An Investigative Pattern Emerges…
During a recent rally in Pensacola President Trump remarked off-the-cuff: “we have a rigged system, we really do, we have a rigged system and we’re working hard to change it“. Against the backdrop of recent revelations with the stunning politicization of the FBI and DOJ, those words ring notes of truth, and also caution.
Over the past two weeks we have seen releases from the DOJ Office of Inspector General that appear to be building toward a much more consequential outcome. The corruption is jaw-dropping. The very heart of the U.S. system of Law (DOJ) and Order (FBI) is now being questioned. I would argue the IG obviously understands the need for caution within these discoveries and the recent releases are all purposeful, timed, planned and targeted.
Consider what is at stake; and further consider that you were given the task of revealing the outcome of an investigation of such consequence. How would you introduce the findings to the larger U.S. electorate? Given the timing of the releases from the IG’s investigation, I think that’s what we are seeing in the past two weeks. A prosecutor laying out his case over the course of multiple media cycles.
For the past year plus, we have heard generalized terms of investigations. However, since the beginning of December the information shifted and we begin hearing about specific names caught within the IG investigation.
Focusing only on the names from within the IG concern we find: FBI Agent Peter Strzok; FBI/DOJ Attorney Lisa Page; DOJ Deputy Bruce Ohr; his wife, Fusion GPS contractor Nellie Ohr; FBI Counterintelligence Director Bill Priestap; and FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. Each of these people appear to have been captured within the net at the heart of the politicization investigation.
Now, there’s bound to be more details; however, those names are all likely to face some form of congressional scrutiny, questioning, and possibly criminal charges. Charges that will likely be based, in part, on the outlined information within the IG releases.
Oh, sure there are many other names, including current possible partisan usurpers within the Robert Muller probe: DOJ/SC Andrew Weissman, DOJ/SC Jeannie Rhee, DOJ/SC Aaron Zebley etc. that are also concerning. However, for this discussion we focus on the IG targets identified. Discussion of Mueller is for another day.
Remember, the OIG investigation is specifically looking at actions taken, or actions not taken, by DOJ and FBI officials that reflect specific evidence of politicization by the leadership within each agency (James Comey, FBI and Loretta Lynch, DOJ), and/or their subordinates writ large.
These offices represent the “Law and Order” divisions of our national government.
There is a pattern in the released OIG information and how we retrieve it from the media.
♦Ahead of FBI Director Christopher Wray appearing before congress the IG released the information about FBI Agent Strzok and his mistress FBI/DOJ Attorney Lisa Page.
♦Just before Asst. FBI Director Andrew McCabe was going to appear before congress the IG released information about DOJ Deputy Bruce Ohr and his wife Nellie Ohr.
Andrew McCabe ducked out of the hearing, and will now appear next week. Boy-oh-boy that one should be interesting. If he’s still employed. (anticipating more releases here)
♦Just before DOJ Asst. AG Rod Rosenstein appeared before congress the IG released the actual text messaging information from Agent Strzok and Lisa Page.
See the pattern?
There have been approximately FIVE big releases from the IG office, that seem to be released in a very specific manner. It looks just like a prosecutor laying out his case against the identified names, and WE, the American People, are the jury.
Consider:
♦Release #1 was the Agent Strzok and Attorney Lisa Page story; and the repercussions from discovering their politically motivated bias in the 2015/2016 Clinton email investigation and 2016/2017 Russian Election investigation.
♦Release #2 outlined the depth of FBI Agent Strzok and FBI Attorney Page’s specific history in the 2016 investigation into Hillary Clinton to include the changing of the wording [“grossly negligent” to “extremely careless”] of the probe outcome delivered by FBI Director James Comey.
♦Release #3 was the information about DOJ Deputy Bruce Ohr being in contact with Fusion GPS at the same time as the FISA application was submitted and granted by the FISA court; which authorized surveillance and wiretapping of candidate Donald Trump; that release also attached Bruce Ohr and Agent Strzok directly to the Steele Dossier.
♦Release #4 was information that Deputy Bruce Ohr’s wife, Nellie Ohr, was an actual contract employee of Fusion GPS, and was hired by F-GPS specifically to work on opposition research against candidate Donald Trump. Both Bruce Ohr and Nellie Ohr are attached to the origin of the Christopher Steele Russian Dossier.
♦Release #5 was the specific communication between FBI Agent Strzok and FBI Attorney Page. The 10,000 text messages that included evidence of them both meeting with Asst. FBI Director Andrew McCabe to discuss the “insurance policy” against candidate Donald Trump in August of 2016.
Again, see the pattern?
The OIG is laying out the case for further inquiry, investigation and more importantly questioning, of each of the aforementioned officials.
Timing the information to drop in conjunction with the open and public congressional appearances of FBI Director Christopher Wray, FBI Asst. Director Andrew McCabe and Asst. AG Rod Rosenstein puts sunlight upon the content of the releases that doesn’t require MSM for broadcast.
See the strategy?
The IG has no prosecutorial authority, that decision is up to the Attorney General.
However, in this strategy the IG is laying out his prosecutable case before the American public via TV and congressional appearances. In my humble opinion none of this is accidental. This is strategic white hat distribution of material that is immensely important to the larger U.S. electorate. The subject matter is so consequential, it needs to be absorbed in small digestible portions.
And here’s where it gets really interesting.
As Ohio Rep Jim Jordan stated yesterday (after the Rod Rosenstein questioning), the next move is to put each of the named people in front of congress for questioning. Andrew McCabe, Bill Priestap, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Bruce Ohr, and possibly Nellie Ohr and Glenn Simpson, are questioned about the details behind the specific information provided by the IG releases. Get them under oath, get them on-the-record, and get them committed to one story.
Most likely, just like Lois Lerner, this crew will plead the fifth. However, unlike Lois Lerner the underlying evidence will exist from within the Inspector General’s year-long investigation. Against 1.2 million pages of documentation, we know of so far, it really doesn’t matter if they cooperate or not.
Their compliance with congress is irrelevant to their possible outcome. The IG investigative report provides all the needed substance to consider indictments.
Cooperate or not, the U.S. Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, will now be in a position to accept the exhaustive evidence provided by the IG report – and make a decision on whether or not to indict them.
Secondarily, as an outcome of their indictment, the larger cases against Hillary Clinton and company are now subject to reopening and plea bargains from the indicted FBI and DOJ conspirators can then be leveraged to gain additional information against the larger group. [And yes, this potentially touches President Obama depending on how the concentric circles of defense collapse.]
I would be remiss if I didn’t remind people that Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills have voided their prior immunity deals by provably lying to the FBI. Lying voids immunity.
Additionally, if former AG Loretta Lynch, and/or Asst. AG Sally Yates, and/or FBI Director James Comey are not captured within the IG investigative outcome (still undetermined), the seeds for their capture are most definitely created by it – because the next tier of leadership appears already captured.
Based on what we already know: Bruce Ohr, Lisa Page, Peter Strzok, Bill Priestap and Andrew McCabe are already captured. Depending on the specifics, non-government entities Nellie Ohr and/or Glenn Simpson might also be captured under federal conspiracy or racketeering laws.
Bill Priestap (counterintelligence director), Bruce Ohr (DOJ Deputy), and definitely Andrew McCabe are in position to help net Sally Yates.
[IMHO Yates is the next one (per pattern) to get entangled with additional IG releases].
Director Comey seems to be in a very precarious position because the entire operation against Trump was a counterintelligence operation run from within the FBI albeit using DOJ assistance. Additionally, the non-indictment of Hillary Clinton, due to the political manipulation of evidence by Agent Strzok, becomes the second liability of James Comey.
If the FISA warrant used to gain wiretaps and surveillance on Donald Trump was obtained using false, manipulated or fraudulent information, which currently seems highly likely, the entire operation becomes a criminal conspiracy and the question(s) become who knew what, when, and how far up was that authorized.
Based solely on what is public information right now… Andrew McCabe and Bill Priestap are way out on the edges of legality. The issues around the Steele Dossier underpinning the FISA warrant would remove any legal defense they might have.
The Big Ugly
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PS. All of this is separate from the ongoing leak investigations from the new unit established within the FBI and DOJ. (see here)https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/12/09/the-new-fbi-age
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