Former Chief Asst. U.S. Attorney Andrew McCarthy has an article written today pointing to the primary issue about former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn: “The Real Story is When Flynn Was Not Unmasked” – READ HERE.

McCarthy has reviewed the documents; looked at the research; reviewed what the IG said was not happening; and came to the same conclusion as CTH.  The Obama surveillance of Flynn did not include ‘unmasking’ because the collection was not incidental.

McCarthy points the media’s incurious compass needle toward the CIA, but don’t expect any DC media to follow it.  The truth is adverse to MSM interests.  There’s only one way for the Flynn-Kislyak call and content to be tracked, captured, discussed and shared by the Obama administration without the unmasking between 12/29/16 and 01/04/17.  A reverse targeted intercept on Flynn through Kislyak.  [CIA/NSA]  Read McCarthy Column Here

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The previous administration, and their resistance defenders in the current administration embedded within the DOJ and FBI, are desperate to avoid any admission that incoming NSA Michael Flynn was under surveillance.  As soon as they can no longer hide the surveillance story, the shift to question the predicate of the Mueller investigation starts.

President Obama’ entire team (staff, officials, politicians); along with Republican allies like Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell et al; along with DOJ, FBI and IC preservationists like Bill Barr, Chris Wray et al; along with the entire DC media apparatus do not want to admit the Trump administration was under surveillance by the Obama administration. However, they can’t hide it because it happened.

On the Flynn 302 (the research evidence and documents are clear):

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Against the unmasking discussion currently underway, it is worthwhile contrasting the distinctions between: (1) the NSA unmasking of incidental collection; and (2) the FBI unmasking as a result of targeted investigations.

There is a big difference between the two types; and Mike Flynn was a subject of both.

Appearing before a congressional committee on March 20, 2017, FBI Director James Comey outlined the FBI parameters for unmasking U.S. persons who are captured as part of domestic FBI surveillance.

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The distinction between the two unmasking aspects is becoming increasingly important. The FBI is currently claiming the Flynn-Kislyak call was due to “incidental collection”; this is a lie. The New York Times is pushing that lie today:

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There has been a shift; it’s subtle, it’s nuanced, but it’s there.  Against the revelations that Ric Grenell has declassified multiple component parts of weaponized intelligence used against candidate, President-elect and President Trump; and with the unmasking data as only one part of that larger component grouping; DOJ Spokesperson Kerri Kupec says: “what happened to candidate Trump was one of the greatest political injustices in history.”

While AG Bill Barr doesn’t need to sign-off on the specific wording by the DOJ spox, the overarching public statement would never be articulated without institutional approval.  The AG cannot make public comments that are too strong, but authorizing the spokesperson to articulate the position is one way to accomplish the same.  WATCH:

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Insufferably Martha MacCallum ‘pretends not to know’ the distinction in intelligence equity; she asks the same question repeatedly.  The answer is clear.  DNI Ric Grenell has presented one component group of intelligence data, the identity of the unmaskers and who they unmasked, to the DOJ.  The DNI retains ownership and can release.

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During testimony in June 2017 Admiral Mike Rogers helps to explain what documents would be available to identify who was making unmasking requests. WATCH:

Note: “you must make that request in writing”; which explains the documents Ric Grenell has declassified and the probability that AG Bill Barr will soon release.

ABC News first reported the news but initially said in the title that Grenell was in the process of trying to declassify the list of Obama officials.

A source with knowledge of the matter told The Daily Wire that the list has already been declassified and now it’s on Attorney General William Barr to release the list. (LINK)

FULL BACKGROUND  – However, a strong note of caution.  Sometimes the specificity of the intelligence operation itself means the U.S. target will already be named in the originating intelligence document and would not require an unmasking request.

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An interesting dynamic unfolds tomorrow as the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) will be holding the confirmation hearing for President Trump’s nominee, John Ratcliffe.  As a result of earlier political moves the SSCI is between a rock and a hard place.

The SSCI is the drain-plug in the swamp. They use their corrupt oversight power and confirmation authority to control the intelligence apparatus (swamp guards) and ensure that no executive branch officer can disrupt or disclose their corrupt Senate schemes.

President Trump nominated Representative John Ratcliffe, an intelligence community reformer, for the position of Director of National Intelligence (DNI).  The SSCI previously rejected Ratcliffe because his existence is adverse to their interests.  However, in response Trump installed honey badger Richard “Ric” Grenell as the acting DNI.

The SSCI hates Grennel with the ferocity of a thousand supernovas because Grenell doesn’t give a f**k about their swamp life. Better yet, Grenell smacks them around publicly on Twitter whenever the SSCI dispatch the orcs from the deep swamp intelligence apparatus.  Every time orcs poke their heads out of the DC labyrinth, Grenell smacks them with a billion mega-watt sunlight hammer. They shriek and retreat to the dungeon.

The good news for the SSCI is that Grenell can only stay in the ‘acting’ role until September of this year.  However, the bad news is if the SSCI rejects John Ratcliffe then Ric Grenell gets another year to antagonize the corrupt senators, swing the sunlight hammer & expose the darkest secrets of their beloved swamp.  {{Grumble – Grumble}}

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…The recent IG report outlining Atkinson’s gross incompetence in the FISA scandal, vis-a-vis the 42 DOJ-NSD Accuracy Reviews, is the atomic shield against the political narrative….

President Trump has sent a letter to congress giving them 30-days advance notice and informing them of the removal of Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson:

The necessary, albeit politically controversial, move comes about two months after President Trump assigned Ric Grenell to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence; Grenell is ultimately the acting boss of the overall intelligence community. It is likely DNI Grenell provided some key insight into the sketchy background activity in/around Atkinson’s office, and the overall intelligence apparatus writ large.

Additionally, former congressman Mark Meadows is now President Trump’s Chief-of-Staff; and Meadows has been a critic of those within the intelligence apparatus who attempted a soft-coup twice: Once by special counsel (Russia investigation) Robert Mueller; and once by impeachment (Ukraine investigation) using CIA operative Eric Ciaramella and NSC operative Alexander Vindman.

Also, in the recent FISA review by the OIG the DOJ inspector general specifically identified issues with the “accuracy reviews” conducted by DOJ-NSD chief legal counsel.  Who was that former DOJ-NSD chief legal counsel?  That would be current ICIG Michael Atkinson…

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The House Rules Committee previously released the text of proposed changes to FISA (full pdf).  The “deal” is intended to reauthorize the FISA “business records provision”, the “roving wiretap” provision, the “lone wolf” provision, and the more controversial bulk metadata provisions [Call Detail Records (CDR)], all parts of the Patriot Act.  However, key Senators and President Trump say not enough being done to change it.
The current FISA authorities expire on March 15th; it looks like they will lapse as Mitch McConnell tries to regroup for a possible vote next week.  McConnell was forced to delay consideration past the expiration date after Senators Mike Lee (R), Rand Paul (R) and  Ron Wyden  (D) said they would object.

WASHINGTON DC – President Trump told Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) on Thursday that he does not support a House-passed surveillance bill— raising fresh questions about the fate of the legislation.
A spokesman for Lee confirmed the conversation and that the president told the Utah Republican that he does not support the House legislation. Officials speaking for the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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An assembly of government reports and public records now indicates a political exploitation of the NSA database, for weaponized intelligence surveillance of politicians, began mid 2012.  After an initial attempt to exploit IRS records, the legal tool used to access the NSA database was the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA.
With research files on the ’15, ’16 and ’17 political surveillance program; including information from the Mueller report and information from the IG Horowitz report; in combination with the Obama-era DOJ “secret research project” (their words, not mine); we are able to overlay the Obama-era domestic IC operations & gain a full understanding of how political surveillance was conducted over a period of four to six years.

The FISA-702 database extraction process, and utilization of the protections within the smaller intelligence community, became the primary process only after a previous DOJ effort ran into trouble. The established record from the 99-page FISC opinion rendered by Presiding Judge Rosemary Collyer on April 26, 2017, helps explain the details.
I would strongly urge everyone to read the FISC report (full pdf below) because Judge Collyer outlines how the DOJ, which includes the FBI, had an “institutional lack of candor” in responses to the FISA court.  Very specifically, the court outlined how the Obama administration was continually lying to the court about both their activity, and the rate of fourth amendment violations for illegal searches and seizures of U.S. persons’ private information. These violations continued for multiple years throughout Obama’s terms.
Unfortunately, due to intelligence terminology Judge Collyer’s brief and ruling is not an easy read for anyone unfamiliar with the FISA processes outlined. The complexity also helps the media avoid discussing, and as a result most Americans have no idea the scale and scope of the issues. So we’ll try to break down the language.
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In November of 2019 buried deep in the congressional budget Continuing Resolution (CR) was a short-term extension to reauthorize the FISA “business records provision”, the “roving wiretap” provision, the “lone wolf” provision, and the more controversial bulk metadata provisions [Call Detail Records (CDR)], all parts of the Patriot Act.  As a result of the FISA CR inclusion the terminal deadline was pushed to March 15, 2020.

~ Something has to happen this week

The Senate is scheduled to recess March 13, 2020.  Additionally, the DOJ/FBI response to the FISA court order (due February 5th) has still not been made public.  If congress is going to reauthorize the controversial FISA provisions, they now have only *FIVE* days; and the good news today is Doug Collins confirming the House does not have enough votes to support a “clean reauthorization.” Hopefully, that means FISA is going to change.

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According to Senator Rand Paul, President Trump is committed to seeing that FISA is not reauthorized without “significant” reform. Senator Paul has proposed to significantly change the FISA process by forcing the DOJ, FBI and Intelligence Community to apply for search and surveillance warrants to Title-3 courts in order to access any NSA database containing private information of American citizens.
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This is a fantastic and well-timed video that cuts to the heart of the matter.  John Spiropoulos has produced an exceptional video outlining the structural issues within the FISA process.  This video succinctly outlines the modern history of FISA abuse issues and highlights why we must use this critical moment to reform the FISA process.  WATCH:

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Share this video with those who need a fast encapsulation of the FISA issues at hand.
According to Senator Rand Paul, President Trump is committed to seeing that FISA is not reauthorized without “significant” reform.  Senator Paul has proposed to significantly change the FISA process by forcing the DOJ, FBI and Intelligence Community to apply for search and surveillance warrants to Title-3 courts in order to access any NSA database containing private information of American citizens.
Current FISA authority expires on March 15th.  The Senate is scheduled to go back into recess March 13, 2020.  Additionally, the DOJ/FBI response to the FISA court order (due February 5th) has still not been made public.  If congress is going to reauthorize the controversial FISA provisions, they now have nine days.
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