AG Barr Battles Intel Community And FBI. Illegal Surveillance Had Been Going On For Years. By Sara Carter - May 28, 2019
President Donald Trump’s orders to declassify secret documents pertaining to the FBI’s investigation into his campaign in 2016, came after weeks of battles between Attorney General William Barr and senior officials within the bureau, CIA and other agencies, sources with knowledge told SaraACarter.com.
Despite the president’s order giving Barr authority over the declassification of the documents related to the bureau’s investigation into the Trump campaign and Russia, it won’t be met without a fight. And there’s a reason why.
This isn’t just about Trump. It’s about nearly a decade of abuse inside the intelligence community and bureau regarding foreign-intelligence-collection authority. Why? Because it was carried out to monitor communications of Americans inside the United States and the procedures meant to protect Americans either swept up in those calls or targeted were not followed. The Fourth Amendment was under attack and abused for political purposes, say several retired intelligence sources.
“If the full extent of the abuse is made public the powers granted these agencies powers could be scaled back and those who allegedly abused their power could face prosecution,” one former senior intelligence official told SaraACarter.com.
“We are heading toward a gigantic, gigantic fight,” Joe DiGenova
It was the same argument made by Joe DiGenova, former U.S. Attorney and outspoken supporter of Trump, during Memorial Day weekend.
“This is full scale war between the Attorney General of the United States and believe it or not, another FBI director who thinks he’s James Comey,” Joe DiGenova, former U.S. Attorney said Monday on WMAL radio’s Mornings on the Mall radio show.
“We are heading toward a gigantic, gigantic fight,” he added. “The intelligence community, which includes the FBI, is in full resistance to disclosing what they did during the presidential campaign.”
DiGenova told this reporter Tuesday that the FISC’s opinion in 2017 reveals that improper surveillance has been happening since 2012.
“The FISC has already found that there’s been spying going on starting in 2012, not in 2016,” he said, adding that senior officials within the FBI and CIA “fear” that a full scale disclosure of the violations will then limit their expansive powers.
DiGenova was referring to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Judge Rosemary Collyer April 26, 2017 memorandum and opinion. In her opinion she chided the abuses in surveillance in the intelligence community. On example, was Collyer’s referral as to how the Director of National Intelligence (NCTC) in 2012 “was granted access to raw information from terrorism cases obtained under Titles I and III and Sections 704 and 705(b) of the Act, subject to expanded minimization procedures.”
It’s reading between the lines of Collyer’s opinion, understanding what’s been redacted and what Collyer meant by the reprimand, he said.
“How much surveillance came directly from the NSA? How much of it was misused under the terrorism statute,” Former Senior Intelligence Official.
It is the main reason Barr appointed U.S. Attorney in Connecticut John Durham to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter. Durham is extremely familiar with the CIA and has an extensive career investigating the intelligence community. As for U.S. Attorney John Huber, he is no longer working on the FBI’s probe into the Trump campaign. He will be focused on other matters.
“How much surveillance came directly from the NSA? How much of it was misused under the terrorism statute,” said another former senior intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Because under 215 and 702 you can do things you can’t do under a normal criminal investigation. These are the areas Barr needs to be looking at and this is exactly what they need to be questioning about.”
As stated in a write up at the Brennan Center For Justice “Section 215 of the Patriot Act, allows the government to obtain a secret court order requiring third parties, such as telephone companies, to hand over any records or other “tangible thing” if deemed “relevant” with regard to terrorism, counterespionage, or foreign intelligence investigation.”
Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act allows the government to acquire foreign intelligence by targeting non-U.S. persons “reasonably believed” to be outside U.S. borders, the center states. However, persons inside the United States can and will be swept up in the collection and this is where “minimization procedures” to hide the persons name are used.
This is not what happened.
NSA’s “Lack of Candor”
Over two and half years ago, John Solomon and I investigated this very issue. We revealed in multiple stories the extensive abuse that happened under the Obama Administration with regard to surveillance issues by the intelligence community and law enforcement. In fact, it was Collyer’s reprimand that exposed what was happening in the Obama Administration with regard to unwarranted surveillance activities.
What we didn’t realize was how extensive the abuse had become or how extensive it was abused during the FBI’s probe into the Trump campaign.
It was a strange twist of events at the end of the Obama administration. In October, 2016, the administration self reported to the courts that it had failed to adhere to the rules. This is what Collyer was referring to in her 2017 memo. After the NSA reported what had happened, the court accused the NSA of “an institutional lack of candor.”
The court also reiterated that it was “a very serious Fourth Amendment issue.”
“We are heading toward a gigantic, gigantic fight,” he added. “The intelligence community, which includes the FBI, is in full resistance to disclosing what they did during the presidential campaign.”
DiGenova told this reporter Tuesday that the FISC’s opinion in 2017 reveals that improper surveillance has been happening since 2012."
WOW!!! The tip of the iceberg hey? I'm surprised Arkanicide has not been initiated as this "gigantic, gigantic fight" will likely get that brutal.
Hillary: “If that f - - - ing bastard wins, we all hang from nooses!”
“Sometimes I was just writing a lot for the audience,” Benny says. “I knew well what they wanted to read. Even if I didn’t believe it.” Benny Johnson ["BuzzFeed Benny"]
"It’s a movement comprised of Americans from all races, religions, backgrounds and beliefs, who want and expect our government to serve the people, and serve the people it will." Donald Trump's Victory Speech 11/9/16
INSIDE EVERY LIBERAL IS A TOTALITARIAN SCREAMING TO GET OUT -- Frontpage mag