To provide some context for this letter, even beyond what is stated by Senators Grassley and Johnson, it is worthwhile remembering the 300 pages of text messages between FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and his DOJ lawyer Lisa Page were originally revealed in March of 2019.   Catherine Herridge reported on two of those pages.

Today Grassley and Johnson send a letter [pdf here] asking FBI Director Chris Wray to stop stonewalling congressional oversight and provide the text messages.  Within the letter the senators outline a few examples highlighting how McCabe and Page were coordinating FBI leaks to their media allies during a key and critical time-frame:

(source pdf – also embed below)

Those 2016 text messages were during the time when an internal argument was taking place about the need for McCabe to recuse himself from the reopening of the Clinton email investigation because he tried to bury the Weiner laptop emails for 28-days in October.

Here’s the letter from Grassley and Johnson:

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Earlier this morning Senator Chuck Grassley (Senate Finance Committee Chairman), appeared with Maria Bartiromo to discuss conflicts for documents between the legislative oversight committees, and ongoing stonewalling efforts by current FBI Director Christopher Wray and current CIA Director Gina Haspel.

Senator Grassley and Senator Johnson are seeking the communication from former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and officials within the DOJ and FBI surrounding the investigative targeting of candidate Trump and President Trump.  [LINK] Additionally, both Grassley and Johnson are seeking internal documents connected to former CIA Director John Brennan and current CIA Director Gina Haspel.

During the interview Grassley states the non-compliance with oversight may be due to former and current officials participating in a conspiracy to target the office of the president:

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The proverbial rabbit hole deepens…

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CBS News Catherine Herridge has obtained a 94-page spread sheet (pdf here) showing dates of media reports, dates of Steele reports on the same material, and the FBI effort to verify or validate the circular process.   In essence this is evidence of the process we initially shared almost three years ago; only now we know the names.

Former SSCI staffer Dan Jones, former Wall Street Journal reporter Glenn Simpson, and Simpson’s crew at Fusion-GPS, pitched and planted phony Trump-Russia evidence with the media and simultaneously gave those fake points to Chris Steele to supplement the dossier.  Using the same method of Ezra Klein’s “JournOList” replication, Dan Jones and Fusion-GPS paid the journalists to run the stories.

…”media reports on FBI reports of media reports”…

Steele then used the same information from Jones and Fusion in his Dossier and cited the planted media reports; as evidence to substantiate.  The Dossier is then provided to the FBI.  The journalists then provide *indulgences* to the FBI as part of the collaboration.

The FBI, specifically Lisa Page, Peter Strzok and public information office Mike Kortan, then leak the outcomes of the FBI Dossier investigative processes to the same media that have reported on the originating material.   It is all a big circle of planting and laundering the same originating false material; aka a “wrap up smear.”

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Appearing on Fox Business with Maria Bartiromo, Michael Flynn’s defense counsel Sidney Powell cuts through the parseltongue to note the Obama administration was not tricked into allowing a smear campaign against Donald Trump and Michael Flynn; the Obama administration was participating in the creation and pushing of the smear campaign.

• July 26, 2016 – ¹Brennan informed by campaign operative that Hillary Clinton, political allies and agents were using and pushing Trump-Russia smear.
• July 28, 2016 – ²Brennan briefs President Obama about smear campaign in White House.
• July 31, 2016 – FBI Agent Peter Strzok opens Trump investigation (Crossfire Hurricane) based on Trump-Russia collusion smear.
• FBI begins using Steele-Dossier created by Fusion-GPS and Clinton Campaign as primary justification for ongoing Trump investigation.

Everyone knew exactly what they were doing. No-one was tricked into participating.

Remember, the four-year democrat narrative (pushed relentlessly by media) was how the professional intelligence community worked diligently to verify the Trump-Russia intelligence, and that every aspect briefed to President Obama went through the highest levels of “by-the-book” verification and authentication. Now those same democrats and media voices are claiming the Brennan briefing material was “Russian disinformation.”

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I do not blame a single voter for tuning out this type of political messaging… At this point the people defined as “patriots” sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher echoing in a forest.  There is a simple issue that everyone, including Ric Grenell, avoid because they worry  about their own financial interests and ongoing image.

That issue is an admission that *CURRENT* cabinet members, *CURRENT* officials, *Current* republicans in congress, and *CURRENT* inspectors’ general, are participants in the attempted overthrow of the United States office of the presidency.

Unless and until that reality is admitted, all these words are barking at trees.

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The office of the president is trapped on the roof.  The firefighters set the blaze.  The firefighters are the arsonists.  The municipal fire hydrants are filled with gasoline.

There are no “honorable rank-and-file” in/around Washington DC. There are no DC interests, including conservatives within the DC media apparatus, willing to participate in the disassembly of the institutional DC system of politics.  That system is their livelihood.

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While it might seem frustrating to see republicans and conservatives demanding that President Trump stop talking about the greatest act of sedition and usurpation, within our Constitutional Republic in the history of our nation, this espousal by Andrew McCarthy is factually a very wide-spread opinion within the DC beltway:

Take the intents in their best possible light, and the basic premise is that no-one cares about the abuses of power that took place. National Review article by Rich Lowry is here.

I have shared by own thoughts on this matter several times; and despite knowing this issue may not/will not drive the 2020 election; in my own contemplation I keep coming back to this central question: How can this be ignored?…

… How does the office of a U.S. president; and more importantly the republic itself; survive a coordinated coup effort involving all three branches of government; while simultaneously those in charge of exposing the corruption fear the scale is too damaging for them to reveal?

What are your thoughts?

Fred Fleitz is the President and CEO, Center for Security Policy; a former NSC Chief of Staff, CIA analyst and House Intel Com staff member. Tonight he appeared with Lou Dobbs to discuss the ongoing issues with the intelligence apparatus and the requests by President Trump to release all documents without redaction.

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Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe released the following statement today:

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Missouri U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen has provided additional information to the Flynn defense team highlighting a January 25th meeting between officials in the DOJ-NSD and FBI the day after Michael Flynn (code-named Razor) was interviewed in the White House.

The DOJ officials attending the meeting included: Mary McCord (NSD head), George Toscas (NSD principal deputy), Stu Evans, Tashina Guahar, and “Matt A” (possibly Matthew Axelrod (lawyer for the Deputy Attorney General).  Additionally, from the FBI there was: James Baker (chief legal counsel), Bill Priestap (CoIntel head) and a redacted name.  It is clear from the meeting notes the group was trying to find something to target Michael Flynn and brainstorming on what approach to take.

As noted they discussed the “Logan Act” yet found there was no reasonable way to use it and Flynn’s contact with Russian Ambassador Kislyak, during the transition, was normal.

FBI Legal Counsel James Baker asked how could you prosecute Flynn for a 1001 violation (lying to FBI officials) when you couldn’t prosecute any underlying crime because the contact with Kislyak was normal.

The “truth of something being falsely stated to the public” surrounds the January 15, 2017, CBS interview with Vice-President Mike Pence who conflated a question about contact with Russians during the election; with Flynn’s contact with Kislyak in the transition period.

John Dickerson: Just to button up one question, did any advisor or anybody in the Trump campaign have any contact with the Russians who were trying to meddle in the election?

MIKE PENCE: Of course not. And I think to suggest that is to give credence to some of these bizarre rumors that have swirled around the candidacy. (link)

The DOJ/FBI team was going to hang their hat on this conflation as a conflict between Pence and Flynn.   That’s the beginning of the Russian “blackmail” narrative.

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Counsel to General Michael Flynn, Sidney Powell, comments on new unredacted information regarding the presidential transition scandal known commonly as ‘Russiagate,’ and the roles that President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton may have played in the events in question. The interview is with Newsmax TV’s John Bachman

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An interesting letter from the DOJ provided to the Flynn defense team portends a release of handwritten notes, from the day after the January 24, 2017, Flynn interview, likely authored by Kevin Clinesmith as the FBI discussed next steps.

If the notes are from Kevin Clinesmith, he is the former FBI lawyer from the office of general counsel who was charged by the DOJ for manipulating evidence, and potentially cooperating as part of his plea agreement. [Background] Remember, the DOJ only presented a Criminal Information status against Clinesmith with no grand jury, which suggests counsel for defendant approached DOJ to structure an agreement.  The plea agreement likely also included an agreement for method of public release. [LINK HERE]

During an interview last night, Sidney Powell said more truth-bombs are likely forthcoming.  If Clinesmith is “cooperating”; or if Clinesmith is merely informing the DOJ of activity that took place during the Flynn targeting, which is helping them locate evidence of the background events; this could be very helpful to the defense team.  We await specifics…

UPDATE: Clinesmith (?)  notes released (see below)

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