Puppet MastersS


Document

NYT names FBI 'resistance' lawyer now under criminal investigation for fabricating FISA documents

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Fri, 22 Nov 2019 19:00 UTC
HorowitzClinesmith
© teaparty.org/Zerohedge.comDOJ IG Michael Horowitz • Lawyer Kevin Clinesmith
The New York Times has revealed that the "low-level lawyer" under criminal investigation for allegedly doctoring materials used to obtain renewals of the Carter Page surveillance warrant is Kevin Clinesmith - who worked on both the Hillary Clinton email investigation and the Russia probe, was part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team, and interviewed Trump campaign advisor George Papadopoulos.

Clinesmith, a 37-year-old graduate of Georgetown Law, "took an email from an official at another federal agency that contained several factual assertions, then added material to the bottom that looked like another assertion from the email's author, when it was instead his own understanding," according to the report. From the New York Times:
Mr. Clinesmith included this altered email in a package that he compiled for another F.B.I. official to read in preparation for signing an affidavit that would be submitted to the court attesting to the facts and analysis in the wiretap application.

The details of the email are apparently classified and may not be made public even when the report is unveiled.
In other words, we won't get to see whatever the FBI used to trick the FISA court into granting Page's renewals.

Comment: See also: Horowitz: FBI lawyer falsified FISA doc; WaPo stealth-deletes Strzok connection



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Attention

Joe Biden threatens Lindsey Graham: He will 'regret' investigating me 'his whole life'

Joshua Kaplan
Breitbart
Fri, 22 Nov 2019 00:00 UTC
Biden
© Sean Rayford/Getty ImagesPresidential candidate and Former VP Joe Biden
Former Vice President Joe Biden threatened Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) for launching an investigation into his activities with Ukraine while in the Obama White House, stating the Republican will "regret" the move his "whole life."

On Thursday, Graham sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requesting documents to aid in determining whether Biden pushed for the firing of Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin to squash a sweeping probe into Burisma Holdings, the Ukrainian energy giant where his son, Hunter Biden, served as a board member. The younger Biden was compensated generously, making up to $83,000 a month for several years while on the Burisma's board.

"Lindsey is about to go down in a way that I think he's going to regret his whole life," Biden told CNN host Don Lemon in a Friday interview in South Carolina. "I say Lindsey, I just — I'm just embarrassed by what you're doing, for you. I mean, my Lord. They have him under their thumb right now. They know he knows that if he comes out against Trump, he's got a real tough road for reelection, number one," the former vice president continued about the South Carolina senator.

Comment: See also:

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Stop

William Taylor is blocking Ukrainians' visas to come testify in Schiff's fraudulent investigation says Giuliani

Nate Madden
Conservative Review
Thu, 21 Nov 2019 00:00 UTC
RudiGiuliani
© Tasos Katopodis/Getty ImagesTrump lawyer Rudi Giuliani
As Congress slogs through more monotonous testimony in the impeachment probe against President Donald Trump, the man at the center of the impeachment narrative — Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani — appeared on BlazeTV host Glenn Beck's program Wednesday night to give his side of the story.

During the exclusive interview, Giuliani told Beck that his initial job in Ukraine was to gather exculpatory evidence counter to the Mueller investigation and report about allegations of collusion between the Russian government and the Trump campaign. During that process, he says, he started turning up information about collusion between Democrats and the Ukrainians to influence the 2016 election.

Giuliani also claimed that United States diplomats — including some who have testified against President Trump in Congress' ongoing impeachment efforts — were doing the bidding of leftist billionaire George Soros in a "massive pay-for-play multimillion-dollar scheme."


Comment: See also:

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Pirates

CENTCOM: US to increase fight against ISIS in Syria 'because oil'


RT
Sat, 23 Nov 2019 11:56 UTC
US Convoy
© Reuters/Azad LashkariUS military convoy withdraws from northern Syria, October 2019
The Central Command chief said the US plans to escalate operations against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) militants in Syria, where hundreds of American troops were left to "secure the oil." General Kenneth McKenzie spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a security-themed event in Manama, Bahrain on Saturday.

The US-led anti-IS operations in Syria are "expected to pick up in coming days and weeks," he said. McKenzie also noted that about 500 US troops currently remain in eastern Syria.

US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of troops from northeastern Syria in October. However, he later clarified that hundreds of soldiers would stay to secure the oilfields in the country.

The president has also repeatedly declared victory over IS in the past, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper claimed to have destroyed "the physical caliphate" in Syria. Despite that, experts at the Pentagon have been warning that the militants would likely resurge and renew their activities should the Americans leave.

Comment: The US is committed to protecting what really matters.

See also:

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Arrow Down

'It's sarcasm!' Giuliani downplays his remark of having an 'insurance policy' on Trump

Evan Semones
Politico
Sun, 24 Nov 2019 18:00 UTC
Giuliani
© Gerardo Mora/Getty ImagesFormer New York City mayor, Trump personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani on Saturday sought to play down a remark he's repeatedly made about having an "insurance policy" on President Donald Trump to protect himself amid the ongoing impeachment investigation. The president's personal lawyer tweeted:
"TRUTH ALERT: The statement I've made several times of having an insurance policy, if thrown under bus, is sarcastic & relates to the files in my safe about the Biden Family's 4 decade monetizing of his office."
Earlier Saturday, Fox News' Ed Henry asked Giuliani whether he's communicated with Trump after recent head-snapping developments in the impeachment probe relating to Trump and Giuliani's efforts to secure an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden from Ukraine.
"You can assume that I talk with him early and often and have a very, very good relationship with him, and all these comments — which are totally insulting — I mean, I've seen things written like he's going to throw me under the bus. When they say that, I say, 'He isn't, but I have insurance.'"
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Snakes in Suits

Time running out: US Senate's last-ditch effort to ax Nord Stream 2 pipeline


RT
Sun, 24 Nov 2019 13:19 UTC
Nord Stream 2 pipe
© Ilya Pitalev/Sputnik
After failing to persuade allies in Europe to scrap the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is set to transport natural gas from Europe to Russia, US lawmakers are planning to roll a new batch of sanctions into a defense spending bill.

The sanctions against the companies involved in the project have been included in the draft 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch told Defense News on Saturday that the legislation essentially mimics the last anti-Nord Stream bill - the so-called Protecting Europe's Energy Security Act - which was approved by the committee in July but then got stuck in procedural hurdles.

"The reason for the push is that this window is closing. A lot of Nord Stream is done already," Risch said, hoping that the sanctioned companies working with the Russians "will shut down," should the sanctions scheme take effect.

Comment: It's a done deal. The 'masters of the universe' should just get over it!

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Cult

Protecting the network? Lawyers for pedo-madam Ghislaine Maxwell seek redaction of 100s of names in Epstein docs

Jerry Lambe
Law & Crime
Mon, 18 Nov 2019 02:29 UTC

Comment: She's quiet; the media's quiet... the cover-up continues.


GhislaineMaxwell
© Getty Images/Laura CavanaughGhislaine Maxwell
Attorneys for former Jeffrey Epstein partner, friend, and alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell on Monday asked a federal judge in Manhattan to grant them a one-month extension as they prepare to argue that the court should not unseal the identities of non-party persons whose names appear in documents ordered released by the court.

U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska in August ordered the release of more than 2,000 previously sealed documents from alleged Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre's now-settled 2015 defamation lawsuit against Maxwell. Attorneys for Giuffre have fought to have the court unseal significantly more pages, while Maxwell's lawyers have tried to stymie the release of new information, arguing that documents do not fall under the definition of "judicial documents," and therefore are not subject to the presumption of access by the public.

Comment: Documentation may be found here: See also:

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Briefcase

A first glimpse into AG Horowitz's FISA-abuse report


National Review
Sun, 24 Nov 2019 19:09 UTC
fbi logo
© Jim Bourg/Reuters
CNN reports that an FBI attorney tampered with documents related to the Carter Page application. How much does it matter?

Is this the tip of a scandalous iceberg? Or is it a signal that Inspector General Michael Horowitz's much anticipated report on investigative irregularities in the Trump-Russia probe will be much ado about nothing much?

A low-ranking FBI lawyer altered a document that was somehow related to the Obama Justice Department's application to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) for a national-security surveillance warrant. The application, approved by the FISC in October 2016, targeted former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page — an American citizen, former naval intelligence officer, and apparent FBI cooperating witness — as a clandestine agent of Russia. Apparently, the document tampering made at least one of the application's factual assertions seem more damning than it actually was.
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Boat

Russian warship 'Marshal Ustinov' puts into Cape Town for first-ever joint drill with Chinese, South African navies


RT
Sun, 24 Nov 2019 18:42 UTC
Russia cruiser Marshal Ustinov
© Sputnik / Pavel LvovThe cruiser 'Marshal Ustinov' docked in Severomorsk.
The Slava-class missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov of the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet has arrived at one of the world's southernmost ports, South Africa's Cape Town. It will take part in a joint exercise also involving China.

The cruiser and two support ships reached South Africa's co-capital after an almost five-month, 25,500-nautical mile (47,200 km) voyage from its home base in Severomorsk. The flotilla made stops in Algeria, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Cape Verde and Equatorial Guinea, and took part in several sea exercises before reaching its South African destination on Sunday.

Comment: Defense Web adds:
According to the SA Navy, the exercise goal is to develop and strengthen relations and friendly co-operation between the armed forces of the three countries. The theme, agreed by all nations involved, is "Joint actions to ensure safety of shipping and maritime economic activity".

Mosi is the only at sea exercise the South African maritime service will take part in this year as the exercises Oxide with the French naval forces in the Indian Ocean and Good Hope, with the German Navy, have been postponed. Indications are Exercise Oxide will be staged next year with Exercise Good Hope, at present, set for 2022. The rescheduling is by mutual agreement between the countries involved.


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Bad Guys

Bully behavior: US MidEast Cmdr says Iran under 'extreme pressure', will crack and attack again

Lilia Dergacheva
Sputnik
Sun, 24 Nov 2019 17:44 UTC
us navy ship
© REUTERS / MC2 ANTHONY R. MARTINEZ
Having recently put all the blame for the Gulf tanker and oil field controversies on Iran, the US is warning of another "audacious" feat, depicting in menacing terms the "trajectory" the Islamic Republic is on. Per Gen. Mckenzie, the US regional commander, this is despite US reinforcements in the area.

Speaking ahead of a Manama security conference, in Bahrain, the home of the Navy's Fifth Fleet, commander of American forces in the Middle East Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, has assumed the latest deployment of 14,000 extra US troops may not have put off Iran from plotting a major attack akin to the one against Saudi Aramco oil fields, and a drone attack in June.

"My judgment is that it is very possible they will attack again", General McKenzie said, noting that the Gulf reinforcements, including 3,000 troops sent to Saudi Arabia, are intended as a deterrent, not a move to trigger Iranian military action.


Comment: The idiocy of American policy on full display. The move is "intended" as a "deterrent". Yet, the expected result is that it will provoke an attack. But the move is not intended to provoke an attack. Got it? Get a brain, guys: if your actions will predictably lead to a certain consequence, and you're aware of that consequence, you can't just say "that wasn't our intention." Which means, on some level, it is intentional. It's typical schoolyard bully behavior: provoke your opponent into attacking first, then cry to the teacher and blame them for hitting you.


In earlier interviews he elaborated on the course he says Iran has taken:

"It's the trajectory and the direction that they're on", he noted in a second interview later in the week. "The attack on the oil fields in Saudi was stunning in the depth of its audaciousness", he said of an assault in September that the United States and its European allies blamed on Iran.

"I wouldn't rule that out going forward".


Comment: And even assuming it was Iran behind some of these incidents, can you honestly say they haven't been provoked? None of this would be happening if the U.S. was following a foreign policy at least approaching a basic level of sanity and common sense.

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