Are the Democrats trying to convince the public that spying on a presidential campaign is routine? Are they doing this because they know that damning information is going to be released in the near future about the spying that the Obama administration did on opposition candidates? That such spying may go all the way back to 2012?
Are the Democrats so deranged that they are trying to make it seem like it is normal to do this, that it is no big deal? And that the public should just go about their business because there is nothing to be seen here?
It certainly seems like James Comey, fired FBI Director, was trying to make that point at a recent town hall–style meeting with CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
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In taking questions from college students in the crowd, Comey was asked about Azra Turk, an undercover agent who met with Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos in 2016. The student asked if those activities should be classified as “spying.” Turk’s identity was uncovered publicly in a May 2 New York Times report.
Comey did not answer the question directly. He launched into an explanation of FBI activities.
“Yeah, I’m not going to comment on a particular investigative step, because that’s for the bureau to do, and I’m not in the government any longer, but the FBI doesn’t spy to begin with. The FBI investigates.”
When Anderson Cooper pressed him gently on the issue of “spying” pointing out that AG Barr had used the term, Comey attempted to denigrate AG Barr.
“The only explanation I can think of is he used it because the president used it, which is really disappointing. He knows better than that, and knows that the FBI conducts electronic surveillance by going to federal judges and getting warrants based on probable cause.”
This answer was totally misleading. At the time in question, no warrant, FISA or otherwise, existed. The first FISA warrant was only issued in October 2016. The period covered by the question was in May 2016.
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Cooper followed up by asking if taking the step of inserting somebody into the campaign was “an extreme step.”
Comey answered,
“No, it’s a reasonable — that was the guy, Papadopoulos, who was the subject of the information we got from the Australians that he had talked to the Russians. I don’t remember talking about that particular step with my team. I knew they were trying to see if they could check it out. That’s a totally normal step (emphasis added). See if you can get somebody close to the person and see if they’ll confirm what we heard from the Australians.”
Again the problem with Comey’s statements is that they twist the timeline all around. Turk’s meeting was in May. They did not hear from the Australians until much later. So the FBI had an undercover asset “spying” on Papadopoulos for what purpose? It appears that the whole Papadopoulos activity was a scheme orchestrated at the highest levels of the Obama administration to create the appearance of impropriety involving Russia.
If it is totally normal to spy on a presidential campaign, how many other times in the past has the FBI done this? There was a rumor of a spy planted in Ted Cruz’s campaign. While it seemed farfetched then, it seems much less improbable now. Cruz was a formidable candidate during the Republican primary.
Just how panicked are the Democrats? Everyone knows that you don’t spy on presidential campaigns. Trying to make it seem like a normal activity is deranged. The fact that FBI political operatives at the top were involved, strongly suggests the political nature of this activity.
I do not believe that Anderson Cooper was trying to trap Comey. I believe he was trying to let Comey get his story out into the public domain before declassification begins. However, Comey kept inserting his foot into his mouth.
And declassification is underway. More and more closed-door testimony is being released.
A Storm Is Coming
…….And what was Watergate about……Nixon, who was he? What do he do?…….