Judicial Watch Director of Investigations Chris Farrell appears on Lou Dobbs show to discuss President Trump’s Twitter response toward the FBI and Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe’s plan to retire.  Farrell outlines several things within this interview that CTH has been tracking on background.

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First, there is a possibility the person Farrell describes at 02:50 might be John P. Carlin, the former head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division who left in October 2016, right after the controversial FISA warrant was issued.
John Carlin landed a job with law firm Morrison & Foerster leading their global risk and crisis management practice.
CNBC Video of John Carlin discussing President Trump and the Mueller investigation from mid-June 2017 is available HERE.
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UPDATED – In the past few days/weeks, thanks to some revealing information amid the various investigators of the DC swamp, we have been introduced to some previously unknown people.  Timeline HERE
Names like FBI Agent Peter Strzok; his mistress FBI Attorney Lisa Page; their ideological comrade Asst FBI Director Andrew McCabe; along with DOJ Deputy Bruce Ohr; and his wife, Fusion-GPS contract employee Nellie Ohr.  Fusion-GPS founder Glenn Simpson and his wife Mary Jacoby.  These are a few of the recent names that have hit the headlines as a result of ongoing investigations into the politicization of the FBI and DOJ.
But there’s one name conspicuously absent, FBI Director of Counterintelligence, Bill Priestap.

When you understand how central Bill Priestap is to the entire 2016/2017 ‘Russian Conspiracy Operation‘, the absence of his name, amid all others, creates a curiosity. I wrote a twitter thread about him recently because it seems rather unfathomable his name has not been a part of any of the recent story-lines.
Bill Priestap is the head of the FBI Counterintelligence operation. He was FBI Agent Peter Strozk’s direct boss. If anyone in congress really wanted to know if the FBI paid for the Christopher Steele Dossier, Bill Priestap is the guy who would know.
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Earlier today the Washington Post reported that Asst. FBI Director Andrew McCabe is planning on retiring on/around March 2018; timed to receive pension benefits.
President Trump notes the conspicuous timing of Andrew McCabe’s decision:

It is important to note that in prior congressional testimony by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, the Department of Justice OIG (Office of Inspector General) has committed to release over 1.2 million pages of documents on January 15th, 2018 to the Judiciary Committee.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein affirmed the investigative documents would be released to Chairman Goodlatte and House investigators.  This release is important to overlay against the backdrop of the McCabe decision to retire.
The Inspector General may, or may not, be complete with his investigative report on/around January 15th.  However, with the House Oversight (Gowdy) and Judiciary (Goodlatte) Committees both launching investigations they are not waiting for Inspector General Michael Horowitz to conclude his final report.
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It is important to remember the Washington Post is the unofficial public relations outfit of the U.S. intelligence community: FBI, CIA, etc.  When a leaked source, or insider release of information appears within the Washington Post, it is there by collaboration with the intelligence community.
That said, the story today about Assistant FBI Director Andrew McCabe planning to retire in March 2018, should be viewed as the WaPo attempting to create leverage for McCabe to retain his position up to his pension eligibility.  It is NOT coincidental that Inspector General Michael Horowitz is planning to release his Year-Long OIG report outlining his investigative details into the politicization of the FBI and DOJ.

This maneuver by “Andy” McCabe is similar to moves by his former boss James Comey. McCabe is trying to gain leverage over a pending IG report release and ongoing congressional investigations that recently have begun to run a parallel track. By publicizing his intent to leave the FBI ahead of all the investigative outcomes being public, McCabe is attempting to change his central disposition to the scandals.
The Washington Post report is shaped to deliver a specific narrative about Andrew McCabe and assist his positioning.  The absence of any WaPo mention of the FBI counterintelligence operation, “The Trump Project”, including the absence of any mention of the FBI involvement in the Steele Dossier (FISA Warrants, Wiretaps and Surveillance), and the myriad of explosive issues therein, is evidence of WaPo’s motive:

WASHINGTON – Andrew McCabe, the FBI’s deputy director who has been the target of Republican critics for more than a year, plans to retire in a few months when he becomes fully eligible for pension benefits, according to people familiar with the matter.

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Things are getting increasingly interesting and simultaneously obvious.  Thursday night the Washington Post reported that FBI Director Christopher Wray had relieved FBI Chief Legal Counsel, James Baker, of his responsibilities within the department.
Attorney James Baker accompanied FBI Asst. Director “Andy” McCabe to the Tuesday congressional hearing with the House Intelligence Community.  Curiously, in addition to other lines of inquiry, during the questioning McCabe was asked about whether James Baker was authorized to speak to the media about the Steele Dossier and the underlying ‘counterintelligence’ operation.  Asst. Director McCabe responded that Baker would not be authorized to take such action.
Following the HPSCI hearing, republican committee leadership announced their plan to subpoena James Baker for further questioning.  [Keep in mind Baker was there.]  Two days later, at the Thursday Judiciary and Oversight Committee hearings, James Baker did not accompany Andrew McCabe.   Hours later, James Baker is removed from his responsibilities as legal counsel within the FBI.  Cause: ‘unknown‘.

Back in July, 2017, it was reported that James Baker was under a criminal investigation for leaking classified information from within the FBI, although the details of the leak content were unknown.  Politico today reports that James Baker has been identified as the likely source that released information about the Fusion-GPS/Christopher Steele “Russian Conspiracy Dossier” to David Corn of Mother Jones in October of 2016:

(Via Politico) House Republicans are investigating contact between the FBI’s top lawyer and a Mother Jones reporter in the weeks before the left-leaning outlet broke the first news story about the existence of a disputed dossier alleging ties between President Donald Trump and the Kremlin, according to two congressional GOP sources who described documents linking the two men.
The GOP sources said the documents — made available recently to lawmakers by the Department of Justice — revealed that James Baker, the FBI’s general counsel, communicated with Mother Jones reporter David Corn in the weeks leading up to the November 2016 election. Corn was the first to report the existence of the dossier on Oct. 31 and that it was compiled by a former high-level western spy.

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Several new developments happening today center around the FBI’s use of the Christopher Steele Dossier in gaining FISA warrants to wiretap and monitor the 2016 campaign of Donald Trump; ie. “The Trump Project”. Doug Ross continues to update the ongoing conspiracy Timeline – SEE HERE. And that timeline just gained a big addition from a recently discovered visitor to the White House.
Before going to the White House visitor angle, it’s important to express appreciation for Tablet Mag who did a deep dive into the Fusion-GPS connection to the creation of the Steele Dossier, and more specifically how Fusion-GPS head Glenn Simpson and his wife Mary Jacoby were instrumental in getting the dossier assembled and into the hands of the White House prior to the DOJ and FBI applying for the FISA warrant – SEE HERE.

Tablet Mag outlines how Mary Jacoby even bragged about getting the “Russiagate” narrative started:

A Tablet investigation using public sources to trace the evolution of the now-famous dossier suggests that central elements of the Russiagate scandal emerged not from the British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s top-secret “sources” in the Russian government—which are unlikely to exist separate from Russian government control—but from a series of stories that Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson and his wife Mary Jacoby co-wrote for TheWall Street Journal well before Fusion GPS existed, and Donald Trump was simply another loud-mouthed Manhattan real estate millionaire.
Understanding the origins of the “Steele dossier” is especially important because of what it tells us about the nature and the workings of what its supporters would hopefully describe as an ongoing campaign to remove the elected president of the United States.

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Perhaps, just perhaps, being cautiously optimistic, we appear to be gaining momentum toward a massive dose of sunlight on the 2016 FBI/DOJ “Trump Project”.
In the interview below, Senator Rand Paul outlines his concerns with the intelligence use of FISA warrants and then drops a verbal MOAB right in the middle of the interview.
After he outlines the general FISA concern, Senator Rand Paul cuts straight to the heart of matter and righteously points to the increasing evidence that the DOJ and FBI were in collusion against a presidential candidate.  Must Watch:

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In plain language the “Trump Project” was a joint 2016 FBI & DOJ counterintelligence operation to conduct wiretaps and surveillance upon the presidential campaign of Donald Trump. Operatives within the FBI and DOJ who were politically aligned with the Hillary Clinton campaign, weaponized the DOJ and FBI to undermine her political opposition.

Those who have been walking the deep weeds have a pretty strong understanding of Deputy FBI Director Andrew “Andy” McCabe’s risk profile and his role in the 2016 “Trump Project”.  The Rosen report earlier today -based on investigators within the House Intelligence Committee- states McCabe has lost his memory around the timeline for the FBI’s FISA application and the Christoper Steele Russian Dossier as evidence therein.
If it can be shown the Steele Dossier was part of the underlying evidence within the FISA warrant (Sept./Oct. 2016), allowing wiretaps and surveillance of candidate Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, the foundation for a conspiracy becomes evident.  If McCabe was aware of the origin, financing and use of the Steele Dossier in obtaining a FISA warrant, his exposure to a criminal conspiracy increases exponentially.
Understanding how Deputy McCabe’s risk profile increases in direct proportion to his attachment to the Steele Dossier explains his memory lapses, obfuscations and testimony toward his knowledge therein.
That said, House Representative Jim Jordan is the key person keeping congressional inquiry on this important facet. However, amid those gaining an increased understanding of the scale and scope, we find Representative Peter King discussing today:
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FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe faced about eight hours of questioning behind closed doors during the House Intelligence Committee yesterday. Unlike prior HPSCI closed hearings remarkably there were no leaks; which would generally indicate the content was adverse to the interests of Democrat party investigators within the hearing.

From scant reporting it appears the questioning surrounded potential conflicts of interest and anti-Trump bias amid the entire cabal of FBI officials. Fox News James Rosen provides some overall information from congressional investigators.
According to Rosen’s reporting Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, bringing a full contingent of FBI/DOJ lawyers, has apparently lost much of his memory surrounding how the Steele Dossier was financed, constructed and later utilized by the FBI Counterintelligence unit (Bill Priestap, Peter Strzok) in their quest for 2016 surveillance and wiretaps against candidate Donald Trump within their FISA applications.

James Rosen – Congressional investigators tell Fox News that Tuesday’s seven-hour interrogation of Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe contained numerous conflicts with the testimony of previous witnesses, prompting the Republican majority staff of the House Intelligence Committee to decide to issue fresh subpoenas next week on Justice Department and FBI personnel.
While HPSCI staff would not confirm who will be summoned for testimony, all indications point to demoted DOJ official Bruce G. Ohr and FBI General Counsel James A. Baker, who accompanied McCabe, along with other lawyers, to Tuesday’s HPSCI session.

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Former Asst. FBI Director James Kallstrom appeared on Fox Business News to discuss the details behind the increasingly transparent 2016 and 2017 Joint FBI and DOJ Counterintelligence Operation to target the candidacy -and block the presidency- of Donald J Trump.
Toward the end of the interview Mr. Kallstrom shares his view, based on current FBI contacts, that FBI insiders (white hats) are on the cusp of removing the cloud of mystery behind all of the obvious politicized shenanigans. When asked about his knowledge of the current morale within the FBI:

…”but I think recent events, that I’m aware of, are going to improve that, because there’s going to be something actually something that’s going to happen; in my view.” … “Well, I think there’s a lot of patriots that have just had it up to here, with what’s going on. And they’re to step forward and tell people what the shenanigans have been; how they shut down the Clinton Foundation investigation; how other things, you know, were done that are so anti what the FBI and United States is all about”…

Watch:

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This would easily align with the years-long Office of Inspector General report by Michael Horowitz that is soon to be released.  The FBI ‘insiders’ would be the primary target audience for the questions from the Inspector General.  Similarly the IG would be the primary and statutory office where FBI white hats would go to become whistle-blowers.
As they say….  Stay frosty, but prepare the ‘tar and feathers’ just in case.
#ColdAnger
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