Sources: Comey acted on Russian intelligence he knew was fake
15 replies, posted
[B][U]Sources: Comey acted on Russian intelligence he knew was fake[/U][/B]
[url]http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/26/politics/james-comey-fbi-investigation-fake-russian-intelligence/index.html[/url]
[QUOTE]
Then-FBI Director James Comey knew that a critical piece of information relating to the investigation into Hillary Clinton's email was fake -- created by Russian intelligence -- [B]but he feared that if it became public it would undermine the probe and the Justice Department itself, according to multiple officials with knowledge of the process.[/B]
As a result, Comey acted unilaterally last summer to publicly declare the investigation over -- without consulting then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch -- while at the same time stating that Clinton had been "extremely careless" in her handling of classified information. His press conference caused a firestorm of controversy and drew criticism from both Democrats and Republicans.
Comey's actions based on what he knew was Russian disinformation offer a stark example of the way Russian interference impacted the decisions of the highest-level US officials during the 2016 campaign.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday that this Russian intelligence was unreliable. [B]US officials now tell CNN that Comey and FBI officials actually knew early on that this intelligence was indeed false.[/B]
[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]
In classified sessions with members of Congress several months ago, [B]Comey described those emails in the Russian claim and expressed his concern that this Russian information could "drop" and that would undermine the Clinton investigation and the Justice Department in general, according to one government official.[/B]
Still, Comey did not let on to lawmakers that there were doubts about the veracity of the intelligence, according to sources familiar with the briefings. It is unclear why Comey was not more forthcoming in a classified setting.
[B]Sources close to Comey tell CNN he felt that it didn't matter if the information was accurate, because his big fear was that if the Russians released the information publicly, there would be no way for law enforcement and intelligence officials to discredit it without burning intelligence sources and methods.[/B]
[B]In at least one classified session, Comey cited that intelligence as the primary reason he took the unusual step of publicly announcing the end of the Clinton email probe.[/B][/QUOTE]
[highlight](User was banned for this post ("Editorialized Title" - Big Dumb American))[/highlight]
Damned if he did, damned if he didn't.
Whatever you think of the man for his decision, he's one cool operator to keep a level head in that much of a quagmire.
Makes me wonder, if he didn't even share this information behind closed doors, he must have a reason for that. Are some members of congress or the IC compromised, or suspected of collusion?
[QUOTE=oldeskoolfan;52278153]Makes me wonder, if he didn't even share this information behind closed doors, he must have a reason for that. Are some members of congress or the IC compromised, or suspected of collusion?[/QUOTE]
The impression I got was that he was aiming to be discrete.
[QUOTE=oldeskoolfan;52278153]Makes me wonder, if he didn't even share this information behind closed doors, he must have a reason for that. Are some members of congress or the IC compromised, or suspected of collusion?[/QUOTE]
My personal suspicion is that he knew Congress wouldn't keep it a secret.
Just like how, when Comey sent the letter to Congress warning about Hillary's emails, he knew someone (ultimately Chaffetz) would leak it, and bam, it happened and the course of the election was likely altered as a result.
[QUOTE=oldeskoolfan;52278153]Makes me wonder, if he didn't even share this information behind closed doors, he must have a reason for that. Are some members of congress or the IC compromised, or suspected of collusion?[/QUOTE]
Congress is notorious for leaking things given to it by intelligence, though it seems all departments are prone to massive amounts of leaks now.
I can respect his decision because had this come out at the time, it would have led to even more serious consequences. Doesn't make the whole thing any less asinine than Dubya going to war against Iraq over "weapons of mass destruction" though.
So what is Russia's end-game here? Or at least what could it feasibly be? This seems like such a fucking deep rabbit hole, the possibilities regarding their intentions are seemingly endless.
[QUOTE=hippowombat;52278310]So what is Russia's end-game here? Or at least what could it feasibly be? This seems like such a fucking deep rabbit hole, the possibilities regarding their intentions are seemingly endless.[/QUOTE]
Political espionage could potentially result in the installation of a Russian puppet government. Putin is a mastermind and obtaining and maintaining political power.
Just look at how long he's run things in his country.
Edit: In this case having an Oaf like Trump, regardless of whether he's really a Russian puppet, he's a gigantic idiot, I'm talking a titan in the realm of idiots, which is technically the next best thing in the eyes of Putin.
Feasibly? Sow discord and distraction in the US to make it easier for them to do things while we're distracted and looking inwards rather than outwards.
Destabilizing the government by sowing distrust in the US population against it. Shake up our political and military allies.
Basically, what we would do to other countries to destabilize them.
I don't think Russia would aim to control US, but install government that is too inept/in-fighting/bought to really challenge them when they expand their own influence.
[QUOTE=Sasupoika;52278341]I don't think Russia would aim to control US, but install government that is too inept/in-fighting/bought to really challenge them when they expand their own influence.[/QUOTE]
There's no need for control if there's a friendly government that is easily influenced. Traditionally US strategy has been to directly undermine Russian influence which is what Cold War was all about. Turning this trend over would be vastly beneficial to Russia, especially now that they both are challenged by China.
And now you have a president who's so desperate to be Russia's best friend he's willing to throw the rest of Europe under the bus to get a pat on the head from daddy Putin.
[QUOTE=Sasupoika;52278341]I don't think Russia would aim to control US, but install government that is too inept/in-fighting/bought to really challenge them when they expand their own influence.[/QUOTE]
Even if Russia was completely uninvolved, that's precisely what America has managed to elect.
It's been four months and all this administration's managed to do is bomb Syria and Afghanistan (despite claiming a non-interventionist platform) and slash funding for a bunch of things Obama brought in or improved and censor the EPA/etc. Oh, and they managed to pass a funding bill to keep the government from shutting down until October 1st.
[URL="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/05/24/trump-administration-warns-tax-receipts-are-coming-in-slowly-government-could-run-out-of-cash-sooner-than-expected/"]Except the government's taking in less tax receipts than usual and the debt ceiling may need to be raised (lmao) before the summer break to keep the government solvent.[/URL] The theorized reason as given in the story is that investors are holding off on transactions that they would ordinarily make because they feel they can wait out until Trump passes some relevant tax cuts (one is bundled with the current AHCA bill).
This creates a negative feedback loop where Congress' inability to get anything done because the Republican party can't decide for itself how massively it wants to hack apart the social safety net causes market paralysis while everyone waits to cash in on the tax breaks, and as a result state and federal governments start to become starved of tax revenue and struggle to operate.
Who knew Trump wasn't joking at all when he said he'd run the country like one of his businesses?
^
to add to this post without quoting, because they are ramrodding healthcare and taxes through by reconciliation, they have to pass them sequentially which means healthcare HAS to pass to provide the savings needed to pass tax reform which in turn has to pass before they can move onto the next budget otherwise they loose their reconciliation tools and have to...gasp...work....with.....democrats......
so because of everything we will be stuck with a congress that probably will shut down come october because they haven't done everything they wanted and can't fathom working with democrats
A reminder not to editorialize titles. That is still against the rules.
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