a forest.”

“For a deep-state careerist without ethical bearings, one of the advantages of a Clinton sure-thing presidency would be that the Clintons are known to reward loyalty more highly than morality.”

Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/455885/expected-clinton-victory-explains-federal-employee-wrongdoing

Blame it all on the polling. :).

[Scenes]

re: [email protected]:45PM

Good article.

"Hillary Clinton’s sure victory certainly also explains the likely warping of the FISA courts by FBI careerists seeking to use a suspect dossier to surveille Trump associates — and the apparent requests by Samantha Power, Susan Rice, and others to read surveilled transcripts of Trump associates, unmask names, and leak them to pet reporters. Again, all these insiders were playing the careerist odds. What we view as reprehensible behavior, they at the time considered wise investments that would earn rewards with an ascendant President Hillary Clinton."

How where they to know that the Day of the Rope was at hand?

This truly is the best timeline to be living in.