On Friday, the House Intelligence Committee released the memo detailing alleged abuses of high ranking officials in the FBI and the Department of Justice.
These officials, per the memo, used privately funded research by the Democrat Party and the Hillary Clinton campaign to obtain a secret court warrant to spy on the Trump campaign.
Constitutional lawyer Robert Barnes claimed that these high ranking officials knew the information provided to them in the “bogus affidavit” was sponsored by the Democrat Party and are now using the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller as a cover-up.
Barnes also notes that the close relationship between Mueller, former FBI Director James Comey, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein could point to coordination.
Check it out:
Legal commentary thread on #Memo: It is important to remember that FISA courts are not like other courts; there needs to be specific evidence of a particular national security threat to circumvent regular federal courts. It is a HIGHER standard because its jurisdiction is LIMITED
— Robert Barnes (@Barnes_Law) February 2, 2018
FISA courts have LIMITED jurisdiction because the scope of the invasive tools of the NSA is far more INVASIVE than regular wiretaps, due to the SECRET nature of such courts, and from the risk of forum shopping with the limited number and deferential nature of FISA Judges.
— Robert Barnes (@Barnes_Law) February 2, 2018
That is why Congress imposed SPECIAL RESTRICTIONS on access to FISA courts and use of FISA evidence. To access FISA courts, only the highest ranking FBI officials must vet and approve, a high ranking DOJ official must authorize, and they must re-vet and re-approve every 90 days.
— Robert Barnes (@Barnes_Law) February 2, 2018
To spy on Americans through a FISA court, the FBI must show the target is an “agent of a foreign power,” not merely in contact with a foreign power. The law makes it difficult to show someone is an “agent of a foreign power” to make sure it is not misused to spy on Americans.
— Robert Barnes (@Barnes_Law) February 2, 2018
The law does not allow the FBI to call an American an “agent of a foreign power” unless they can show the person “knowingly engages in clandestine intelligence gathering activities for or on behalf of a foreign power” AND the nature of their activity is criminalized.
— Robert Barnes (@Barnes_Law) February 2, 2018
Claiming someone is an “agent of a foreign power” is a difficult standard to ever show, and should never happen to a domestic political opponent in a domestic political campaign. That is why the FBI had to cook the books — put a bogus informant on their team & lie to the courts.
— Robert Barnes (@Barnes_Law) February 2, 2018
Trump’s winning caused a problem for Comey & Comey’s firing caused a problem for Rosenstein. Both Comey & Rosenstein signed off on the bogus affidavits to the FISA court to continue spying on Trump team members post-election and post-inauguration. They needed Mueller to cover up.
— Robert Barnes (@Barnes_Law) February 2, 2018
Key fact about Mueller: he is very close friends with Comey, and was the mentor and close friend of Rosenstein. Mueller is also expert at covering up for lawless law enforcement: see his role with Whitey Bulger, BCCI, HSBC, Waco, Noriega, IRS/Tea Party & Fast & Furious.
— Robert Barnes (@Barnes_Law) February 2, 2018
FBI turned over their NSA spying capacity to a private lobbying company in order to promote a smear campaign against a domestic political opponent. Fearing being caught, they appointed a special counsel (Mueller) to cover for them by accusing the man (Trump) who might expose them
— Robert Barnes (@Barnes_Law) February 2, 2018
Last addendum: FISA court was created in 1978 as a post-Watergate reform to PREVENT exactly what happened here.
— Robert Barnes (@Barnes_Law) February 3, 2018
In a response to a question about how this situation deals with Nixon’s Watergate scandal, here’s how Barnes replied:
Imagine if Nixon deputized the “plumbers,” put them in charge of national security investigations at the FBI & DOJ, then gave them the NSA to spy on Nixon’s opponents using the most invasive spying means in history. #ObamaGate makes Watergate look like amateur hour and childplay.
— Robert Barnes (@Barnes_Law) February 3, 2018
Barnes also tweeted that the “FISA memo could lead to perjury convictions of Comey & Co.”
Why the FISA memo could lead to perjury convictions of Comey & Co. https://t.co/T2RMAdoyGI
— Robert Barnes (@Barnes_Law) February 3, 2018
Fox News’ Laura Ingraham similarly echoed the collusion claim between the FBI and the Justice Department, per Fox News Insider:
Ingraham said the memo reveals the “real” collusion that occurred during the 2016 election, and it wasn’t between the Trump campaign and Russia.
She explained that the FBI and Justice Department knew the dossier was unverified political opposition research, but they did not tell the FISA court when obtaining a warrant for surveillance on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, according to the memo.
Continued:
“The predicate for the entire Trump-Russia collusion canard, the prevailing evidence advanced to surveil Page, which would lead to the creation of the Mueller investigation and all the madness that followed, was built on the foundation of the fake Steele dossier, paid for by Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the DNC,” Ingraham said.
“There was collusion after all, you bet. The collusion was between the Comey FBI, the Obama Justice Department and the Hillary Clinton campaign.”
Watch below:
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