Newly declassified footnotes from Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s December FBI report reveals that senior Obama officials, including members of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane team knew the dossier compiled by a former British spy during the 2016 election was Russian disinformation to target President Donald Trump.
Further, the partially declassified footnotes reveal that those senior intelligence officials were aware of the disinformation when they included the dossier in the Obama administration’s Intelligence Communities Assessment (ICA).
As important, the footnotes reveal that there had been a request to validate information collected by British spy Christopher Steele as far back as 2015, and that there was concern among members of the FBI and intelligence community about his reliability. Those concerns were brushed aside by members of the Crossfire Hurricane team in their pursuit against the Trump campaign officials, according to sources who spoke to this reporter and the footnotes.
The explosive footnotes were partially declassified and made public Wednesday, after a lengthy review by the Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell’s office. Grenell sent the letter Wednesday releasing the documents to Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa and Sen. Ron Johnson, R- Wisconsin, both who requested the declassification.
“Having reviewed the matter, and having consulted the heads of the relevant Intelligence Community elements, I have declassified the enclosed footnotes.” Grenell consulted with DOJ Attorney General William Barr on the declassification of the documents.
Grassley and Johnson released a statement late Wednesday stating “as we can see from these now-declassified footnotes in the IG’s report, Russian intelligence was aware of the dossier before the FBI even began its investigation and the FBI had reports in hand that their central piece of evidence was most likely tainted with Russian disinformation.”
“Thanks to Attorney General Barr’s and Acting Director Grenell’s declassification of the footnotes, we know the FBI’s justification to target an American Citizen was riddled with significant flaws,” the Senator stated. “Inspector General Michael Horowitz and his team did what neither the FBI nor Special Counsel Mueller cared to do: examine and investigate corruption at the FBI, the sources of the Steele dossier, how it was disseminated, and reporting that it contained Russian disinformation.”
The Footnotes
A U.S. Official familiar with the investigation into the FBI told this reporter that the footnotes “clearly show that the FBI team was or should have had been aware that the Russian Intelligence Services was trying to influence Steele’s reporting in the summer of 2016, and that there were some preferences for Hillary; and that this RIS [Russian Intelligence Services] sourced information being fed to Steele was designed to hurt Trump.”
The official noted these new revelations also “undermines the ICA on Russian Interference and the intent to help Trump. It undermines the FISA warrants and there should not have been a Mueller investigation.”
Russian’s Appeared To Have Preferred Clinton
The footnotes also reveal a startling fact that go against Brennan’s assessment that Russia was vying for Trump, when in fact, the Russians appeared to be hopeful of a Clinton presidency.
“The FBI received information in June, 2017 which revealed that, among other things, there were personal and business ties between the sub-source and Steele’s Primary Sub-source, contacts between the sub-source and an individual in the Russian Presidential Administration in June/July 2016 [redacted] and the sub source voicing strong support for candidate Clinton in the 2016 U.S. election. The Supervisory Intel Analyst told us that the FBI did not have a Section 702 vicarage on any other Steele sub-source.”
Steele’s Lies
The complete four pages of the partially redacted footnotes paint a clear picture of the alleged malfeasance committed by former FBI Director James Comey, former DNI James Clapper and former CIA Director John Brennan, who were all aware of the concerns regarding the information supplied by former British spy Christopher Steele in the dossier. Steele, who was hired by the private embattled research firm Fusion GPS, was paid for his work through the Hillary Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee. The FBI also paid for Steele’s work before ending its confidential source relationship with him but then used Obama DOJ Official Bruce Ohr as a go between to continue obtaining information from the former spy.
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its interesting
Inidividuals applying for government jobs are given FBI clearance investigations on their own merits. Sketchy family members however can hold up a clearance depending on how close of contact they have.
At high administration levels sometimes people are given clearance WITHOUT an FBI investigation, That's a VERY bad practice.
Most of those who fail or have shakey background investigations... but are wanted in the Administration anyway... are given WAIVERS that supposedly carry exclusions from various levels of classified briefings... Obama's Admin had lots of waivers, way too many.
Now we are seeing the result of the 8 years of Obama presidential failure to the constitution of America and that tells me what's going on today is nothing but Demonic forces to welcome the end time prophecies the Bible declare it a long time ago.
I keep remembering one statement made by Comey when he was questioned by Trey Gowdy. "You would not believe what's been going on."
right there Trey should take him to court and be on trial.
Only the Attorney General, A US Attorney or an Assistant US Attorney may move to have a Grand Jury indict criminals for Trial... our AG is not doing that and apparently has become a major part of the problem... in fact, the entire system of US Attorney's and Grand Jury's has been totally corrupted.
you can say that again we are not following the constitution period.
I meant to say... by fiat regulation the AG and US Attorneys are the only ones authorized to submit complaints to a Federal Grand Jury for indictment... they say ... incorrectly that the president can not be directly involved. However, that is not what the Constitution states.
"The Constitution does not leave to speculation who is to administer the laws enacted by Congress; the president, it says, "shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed," Art. II, §3, personally and through officers whom he appoints (save for such inferior officers as Congress may authorize to be appointed by the "Courts of Law" or by "the Heads of Departments" with other presidential appointees), Art. II, §2." In Mississippi v. Johnson, 71 U.S. 475 (1867), the Supreme Court ruled that the judiciary may not restrain the president in the execution of the laws. In that case, the Court found that "[t]he Congress is the legislative department of the government; the president is the executive department. Neither can be restrained in its action by the judicial department; though the acts of both, when performed, are, in proper cases, subject to its cognizance." Thus, the courts cannot bar the passage of a law by Congress, though it may later strike down such a law as unconstitutional. A similar legal construction applies to the executive branch... the courts cannot keep the President from taking action directly to enforce the law... Where others will not... The AG may not restrict the President from taking direct action to enforce the law... including odering the FBI to investigate suspect criminal conduct AND TAKING IT TO A GRAND JURY DIRECTLY if the President so orders. The DOJ may not stop the President from initiating actions to investigate or indict criminal conduct directly... without consulting or assistance from the DOJ if he so deems it necessary to faithfully discharge his duty to enforce the law.
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