FBI official under investigation after allegedly altering document in 2016 Russia probe (DOJ IG Report thread) (2 Viewers)

[bdb13]

Washington (CNN) —

An FBI official is under criminal investigation after allegedly altering a document related to 2016 surveillance of a Trump campaign adviser, several people briefed on the matter told CNN.

The possibility of a substantive change to an investigative document is likely to fuel accusations from President Donald Trump and his allies that the FBI committed wrongdoing in its investigation of connections between Russian election meddling and the Trump campaign.

The finding is expected to be part of Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz's review of the FBI's effort to obtain warrants under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act on Carter Page, a former Trump campaign aide. Horowitz will release the report next month.

Horowitz turned over evidence on the allegedly altered document to John Durham, the federal prosecutor appointed early this year by Attorney General William Barr to conduct a broad investigation of intelligence gathered for the Russia probe by the CIA and other agencies, including the FBI. The altered document is also at least one focus of Durham's criminal probe.

Exclusive: Former FBI lawyer under investigation after allegedly altering document in 2016 Russia probe - CNN Politics

A former FBI lawyer is under criminal investigation after allegedly altering a document related to 2016 surveillance of a Trump campaign adviser, several people briefed on the matter told CNN.

www-m.cnn.com

Terrible if true. Trump will obviously seize upon this.

 

[MT15]

No it didn’t. But the completely false claims and bizarre assertions from Trump supporters continue unabated. What Schiff did doesn’t even compare to the bizarre lies told by Trump every single day, yet we are told Schiff lacks credibility. LOL.

Trump has never been reinvestigated for the same offense. The IG report that is slated to come out next week is a reinvestigation of the investigators, though, because the first time found no significant wrongdoing. It looks like the second bite of the apple will find the same thing. No significant wrongdoing by the FBI, so Barr is already positioning himself to discredit it.

So now Trump supporters are going to pin every hope in Durham, and Barr has heavily involved himself because he wants to make sure he gets his desired result. It’s shady as hell and that’s obvious to everyone but the hapless Trump supporters who hang on every conspiracy theory cooked up by far right wingers and can’t wait to jump into these threads and say “the walls are closing in”. Bless their hearts. Everything they accused the liberals of doing about the Mueller report they are doing right now in spades. It’s pretty funny actually.

I’m under no illusion that there isn’t any misconduct ever by the FBI, but this has been investigated to death, with nothing to show for it. It’s a ridiculous dog and pony show to please one giant toddler.

 

[UncleTrvlingJim]

Schiff made up [Mod Edit: Do not use words that trip the profanity filter on the MCB board] during a congressional hearing and that's okay? I don't see how anyone can have a rational defense of Schiff literally making up the contents of a call in a congressional hearing.

This is a bit silly, Schiff says at the very beginning that he is paraphrasing the conversation. That was his opening line. Trump paraphrases people all the time, and he doesn't even qualify it ahead of time, and everyone knows he's just paraphrasing. This line of thought is extremely disingenuous.

 

[FullMonte]

I mean, he essentially gave a fictionalized account of the conversation, I think it's a serious stretch and lacks much credibility for him to say he was paraphrasing.

Huh? He LITERALLY SAID he was paraphrasing Trump. Here is the actual quote: "Shorn of its rambling character and in not so many words, this is the essence of what the President communicates. We've been very good to your country. Very good. No other country has done as much as we have. But you know what? I don't see much reciprocity here. "

THIS IS THE ESSENCE OF WHAT THE PRESIDENT COMMUNICATES....

 

[UncleTrvlingJim]

This is Schiff's quote:

"Shorn of its rambling character and in not so many words, this is the essence of what the president communicates: ‘We've been very good to your country. Very good. No other country has done as much as we have. But you know what? I don't see much reciprocity here. I hear what you want. I have a favor I want from you, though. And I'm going to say this only seven times, so you better listen good. I want you to make up dirt on my political opponent, understand? Lots of it. On this and on that. I’m going to put you in touch with people, not just any people. I’m going to put you in touch with the attorney general of the United States, my attorney general Bill Barr. He’s got the whole weight of the American law enforcement behind him. And I’m going to put you in touch with Rudy. You’re going to love him, trust me. You know what I’m asking and so I’m only going to say this a few more times, in a few more ways. And by the way, don’t call me again. I’ll call you when you’ve done what I asked.’

"This is, in sum and character, what the president was trying to communicate with the president of Ukraine. It would be funny if it wasn't such a graphic betrayal of the President's oath of office. But as it does represent a real betrayal, there's nothing the president says here that is in America's interest after all."

As you can see, Schiff explicitly says he's not quoting the President and he's providing his interpretation.

 

[UncleTrvlingJim]

I remember a time when those on the left were skeptical of the FBI and CIA, but suddenly Orange man bad have made them make a 180 and now trust everything from the FBI and CIA.

And I remember a time when those on the right took everything law enforcement at their word, but suddenly they do a 180 and trust someone they already believe to be morally bankrupt over the FBI and CIA.

Now for a reality check, I don't think many people on the left are saying to trust everything the FBI or CIA says, but instead figure which is more likely, a large conspiracy to illegally manufacture evidence against a politician that shares most of their policy positions, but not use it during the actual election --- OR, that someone pretty much everyone agrees is morally bankrupt actually played fast and loose with the facts, colored outside the lines and raised legitimate suspicions.

Seriously, which is more likely?

 

[UncleTrvlingJim]

Working in the DC area as a defense contractor (hardly unbiased I admit), I'd be shocked if there was a conspiracy or a real effort to fake evidence against anyone. I also would not be surprised if some people took short cuts or tried to cut corners, etc in an effort to make their case as strong as possible, but a case they actually believed in.

 

[MT15]

I think, from what we have heard, that is exactly what this IG report has found.

 

[UncleTrvlingJim]

I think, from what we have heard, that is exactly what this IG report has found.

IMO, it's the most likely scenario, b/c it happens all the time, and if nothing else comes out of this, I at least hope that a real effort is made to strengthen rules and procedures that the FBI must follow before investigating Americans.

 

[UncleTrvlingJim]

Here's an example of what I mean about Trump paraphrasing people all the time. If you think everything Schiff says should be discredited b/c he explicitly stated that he was paraphrasing a phone call, then you must be ready to impeach Trump immediately after this, right?




Note, Zelensky did not say anything like that in his interview, but that was Trump's interpretation.

 

[bdb13]

Huh? He LITERALLY SAID he was paraphrasing Trump. Here is the actual quote: "Shorn of its rambling character and in not so many words, this is the essence of what the President communicates. We've been very good to your country. Very good. No other country has done as much as we have. But you know what? I don't see much reciprocity here. "

THIS IS THE ESSENCE OF WHAT THE PRESIDENT COMMUNICATES....

This article pretty much gets hits on what I mean:

Still, Schiff's remarks did make it easy for viewers to get confused. He did not make clear which words he was taking directly from Trump's comments in the rough transcript, which words were his own analysis, and which words were meant to be the comedic "parody" he later said he was intending.
...
Schiff: "I hear what you want. I have a favor I want from you, though. And I'm going to say this only seven times, so you better listen good. I want you to make up dirt on my political opponent. Understand? Lots of it, on this and on that."

Analysis: Here's where Schiff veered quite a distance from what the rough transcript says.
Trump did not repeat a demand related to a political opponent "seven times," according to the rough transcript. He told Zelensky three times that he would get his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to call Zelensky. He twice mentioned Biden's effort to get a Ukrainian prosecutor fired, saying this is what he wanted Zelensky to look into. (The prosecutor was widely criticized for failing to prosecute corruption, and there is no evidence of Biden wrongdoing.

Fact check: Breaking down Adam Schiff's account of Trump's Ukraine call | CNN Politics

In a tweet on Friday morning, President Donald Trump called for the resignation of Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, as he has also done in the past.

www.cnn.com

It was a Trump kind of thing to do and not the setting to go for his paraphrase/parody that contained at least one reference that's inaccurate.

It was dumb. I didn't like it. It's also not that big of a deal in the current grand scheme of things and yeah, it's... interesting to me to hear big Trump supporters like my dad get worked up over this from Schiff.

 

[SaintForLife]

Here's an example of what I mean about Trump paraphrasing people all the time. If you think everything Schiff says should be discredited b/c he explicitly stated that he was paraphrasing a phone call, then you must be ready to impeach Trump immediately after this, right?




Note, Zelensky did not say anything like that in his interview, but that was Trump's interpretation.

Don't you think there is a big difference from Twitter and a congressional hearing? Why do you think Schiff "paraphrased" the call in a congressional hearing. It's obviously to deceive the public and to make the call sound worse than it was. Think about how many people only read a headline or the first paragraph in the article. Don't you think those same type of people believe that Schiff's fabricated Trump phone call was the truth?

Schiff has been proven to be a habitual liar, even by politician standards, throughout the whole Russia investigation. But he's the guy that many here and on the left point to as a credible person to believe. You don't hear reasonable people saying the same about Trump and all his lies.

 

[SaintForLife]

So now Trump supporters are going to pin every hope in Durham, and Barr has heavily involved himself because he wants to make sure he gets his desired result. It’s shady as hell and that’s obvious to everyone but the hapless Trump supporters who hang on every conspiracy theory cooked up by far right wingers and can’t wait to jump into these threads and say “the walls are closing in”. Bless their hearts. Everything they accused the liberals of doing about the Mueller report they are doing right now in spades. It’s pretty funny actually.

That's funny that you would mention conspiracy theories considering many on the left fell for one of the biggest conspiracy theories of all time. That Trump was a Russian agent being controlled by Putin. Some posters here see Russia being involved in almost any situation. It's the new age Mccarthyism. I wonder what Putin is up to right now. He's probably posting on the conservative message board now influencing us dumb right wingers.

 

[samiam5211]

Don't you think there is a big difference from Twitter and a congressional hearing?

In the early months of his presidency they stated that the presidents tweets are official whitehouse statements. So, no there isn’t any difference.

 

[MT15]

That's funny that you would mention conspiracy theories considering many on the left fell for one of the biggest conspiracy theories of all time. That Trump was a Russian agent being controlled by Putin. Some posters here see Russia being involved in almost any situation. It's the new age Mccarthyism. I wonder what Putin is up to right now. He's probably posting on the conservative message board now influencing us dumb right wingers.

And yet, instead of learning from the left’s mistakes, you are carrying out your own version right now, based on far, far less evidence than the left had about Trump and Russia.

 

[Nebaghead]

So it appears Durham hasn’t found any real evidence.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...9-11ea-9110-3b34ce1d92b1_story.html?tid=sm_tw

 

[FWtex]

So it appears Durham hasn’t found any real evidence.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...9-11ea-9110-3b34ce1d92b1_story.html?tid=sm_tw

I will bet the house that this article is a complete over exaggeration of what Durham said if it is not complete fake news. Durham is conducting a criminal investigation and disclosing anything to the IG would be a ridiculous presumption on the media. The flow of information works in the opposite direction and Durham has no benefit or obligation to disclose anything to the IG.

 

[Nebaghead]

I will bet the house that this article is a complete over exaggeration of what Durham said if it is not complete fake news. Durham is conducting a criminal investigation and disclosing anything to the IG would be a ridiculous presumption on the media. The flow of information works in the opposite direction and Durham has no benefit or obligation to disclose anything to the IG.

The last couple of weeks, I've heard a couple different people talking about Durham bringing down the democrats. I will bet the house that just a few low level people are accused of wrong doings and the process to investigate was justified.

 

[Dadsdream]

I will bet the house that just a few low level people are accused of wrong doings and the process to investigate was justified.

Strange. That's the EXACT same thing I said about the Russia Collusion Investigation. Seriously!