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Peter Smith didn't die in vain 1

In conversations with members of his circle and with others he tried to recruit to help him, (he GOP operative, Peter W. Smithl implied he was working with retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, at the time a senior adviser to then-candidate Donald Trump "He said, 'T'm talking to Michael Flynn about this-if you find anything, can you let me know?" said Eric York, a computer-security expert from Atlanta who searched hacker forums on Mr. Smith's behalf for people who might have access to the emails. Emails written by Mr. Smith and one of his associates show that his small group considered Mr. Flynn and his consulting company, Flynn Intel Group, to be allies in their quest.

In conversations with members of his circle and with others he tried to recruit to help him, (he GOP operative, Peter W. Smithl implied he was working with retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, at the time a senior adviser to then-candidate Donald Trump "He said, 'T'm talking to Michael Flynn about this-if you find anything, can you let me know?" said Eric York, a computer-security expert from Atlanta who searched hacker forums on Mr. Smith's behalf for people who might have access to the emails. Emails written by Mr. Smith and one of his associates show that his small group considered Mr. Flynn and his consulting company, Flynn Intel Group, to be allies in their quest.

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Grassley and Graham send a letter for FISA information

United States Scnat COMMITTEE ON THE AUDICARY WASHINGTON DC 2050 627 June 27, 2017 ONI The Honorable Rod J. Rosenstein Deputy Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W Washington, DC 20530 The Honorable Andrew McCabe Director Federal Bureau of Investigation 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W Washington, DC 20535 Dear Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein and Acting Director McCabe: We are writing to request information regarding FISA-related actions by the FBI and the Justice Department in the course of the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, including the investigations into allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians. As explained below, we are writing to request the following related materials: all proposed FISA applications that the FBI and Justice Department submitted to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC); the FISC's responses to such proposed FISA applications; all final, signed FISA applications that the FBI and the Justice Department submitted to the FISC; and the FISC's responses to the final, signed applications. Media reports and the FISC's 2016 annual report provide reason to believe that, in the course of these investigations, the FBI and Justice Department may have submitted proposed FISA applications that the FISC preliminarily evaluated and stated it would reject, which the FBI and Justice Department then modified and resubmitted. Media reports also provide reason to believe that the FBI and Justice Department may have submitted some final, signed FISA applications in these matters that the FISC rejected outright. The Committee needs all of these documents to evaluate fully the FBI's and Justice Department's actions in this situation. Under Rule 9(a) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court's Rules of Procedure, the government provides the Court its proposed FISA applications at least seven days before filing its final, signed FISA applications. This preview gives the Court the chance to assess each proposed application before actually ruling on it, and to recommend changes to the government. As noted in the Report of the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S Courts on Activities of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Courtsfor 2016("2016 FISC Report"), "[iln some instances, the Court examinations resulted in the govermment making material changes to applications and certifications; Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein and Acting Director McCabe June 27, 2017 for example, proffering additional facts to support a required judicial finding of probable cause or to The 2016 FISC Report, which provides annual statistics about the Court's actions in general, states that in 2016 the FISC denied nine applications or certifications, and denied in part or modified 365 orders3 While the 2016 FISC Report provides Congress and the public this information, it does not report "any modifications made by the government to [a proposed] application or certification that it had submitted pursuant to Rule 9(a) while we understand that this may be part of a routine FISC process, it is important for the Committee to understand fully the context of and basis for requests to the FISC related to this particular matter. We have some reason to believe these processes have been used in these investigations. For example, on January 11, 2017, the Guardian reported that: [The FBI applied for a warrant from the foreign intelligence surveillance court (FISA) over the summer in order to monitor four members of the Trump team suspected of irregular contact with Russian officials. The FISA court turned down the application asking FBI counter-intelligence investigators to narrow its focus.5 The next day, the BBC stated that Justice Department attormeys involved in the investigation of Russian election interference submitted a FISA application to the FISC focused on two Russian banks, reporting: Their first application, in June, was rejected outright by the judge. They returned with a more narrowly drawn order in July and were rejected again. There have been subsequent media reports claiming the FBI submitted and received approval of a FISA application in the investigation that was based on the political opposition research dossier. In order for the Committee to asses this situation, please provide the following information by no later than July 11, 2017: 1. Copies of all proposed and all final signed FISA applications submitted to the FISC relating to: Russian interference in the 2016 election; allegations of collusion between people associated with the Trump campaign and Russia; and any known Trump associates regardless of context. 2. Copies of all FISC responses to the above-mentioned applications in which the Court notified the FBI or Justice Department that it would not grant the proposed applications or recommended changes. If any such FISC responses were provided orally, rather than in 2016 final 0.pdf ld s Julian Border, John McCain Passes Dossier Alleging Secret Tr mp-Russia Contacts to FBL THE GUARDIAN (Jan. 11, Paul Wood, Trump Compromising Claims: How and Why Did We Get Here? BBC NEWS (Jan. 12, 2017) Evan Perez, Shimon Prokupecz, and Mamu Raju, FBI Used Dossier Allegations to Boister Trump-Russia Investigation CNN (Apr. 18, 2017) Deputy Altorney General Rosenstein and Acting Director McCabe June 27, 2017 writing, please provide copies of all FBI or Justice Department records memorializing or otherwise referencing the relevant FISC responses. 3. Copies of all FISC orders relating to the above-mentioned applications, whether denying the applications and certifications, denying the orders, modifying the orders, granting the orders, or other types of orders. We anticipate that some of these documents may be classified, some may not, and others may contain both classified and unclassified information. Please deliver any documents containing classified information to the Office of Senate Security and provide all unclassified documents directly to the Committee. If you have any specific requests with regard to the Committee's handling of unclassified material, please raise those with us in advance. Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter. If you have any questions, please contact Patrick Davis of my Chairman Grassley's Committee staff at (202) 224-5225 or Lee Holmes of Chairman Graham's staff at (202) 224-5972. Sincerely Lindsey O. Graham Charles E. Grassley Chairmanon the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism Committee on the Judiciary cc: The Honorable Dianne Feinsteirn Ranking Member Senate Committee on the Judiciary The Honorable Sheldon Whitehouse Ranking Member Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism

United States Scnat COMMITTEE ON THE AUDICARY WASHINGTON DC 2050 627 June 27, 2017 ONI The Honorable Rod J. Rosenstein Deputy Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W Washington, DC 20530 The Honorable Andrew McCabe Director Federal Bureau of Investigation 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W Washington, DC 20535 Dear Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein and Acting Director McCabe: We are writing to request information regarding FISA-related actions by the FBI and the Justice Department in the course of the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, including the investigations into allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians. As explained below, we are writing to request the following related materials: all proposed FISA applications that the FBI and Justice Department submitted to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC); the FISC's responses to such proposed FISA applications; all final, signed FISA applications that the FBI and the Justice Department submitted to the FISC; and the FISC's responses to the final, signed applications. Media reports and the FISC's 2016 annual report provide reason to believe that, in the course of these investigations, the FBI and Justice Department may have submitted proposed FISA applications that the FISC preliminarily evaluated and stated it would reject, which the FBI and Justice Department then modified and resubmitted. Media reports also provide reason to believe that the FBI and Justice Department may have submitted some final, signed FISA applications in these matters that the FISC rejected outright. The Committee needs all of these documents to evaluate fully the FBI's and Justice Department's actions in this situation. Under Rule 9(a) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court's Rules of Procedure, the government provides the Court its proposed FISA applications at least seven days before filing its final, signed FISA applications. This preview gives the Court the chance to assess each proposed application before actually ruling on it, and to recommend changes to the government. As noted in the Report of the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S Courts on Activities of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Courtsfor 2016("2016 FISC Report"), "[iln some instances, the Court examinations resulted in the govermment making material changes to applications and certifications; Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein and Acting Director McCabe June 27, 2017 for example, proffering additional facts to support a required judicial finding of probable cause or to The 2016 FISC Report, which provides annual statistics about the Court's actions in general, states that in 2016 the FISC denied nine applications or certifications, and denied in part or modified 365 orders3 While the 2016 FISC Report provides Congress and the public this information, it does not report "any modifications made by the government to [a proposed] application or certification that it had submitted pursuant to Rule 9(a) while we understand that this may be part of a routine FISC process, it is important for the Committee to understand fully the context of and basis for requests to the FISC related to this particular matter. We have some reason to believe these processes have been used in these investigations. For example, on January 11, 2017, the Guardian reported that: [The FBI applied for a warrant from the foreign intelligence surveillance court (FISA) over the summer in order to monitor four members of the Trump team suspected of irregular contact with Russian officials. The FISA court turned down the application asking FBI counter-intelligence investigators to narrow its focus.5 The next day, the BBC stated that Justice Department attormeys involved in the investigation of Russian election interference submitted a FISA application to the FISC focused on two Russian banks, reporting: Their first application, in June, was rejected outright by the judge. They returned with a more narrowly drawn order in July and were rejected again. There have been subsequent media reports claiming the FBI submitted and received approval of a FISA application in the investigation that was based on the political opposition research dossier. In order for the Committee to asses this situation, please provide the following information by no later than July 11, 2017: 1. Copies of all proposed and all final signed FISA applications submitted to the FISC relating to: Russian interference in the 2016 election; allegations of collusion between people associated with the Trump campaign and Russia; and any known Trump associates regardless of context. 2. Copies of all FISC responses to the above-mentioned applications in which the Court notified the FBI or Justice Department that it would not grant the proposed applications or recommended changes. If any such FISC responses were provided orally, rather than in 2016 final 0.pdf ld s Julian Border, John McCain Passes Dossier Alleging Secret Tr mp-Russia Contacts to FBL THE GUARDIAN (Jan. 11, Paul Wood, Trump Compromising Claims: How and Why Did We Get Here? BBC NEWS (Jan. 12, 2017) Evan Perez, Shimon Prokupecz, and Mamu Raju, FBI Used Dossier Allegations to Boister Trump-Russia Investigation CNN (Apr. 18, 2017) Deputy Altorney General Rosenstein and Acting Director McCabe June 27, 2017 writing, please provide copies of all FBI or Justice Department records memorializing or otherwise referencing the relevant FISC responses. 3. Copies of all FISC orders relating to the above-mentioned applications, whether denying the applications and certifications, denying the orders, modifying the orders, granting the orders, or other types of orders. We anticipate that some of these documents may be classified, some may not, and others may contain both classified and unclassified information. Please deliver any documents containing classified information to the Office of Senate Security and provide all unclassified documents directly to the Committee. If you have any specific requests with regard to the Committee's handling of unclassified material, please raise those with us in advance. Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter. If you have any questions, please contact Patrick Davis of my Chairman Grassley's Committee staff at (202) 224-5225 or Lee Holmes of Chairman Graham's staff at (202) 224-5972. Sincerely Lindsey O. Graham Charles E. Grassley Chairmanon the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism Committee on the Judiciary cc: The Honorable Dianne Feinsteirn Ranking Member Senate Committee on the Judiciary The Honorable Sheldon Whitehouse Ranking Member Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism

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Trump-Putin meeting comes with "deliverables"

Donald Trump has told White House aides to come up with possible concessions to offer as bargaining chips in his planned meeting next week with Vladimir Putin, according to two former officials familiar with the preparations. National security council staff have been tasked with proposing "deliverables" for the first Trump-Putin encounter, including the return of two diplomatic compounds Russians were ordered to vacate by the Obama administration in response to Moscow's interference in the 2016 election, the former officials said. It is not clear what Putin would be asked to give in return

Donald Trump has told White House aides to come up with possible concessions to offer as bargaining chips in his planned meeting next week with Vladimir Putin, according to two former officials familiar with the preparations. National security council staff have been tasked with proposing "deliverables" for the first Trump-Putin encounter, including the return of two diplomatic compounds Russians were ordered to vacate by the Obama administration in response to Moscow's interference in the 2016 election, the former officials said. It is not clear what Putin would be asked to give in return

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Humor time!

BREAKING: Investigators see no evidence of Trump Administration ties to America

BREAKING: Investigators see no evidence of Trump Administration ties to America

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Trump normalizing Russia's cyber-warfare

A source familiar with the President's thinking said he views Russia's action as something that "everybody has been doing to each other for years. Everybody spies," the source said. "He believes that intel operations hack each other." The result: Trump sees the Russian hacking story as "nothing new." In fact, the source said, Trump views it as "the establishment intelligence community trying to frame a narrative that is startling to the average viewer, but he regards it as business as usual. Intelligence experts disagree. They describe Russia's actions as far from the usual foreign espionage attempts.

A source familiar with the President's thinking said he views Russia's action as something that "everybody has been doing to each other for years. Everybody spies," the source said. "He believes that intel operations hack each other." The result: Trump sees the Russian hacking story as "nothing new." In fact, the source said, Trump views it as "the establishment intelligence community trying to frame a narrative that is startling to the average viewer, but he regards it as business as usual. Intelligence experts disagree. They describe Russia's actions as far from the usual foreign espionage attempts.

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Trump is obsessed over Russia investigation

The President doesn't differentiate between investigations into Russian election meddling and investigations into potential collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russia, according to sources that have spoken to Trump about the issues. Tlhe President's muted interest in election interference stands in stark contrast to the collusion investigation, which has consumed his attention. Trump takes questions about Russia personally, sources said, because he sees them as an effort to undermine the legitimacy of his presidency. "He thinks one equates with the other," one Republican congressional source said. "He can't admit anything that may taint his election. He is more hung up on how it affected the election outcome than what Russia did."

The President doesn't differentiate between investigations into Russian election meddling and investigations into potential collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russia, according to sources that have spoken to Trump about the issues. Tlhe President's muted interest in election interference stands in stark contrast to the collusion investigation, which has consumed his attention. Trump takes questions about Russia personally, sources said, because he sees them as an effort to undermine the legitimacy of his presidency. "He thinks one equates with the other," one Republican congressional source said. "He can't admit anything that may taint his election. He is more hung up on how it affected the election outcome than what Russia did."

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FBI visits Kaspersky for counter-intelligence purposes.

FBl agents on Tuesday paid visits to at least a dozen employees of Kaspersky Lab, a Russia- based cyber-security company, asking questions about that company's operations as part of a counter-intelligence inquiry, multiple sources familiar with the matter told NBC News In a classic FBI investigative tactic, agents visited the homes of the employees at the end of the work day at multiple locations on both the east and west coasts, the sources said.

FBl agents on Tuesday paid visits to at least a dozen employees of Kaspersky Lab, a Russia- based cyber-security company, asking questions about that company's operations as part of a counter-intelligence inquiry, multiple sources familiar with the matter told NBC News In a classic FBI investigative tactic, agents visited the homes of the employees at the end of the work day at multiple locations on both the east and west coasts, the sources said.

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Breitbart: NSA may have recordings of Trump's conversations with Comey

a search VPN * 12:09 PM breitbart.com EXCLUSIVE WHISTLEBLOWER: 'MOST PROBABLE' THAT NSA HAS RECORDINGS OF TRUMP PHONE CALLS WITH JAMES COMEY G+ Tweet link

a search VPN * 12:09 PM breitbart.com EXCLUSIVE WHISTLEBLOWER: 'MOST PROBABLE' THAT NSA HAS RECORDINGS OF TRUMP PHONE CALLS WITH JAMES COMEY G+ Tweet link

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Pre-emptive "Collusion =/= Crime" deza

Fox's Gregg Jarrett: "You can collude all you want with a foreign government in an election" Video STAFF May 30, 2017 4:15 PM EDT >> MEDIA MATTERS From the May 30 edition of Fox News' Happening Now: MMFA THE WHITE HOUSE 133 PM ET

Fox's Gregg Jarrett: "You can collude all you want with a foreign government in an election" Video STAFF May 30, 2017 4:15 PM EDT >> MEDIA MATTERS From the May 30 edition of Fox News' Happening Now: MMFA THE WHITE HOUSE 133 PM ET

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Pre-emptive "Collusion =/= Crime" deza

Fox's Geraldo Rivera Questions Whether Collusion With Russian Government For Political Gain Is Even A Crime Rivera: "if The KGB Chief ls Talking To . IW Paul Manafort What's The Crime?" Video» May 10, 2017 11:19 PM EDT STAFF MEDIA MATTERS

Fox's Geraldo Rivera Questions Whether Collusion With Russian Government For Political Gain Is Even A Crime Rivera: "if The KGB Chief ls Talking To . IW Paul Manafort What's The Crime?" Video» May 10, 2017 11:19 PM EDT STAFF MEDIA MATTERS

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Pre-emptive "Collusion =/= Crime" deza

Sean Hannity: If Trump campaign communicated with and asked Russia to release hacked emails, "is that a crime?" "What was the collusion? That maybe somebody in the Trump campaign talked to somebody in Russia... Is that a crime, to say 'release it?"" Video »» June 23, 2017 4:42 PM EDT STAFF MEDIA MATTERS From the June 23 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Sean Hannity Show:

Sean Hannity: If Trump campaign communicated with and asked Russia to release hacked emails, "is that a crime?" "What was the collusion? That maybe somebody in the Trump campaign talked to somebody in Russia... Is that a crime, to say 'release it?"" Video »» June 23, 2017 4:42 PM EDT STAFF MEDIA MATTERS From the June 23 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Sean Hannity Show:

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Pre-emptive "Collusion =/= Crime" deza

Fox's Brit Hume: Even if the Trump campaign did collude with Russia, "it's not a crime" Hume also joins pro-Trump media in discrediting special counsel Robert Mueller over the lawyers he's hiring for investigation Video» 5 hours 21 min ago» MEDIA MATTERS STAFF From the June 25 edition of Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday:

Fox's Brit Hume: Even if the Trump campaign did collude with Russia, "it's not a crime" Hume also joins pro-Trump media in discrediting special counsel Robert Mueller over the lawyers he's hiring for investigation Video» 5 hours 21 min ago» MEDIA MATTERS STAFF From the June 25 edition of Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday:

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Quid Pro Quo

"The Democratic leaders in the room unanimously agreed on the need to take the threat seriously. Republicans, however, were divided, with at least two GOP lawmakers reluctant to accede to the White House requests. According to several officials, McConnell raised doubts about the underlying intelligence and made clear to the administration that he would consider any effort by the White House to challenge the Russians publicly an act of partisan politics." Some of the Republicans in the briefing also seemed opposed to the idea of going public with such explosive allegations in the final stages of an election, a move that they argued would only rattle public confidence and play into Moscow's hands. McConnell's office did not respond to a request for comment. After the election, Trump chose McConnell's wife, Elaine Chao, as his nominee for transportation secretary.

"The Democratic leaders in the room unanimously agreed on the need to take the threat seriously. Republicans, however, were divided, with at least two GOP lawmakers reluctant to accede to the White House requests. According to several officials, McConnell raised doubts about the underlying intelligence and made clear to the administration that he would consider any effort by the White House to challenge the Russians publicly an act of partisan politics." Some of the Republicans in the briefing also seemed opposed to the idea of going public with such explosive allegations in the final stages of an election, a move that they argued would only rattle public confidence and play into Moscow's hands. McConnell's office did not respond to a request for comment. After the election, Trump chose McConnell's wife, Elaine Chao, as his nominee for transportation secretary.

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Information warfare

More tactics: Trolls and bots are used to create a sense of public opinion so it is picked up by media. Journalists are harassed and intimidated, also by trolls and bots. They exploit volume: "When information volume is low," says RAND, "recipients tend to favor experts, but when information volume is high, recipients tend to favor information from other uses." And they exploit speed: "Russian propaganda has the agility to be first," Rand observes. "It takes less time to make up facts than it does to verify them." And the first impression sets the agenda. 02

More tactics: Trolls and bots are used to create a sense of public opinion so it is picked up by media. Journalists are harassed and intimidated, also by trolls and bots. They exploit volume: "When information volume is low," says RAND, "recipients tend to favor experts, but when information volume is high, recipients tend to favor information from other uses." And they exploit speed: "Russian propaganda has the agility to be first," Rand observes. "It takes less time to make up facts than it does to verify them." And the first impression sets the agenda. 02

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We weren't the only ones to notice

Despite the intelligence the CIA had produced, other agencies were slower to endorse a conclusion that Putin was personally directing the operation and wanted to help Trump. "It was definitely compelling, but it was not definitive," said one senior administration official. "We needed more." Some of the most critical technical intelligence on Russia came from another country, officials said. Because of the source of the material, the NSA was reluctant to view it with high confidence.

Despite the intelligence the CIA had produced, other agencies were slower to endorse a conclusion that Putin was personally directing the operation and wanted to help Trump. "It was definitely compelling, but it was not definitive," said one senior administration official. "We needed more." Some of the most critical technical intelligence on Russia came from another country, officials said. Because of the source of the material, the NSA was reluctant to view it with high confidence.

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Direct orders for cyber-warfare

arly last August, an envelope with extraordinary handling restrictions arrived at the White House. Sent by courier from the CIA, it carried "eyes only" instructions that its contents be shown to just four people: President Barack Obama and three senior aides. Inside was an intelligence bombshell, a report drawn from sourcing deep inside the Russian government that detailed Russian President Vladimir Putin's direct involvement in a cyber campaign to disrupt and discredit the U.S. presidential race But it went further. The intelligence captured Putin's specific instructions on the operation's audacious objectives - defeat or at least damage the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, and help elect her opponent, Donald Trump

arly last August, an envelope with extraordinary handling restrictions arrived at the White House. Sent by courier from the CIA, it carried "eyes only" instructions that its contents be shown to just four people: President Barack Obama and three senior aides. Inside was an intelligence bombshell, a report drawn from sourcing deep inside the Russian government that detailed Russian President Vladimir Putin's direct involvement in a cyber campaign to disrupt and discredit the U.S. presidential race But it went further. The intelligence captured Putin's specific instructions on the operation's audacious objectives - defeat or at least damage the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, and help elect her opponent, Donald Trump

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