George Rebane
In a republic the only government oversight the people have is through their elected representatives, and that is necessarily political.
The 2feb18 release of the Nunes memo underscores a serious concern that has arisen among most Americans since the Obama era national elections, and now heightened by the suspicious goings on during and after the 2016 presidential campaign and election. Major federal agencies such as the IRS, EPA, VA, NLRB, CFPB, FBI, and DoJ have all been exposed as behaving in the interest of its bureaucrat managers, and against the interests of Americans whom they were established to serve. It is not necessary to go through the litany of the specific corruptions both revealed, alleged, and buried. Anyone can resurrect them by just typing in the agency’s initials along with ‘corruption’ to get a laundry list of historical and current malfeasances.
The barely visible and totally invisible machinations of the federal departments we now label as happening in the ‘Deep State’. And most Americans understand from the news and government reports that the Deep State may best be viewed as the secretive and mostly hidden fourth branch of government that is nowhere called for in our founding documents, but, putatively under the President, is supposed to implement the laws, regulations, executive orders, and rulings handed down from the three constitutional federal government arms. Of the three, Congress has the additional job of oversight, to make sure that these bureaus, departments, and agencies are acting according to the intent and prescriptions of their enabling legislation.
One can argue that the Deep State has always been with us, because it comes alive naturally when growing organizations spawn departments whose continued existence, growth, and influence does not depend on the quality of service they provide their designated clients. But its existence becomes toxic when it comes to be used as a tool for meting out rewards and punishments to satisfy the needs of their sponsors. In government these sponsors are its politically controlled branches and sub-branches – e.g. Congress and its various committees.
Before the days of radically polarized political parties, oversight of the Deep State had a chance of working because its operating units had a more unified direction, and operating according to its rule book was the safest route for Deep State managers – both parties wanted more or less of the same future for the country. Such a common vision has now been eroding for the last fifty years, and today our political factions have publicly declared their diametrically opposite futures for America. As political scientists and historians have concluded, today the two major parties are really in mortal combat, each seeking advantage to completely destroy their opponent.
With this mindset, the party in power naturally resorts to weaponizing the Deep State against the party out of power. In this enterprise the Left has had a distinct and demonstrated advantage, since its goal is to establish a national collective based on central planning and control by the elites, which fosters the sustenance and growth of government as embodied in the components of its Deep State. In short, the Deep State is already staffed and operating with the mindset that fosters one party’s objectives and modus operandi.
It is then not a large step from the installation of people such as Hillary Clinton, Eric Holder, Loretta Lynch, John Koskinen, … under whom the likes of ‘career managers’ like James Comey, Lois Lerner, Bruce Ohr, and Andrew McCabe were inspired to initiate and carry out actions that were definitely in the agenda-driven and often intentionally illegal service of their political betters.
When the inevitable scandals do emerge and there is opportunity to shed light and hold accountable those responsible, then it is always the political beneficiaries of the Deep State who leap to the defense and seek to seal the shutters. They use scurrilous exhortations against the truth seekers, such as transforming the investigation of the rotten managements into unwarranted attacks against the department’s “thousands of hardworking men and women”, when there is no intent or evidence of the investigation or its reporting to impugn their labors. Such responses are nothing short of political lies intended to pluck the heartstrings of the ignorant and unread. This kind of lie is often accompanied by more direct and easily detectable lies. In the Nunes memo case, some opponents of its release told the nation that the memo’s contents would reveal highly secret sources and methods which would compromise our nation’s security. As is now evident even for the fourth-grade level reader, the memo contains no such revelations.
The fundamental arguments for the release of sanitized reports of investigations into the corrupt activities of the Deep State all rest on the necessary prerequisite, that if we as a people are to govern ourselves, in the manner of The Great Experiment bequeathed by our Founders, then we must see things for ourselves to the maximum extent possible. And for the part that prudent maintenance of national security - and only national security - requires, then there we must trust the reports and decisions of our elected representatives since we are not a democracy with oversight by the national committee of the whole.
My representatives argued persuasively for the release of this memo to shed light on some of the most recent perversions of the Deep State, and I am grateful that they had the courage to follow through and give us the appropriate information. I only trust that this is not the only burst of sanitizing sunshine that we see during the coming months, because clearly there is more, much more.
[3feb18 update] A better example of Deep State’s rogue roots than Hillary’s corrupt international escapades is hard to find. And even there we must limit our attention to only one of her many – space and time don’t allow a full discussion that is better suited for a large volume or perhaps an anthology. Here I want us to focus on her uranium dealings with Russia as a real example of collusion corrosive to our nation. Investigative journalist Anne Williamson has assembled this story – ‘Beyond Imagination: Uranium One’ - in the Jan2018 issue of Chronicles. I suggest reading it to get a better perspective on our Deep State’s international tentacles, and what yet could and should come out from both Mueller’s investigative wanderings, and in subsequent House Intelligence Committee memos.
Deep state George. Lady Justice is supposed to be blind, but when we see Comey, McCabe, Strzok, et al acting so wrongfully, it is sad. These guys either insidiously acted or they were looking out for themselves for fear of reprisal from the Clintons. I am actually sad for our country that our FBI and DOJ upper management lack that integrity. FBI Motto "Fidelity - Bravery - Integrity." Sometimes folks just have to do the right thing damn the consequences. Happens here locally too. I told a supervisor about Diaz having mother's maiden names available online (against California law). The supervisor got it fixed, and the county lied about it. Everyone covering their own butts is not limited to the federal government.
Posted by: Barry Pruett | 02 February 2018 at 03:17 PM
The present distraction reminds me of the corrupt internal war destroying the timber industry using the spotted owl. For some time now we've watched investigation after investigation regarding Hillary Clinton's emails, and investigation the investigators waisting time and money like a soap box opera.
Unless you enjoy investigating, who would have imagined why the FBI gave Clinton a pass. President Obama was was using a pseudonym to conduct communications over a non-secure e-mail system that was a breach of security too.
Obama’s Conflict Tanked the Clinton E-mail Investigation — As Predicted
Hillary Clinton's and President Obama's predicament. Perhaps Iran possesses a complete set of the Clinton-Obama emails. This might explain the billions of dollars of cash shipments 2014-2016 to Iran? Ransom or blackmail? There's more...
Remember the horrible controversy regarding Nevada's Bundy (and Oregon's murdered Lavoy Finicum) ranchers and BLM land? Nosey Rosie wonders if it's true that BLM is actually a sub-corporation of UNITED STATES INCORPORATED, a private foreign owned off-shore corporation since its last incorporation in 1925? https://www.alipac.us/f9/blm-actually-sub-corporation-united-states-incorporated-301394/
If true, during the Obama/Clinton administration this is how Russia gradually gained control of Uranium One, a major mining company, in three separate transactions from 2009 to 2013, while Hillary Clinton served as Secretary of State. Pretty obvious why the media rumors and investigations go round and round and where they'll wind up nobody knows. It's too bad but apparently an old problem with humanity's government.
Posted by: Bonnie McGuire | 02 February 2018 at 03:24 PM
George R - Posted at 01:40 PM in Great Divide, Happenings, Our Country, We the iSheeple | Permalink -
"serious concern that has arisen among most Americans since the Obama era national elections";
"the installation of people such as Hillary Clinton, Eric Holder, Loretta Lynch, John Koskinen"
You must find comfort and security knowing that no conservatives are Deep State players.
Don't forget the other Deep State players - Bilderberg Group, the Illuminati, the Knights Templar, Skull and Bones, the Freemasons, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, extraterrestrials, and parallel universes whose inhabitants are pulling the strings.
Posted by: Mary Wanna | 02 February 2018 at 04:46 PM
"You must find comfort and security knowing that no conservatives are Deep State players."
Doesn't matter what their politics are. Dirty players need to be exposed and prosecuted. I've called foul on lefties and conservatives alike. But folks like Mary ignore the crap as long as they approve of the politics.
Posted by: Account Deleted | 02 February 2018 at 05:14 PM
MaryW 446pm - What part of our state do your "other Deep State players" operate? Are you talking about the "vast right wing conspiracy"? Sounds like you and Hillary are calling for another special prosecutor to dig out some evidence for this long-alleged collusion.
But in recent years what Republican Deep State players have been in corruption scandals involving FBI, DoJ, congressional, and special prosecutor investigations? This is not to say that you can't dredge up some past Republicans so afflicted. But I have been talking about the weaponization of Deep State in the polarization years.
Posted by: George Rebane | 02 February 2018 at 06:02 PM
As televisions detective Columbo says..."Just one more thing" regarding Obama-Hillary emails, paying Iran cash, Russia uranium deal, and Benghazi Ambassador Stevens and his Aid's assassination. Two witnesses. Was treason involved according to our Constitution? There's nothing wrong with our Constitution. Ignorant, immoral voters tend to elect people who promise them something for nothing.
Article 3 of our Constitution regarding the power of its Judges to interpret (as originally intended) and abide by its law is important, because who we elect will decide. The law says:
"No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of "two witnesses" to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court. ... The Constitution defines treason as specific acts, namely "levying War against [the United States], or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort."
Libya, Syria and Iran were not exactly friends with America. Consider the terrorist attack on our Benghazi Embassy and death of Ambassador Christopher Stevens, his aid, and those who went to save them. Smith told his mother the night before that he was going to die because all security had been pulled from the embassy. Nobody listened, or seemed to care. The next day, he and Ambassador Stevens were murdered by Muslim terrorists...along with former Seals Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, who disobeyed stand-down orders, trying to save those at the Embassy.
I wonder if the cash payments to Iran were because of what the Iran government learned from from President Obama's and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's unsecured emails. Over a $ billion was ultimately paid to Iran, but the details surrounding these payments remains shrouded in mystery.
Posted by: Bonnie McGuire | 02 February 2018 at 08:12 PM
The main thing I take away from the circus antics surrounding the Nunes memo is that the FBI has a history of trying to protect it’s image by yelling ‘national security’ and over classifying information.
For years a common acronym for the CIA has been CYA (cover your ass). FBI does the same.
Posted by: ArchieBunker | 03 February 2018 at 08:15 AM
Re: Update. Dr. Rebane penned:
“ And even there we must limit our attention to only one of her many – space and time don’t allow a full discussion that is better suited for a large volume or perhaps an anthology.”
Good to see we are on the same page, Dr. Rebane. It would take at least 20 posts on RR to get everybody up to speed just on timelines. While you are focusing on Hillary, I am focusing lately on Obama and the Obama Administration. There are many points of intersection as the ships sail in the same direction. I will just ask some simple questions as a warm up and barely scratch the surface.
1) Who was the FBI Director when Uranium One Investigation was abruptly aborted? Who were the FBI Directions and AGs when the 7 year Investigation into Hezbollah’s finances, including the disturbing Intell of Hezbollah trafficking drugs into the USA, not to mention the Iran-to-Hezbollah-to-Lebanon weapons trafficking/manufacturing, which Investigation was also abruptly aborted as well.
2) OFA. Obama For America was Obama’s campaign organization. Since the President could not run for re-election again, OFA became Organizing For America. Why did OFA sent $900,000 to the law firm Price Coie to have the law firm hire CrossStrike to examine the DNC servers and computers and why did the DNC refuse to let the FBI examine the DNC’s network for evidence of Russian hacking? Why did the DNC announce the Russians had hacked their computers before blocking FBI access to the computers? You might recognize the name Perkins Coie. It’s the law firm Hillary and the DNC funneled money to to pay for the services of Fusion GPS.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/democratic-national-committee-fbi-hacked-servers-computers-russia-donald-trump-cia-fbi-briefing-a7512396.html
3) 30,000 missing e-mails. It is not under dispute that President Obama communicated with Hillary on Clinton’s private e-mail server using a fake name.
"Once informed that the sender's name is believed to be a pseudonym used by the president, Abedin exclaimed: 'How is this not classified?'" the report says. "Abedin then expressed her amazement at the president's use of a pseudonym and asked if she could have a copy of the email."
The State Department has refused to make public that and other emails Clinton exchanged with Obama. Lawyers have cited the "presidential communications privilege," a variation of executive privilege, in order to withhold the messages under the Freedom of Information Act.“
https://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/hillary-clinton-emails-fbi-228607
How many of the missing e-mails are in White House? Not all Intell is one spot. Some classified material are separately compartmentalized in the White House.
4) The White House “reading room”. After Flynn got fired, it took awhile for Coates to get confirmed as DNI. The day after Coates was put in place, Nunes was allowed in the White House “reading room.” That was where he found the FISA requests and a heck of a lot more.
Question to consider: Was classified intel compartmentalized to place in the White House, or was the intel classified to keep it in the White House so that prying eyes could not find it, thinking Obama would be handing the baton off to Hillary?
Not even warmed up, but I’ll stop here.
The Obama team spied on the Trump campaign and it is sick how Democrats are making efforts to prevent this from coming out. Isn’t it odd that there were random people who seemed to be approaching members of the Trump campaign in 2016? How is it that all these people, including Sergei Millian, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and Alexander Downer and their information somehow make it back to Fusion GPS, which was funded by the Hillary campaign? When President Trump won the election, panic set in with the Obama team, and they had to reverse engineer a crime because they have nothing to justify their actions. 10 days after Trump was elected, Mike Rogers of the NSA made a visit to Trump Tower without notifying the Obama Administration. The next day, Trump and his team left Trump Tower because Rogers went to warn Trump of the surveillance. Now does Trump’s wiretap tweet make sense? In addition, Jim Comey was asked in March of 2017 if he notified Congress about the most significant counterintelligence investigation in modern intelligence history. He said he did not notify Congress because of the sensitivity of the matter, but isn’t that the point of congressional oversight? The whole Russia collusion thing was a myth the entire time and created to cover up a much larger crime committed by the Obama administration.
Posted by: Bill Tozer | 03 February 2018 at 07:15 PM
Why did it take Comey eight months to notify Congress (Oversight) of an couner-Intelligence investigation? Sure, it not written in law that the FBI has to, but it’s protocol that is always followed.
“Because of the sensitivity of the matter” ~ James Comey
Director Comey intentionally obfuscates knowledge of the question from Rep Stefanik; using parseltongue verbiage to get himself away from the sunlit timeline.
The counter-intel investigation, by his own admission, began in July 2016. Congress was not notified until March 2017. That’s an eight month period – Obviously obfuscating the quarterly claim moments earlier”......
“No, Mr. Comey, there WAS a DNI in place in 2016, please answer the question of when did you notify him (Clapper) and the White House?
…..Why did you notify Clapper and the White House but delay congressional notification?”
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/03/20/it-took-a-freshman-gop-congresswoman-to-pull-the-mask-from-fbi-director-comey/
Posted by: Bill Tozer | 03 February 2018 at 08:02 PM
From WSJ:
1) What's It Take for FBI to Open Counter-Intelligence Probe?
“Having confirmed that the FBI has an ongoing counter-intelligence investigation into possible links between people associated with the Trump campaign and Russia, Mr. Comey talked about the bar for the FBI to open such an investigation. He said the FBI must have a credible allegation of wrongdoing or a reasonable basis to believe a person may be acting as an agent of a foreign power in order to open such an investigation.”
Toes sez:
While the above is true, to obtain a FISA warrant on an American citizen, the one requesting the warrant must prove the American is acting as an agent for a foreign government AND have a credible allegation of wrong doing, i.e., a crime has been committed. In deciding whether to issue any warrant (be they simple criminal cases or counter-Intelligence cases), a judge allows for “good faith” if the allegations of wrong doing (or proof of a crime) was erroronous, yet submitted to the court in good faith. 4th Amendment stuff.
Unverified and salacious allegations from a political party’s opposition “research” was not submitted to the FISA Court in “good faith”, IMHO.
———————
2). Odd:
Ms.Ros-Lehtinen's questioning about what was different in the Russian interference efforts from last year yields a memorable line from Mr. Comey:
"They were unusually loud in their intervention," Mr. Comey said. "It's almost as if they didn't care that we knew."
——————-
3) GCHQ is the British counterpart to our NSA.
“The GCHQ also issued a statement saying: "Recent allegations made by media commentator Judge Andrew Napolitano about GCHQ being asked to conduct 'wire tapping' against the then President-elect are nonsense. They are utterly ridiculous and should be ignored."
https://www.cnn.com/2017/04/13/politics/trump-russia-british-intelligence/index.html
Oh really. Hmmm.
Question? Why did the Head Honcho of GCHQ resign his position after only two years at the job and coincidentally around the day Trump was sworn in as President.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/23/breaking-gchq-boss-quits-personal-reasons-just-two-years/
Posted by: Bill Tozer | 03 February 2018 at 09:29 PM
All good points Mr Tozer. But recall that I just picked Hillary's transgressions because she is the losing candidate still doing everything she can to derail Trump, and we all recall that as SecState she was a member of Obama's administration. It is her being held up by the Dems and the lamestream as the aggreaved party from 2016 election that validates some considerable attention to be repaid to her extensive sins.
Posted by: George Rebane | 03 February 2018 at 11:41 PM
Oh course, Dr. Rebane. Many trees would have to be killed just to get enough paper to write down Hillary’s extensive sins. There is a true aggregated party, and it ain’t Hillary. It’s the “we” as in we the people.
140 million smackers is a goodly sum and serves as a good as any starting point to examine the 2016 election and the rogue public servants who are a law unto themselves.
Posted by: Bill Tozer | 04 February 2018 at 06:08 AM
Update to a prior comment, Feb 3, 7:15 pm, item #1.
What Obama/ DOJ can abort, Trump can bring back to life.
http://www.oann.com/trump-admin-slaps-new-sanctions-on-businesses-people-linked-to-hezbollah/
Posted by: Bill Tozer | 04 February 2018 at 06:02 PM
Update: Uranium One.
What can one say after reading Beyond Imagination: Uranium One? The players are all there.
Any mention of Uranium One gets the Left all up in arms running over here, there and everywhere crying Vast Hard Core Far White Right Wing Conspiracy fakenews. Alex Jones stuff. “It’s all a distraction to deflect from Trump’s treasonous collusion”....er....which is now all about “Trump’s obstruction of justice!”. Absolutely nothing to see here. You must no go there, You Will Not go there.
Could it be as simple as money? Pure unadulterated greed and an insatiable lust for power? It’s not who you know, but who you blow? Money and the power it buys, power and the money it draws. Dirty money. Build it and they will come. Always said that anybody who gets close to the Clintons gets corrupted. Perhaps a revision is in order. Anyone who is ok with corruption is drawn to the Clintons. The greed defect.
Makes sense. Explains why they shamelessly rented out the Lincoln Bedroom and did not see anything wrong with it. Come to the White House, bring your checkbook, everything is for sale. Make it a fat check and you can even sleep in the Lincoln Bedroom. Also explains why the WH china ended up in a warehouse outside of Little Rock. What’s yours is mine and what’s mine is mine.
Talk about obstruction of Justice. The Justice Department(s) under the Clinton Industrial Complex needed to be obstructed. Big time.
Mueller: He was brought back. He needs to finish the job. The Deep State tool who will bury all things Uranium One where all the dirty details will never emerge again, once and for all. o
There were alarms going off that any evidence got in Meuller’s hands, it would be gone once and for all....and not just Uranium One. Several items that smell rather rank and rancid.
Noticed the CIA and all those 17 (13 really considering import) Intel agencies that Punchy loves so much have been quiet lately. Nary a peep, except one quick warning of grave concerns from John Owen Brennan. Wonder if he is coming back to tidy things up.
Who is Meuller’s boss in 2018?
https://www.facebook.com/PatriotPost/photos/a.82108390913.80726.51560645913/10155390979460914/?type=3&theater
Posted by: Bill Tozer | 04 February 2018 at 10:33 PM
Guess the Deep State is real.
“Hysterical Trump haters greeted the memo’s release by declaring that we face a constitutional crisis. They are right — and they are creating it”
https://nypost.com/2018/02/03/the-gop-memo-proves-the-deep-state-is-real/
Posted by: Bill Tozer | 04 February 2018 at 11:05 PM
1) Carter Page was an paid FBI informant that helped bust Russian spies.
http://investmentwatchblog.com/carter-page-setup-by-fbi-he-was-fbi-employee-fbi-told-fisa-court-he-was-a-russian-spy/
2). John Carlin: Mr. Carlin has served as a top-level official in both Republican and Democratic administrations, most recently as Assistant Attorney General for National Security, the DOJ’s highest-ranking national security lawyer.
“There are only four people who can file a title one warrant with the FISA courts and John Carlin Asst AG head of national security is one of them. He filed it, got the warrant, and then quit the same month it was issued.”
(Toes sez: The obsure Department of Justice National Security Division’s is exempt from the DOJ’s IG investigations.)
————————————
3). Because “FISA Title I” surveillance authority against a U.S. citizen is so serious (the U.S. government is essentially calling the target a spy), only a few people are authorized to even apply for such surveillance warrants. One of the four people authorized to make such a filing is the Asst. Attorney General who is head of the National Security Division of the DOJ. That person is John P Carlin.
Carter Page was an FBI Under-Cover Employee in 2013, and remained the primary FBI witness through May of 2016. If Carter Page was working as an UCE (FBI undercover employee), responsible for the bust of a high level Russian agent in 2013 -and remained a UCE- throughout the court case UP TO May of 2016, how is it possible that on October 21st 2016 Carter Page is put under a FISA Title 1 surveillance warrant as an alleged Russian agent?
Conclusion: He wasn’t. The DOJ National Security Division and the FBI Counterintelligence Division flat-out LIED.
Scroll down half a page for link
http://dailypundit.com/2018/02/05/carter-page-on-fbis-payroll-as-undercover-employee-since-2013/
4). Connecting the dots:
Despite all the people Fusion GPS sent to Trump Towers, there was no proof of Russian Collusion. They and the FBI searched everywhere, no evidence. Fusion GPS (reporting to Hillary) and the FBI could not find any factual evidence of Trump colluding with Russia, despite spending millions of dollars. Even Jr. walked out of the meeting with the “Russian lawyer” at Trump Towers, the same Jr. who Punchy calls greaseball. This was a cordinated effort by Hillary Clinton and the Obama Administration to dirty Hillary’s opponent, Citizen Trump.
The next step was to get electronic surveillance. John Carlin was familiar with the FBI paid informant Carter Page, as it was Carter Page who was the informant the Justice Department (DOJ’s National Security Divison used to bust Russian spies trying to recruit Americans to spy and gather intelligence in 2013. Upon learning that Carter Pages joining the Trump team as a foreign policy adviser, it was John Carlin who requested the FISA warrant on Carter Page who was also on the FBI’s payroll as an informant until May 2016. Once the FISA request was granted, Carlin soon after Lefty the job.
*The only thing about Carter Page that was true in the Dossier submitted to the FISA Court was Carter Page traveled to Russian in July, 2016. Yes he did. He gave a speech to Russian bankers.
**Prior to being confirmed to the DOJ-NSA, John Carlin was the Chief of Staff for one Robert Meuller, Director of the FBI.
Posted by: Bill Tozer. | 09 February 2018 at 10:44 PM
It's time to bring down the deep state and the deep corruption in DC. It operates like a banana republic.
Posted by: Cheryl | 10 March 2018 at 03:58 PM