Here are my observations and opinions from my selected news of the day.
COMEY THE CON MAN – While disgraced former FBI Director James Comey would have you believe that DOJ IG Michael Horowitz simply found that there were errors in the preparation of FISA warrants sought, those “errors” were repeated several times and were criminal.
Appearing on Fox News Sunday, the arrogant Comey responded to his efforts to get a FISA saying, “I was overconfident in those, because he’s (Horowitz) right, there was real sloppiness. Seventeen things that either should have been in the applications or at least discussed and characterized differently. It was not acceptable.”
Horowitz told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the FBI action regarding the seeking of FISA warrants were either examples of incompetency or intentionality before conceding it had to be the latter. Wouldn’t that eliminate the possibility of sloppiness?
Kramerontheright finds it inapprehensible how government officials can so casually pass off their actions as sloppiness.
You may recall during Comey’s investigation of Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of classified e-mails, he said, people may occasionally “mishandle” a classified document, but he described Clinton’s use of e-mails as “really sloppy.”
“Sloppiness – even extreme sloppiness – is handled through administrative discipline. Somebody is not prosecuted,” Comey said at the time.
With that, it isn’t hard to imagine that those who violated our trust in seeking FISA warrants didn’t worry about reprisals if all they faced was “administrative discipline.”
THERE’S MORE – You may recall in 2004 when the FBI revealed that Sandy Berger, the former Clinton administration national security advisor, had stolen Top Secret memos and documents from the National Archives, he merely made a “mistake” and was just “sloppy.”
When asked if the FBI had given false information to the FISA Court, Comey replied, “I think that’s fair.”
Tuesday, FISA court chief judge Rosemary Collyer severely reprimanded the FBI over the misleading FISA warrant applications. And ….
WOULD YOU AGREE that it’s about time? In my August 24, 2018 blog, I suggested the FISA judges “get a backbone and lodge a complaint against DOJ and/or FBI for non -disclosure of key information on FISA warrant applications of surveillance of Trump associates.”
CARTER PAGE was put through hell because of a falsified FISA warrant request and all Comey could say in response to the question if the FBI had given false information was, “I think that’s fair.” No apology. DOJ IG Michael Horowitz revealed that an FBI lawyer had altered a document that could have cleared Page.
LEST WE FORGET that it was former CIA Director John “The Liar” Brennan, who could have intervened in the Page case, knowing that Page was a CIA informant. I hope that U.S. Attorney John Durham finds him accountable.
VINDICATION – For more than a year, Rep. Devin Nunes has told of the FISA abuse underlying the Obama administration’s surveillance of the Trump campaign, facts disputed by none other than Adam Schiff, known to be a pathological liar. Thanks to the investigative work of DOJ IG Michael Horowitz, Nunes was fully vindicated in his position, while Schiff continues to sing the tired tune of the Trump campaign’s collusion with Russia.
NADLER PLAYED A ROLE, TOO – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler refuted Nunes’ claim from the start, and leaked word to the media discrediting Nunes’ stance, and justifying the FBI’s surveillance of Page.
“Carter Page was, more likely than not, an agent of a foreign power,” Nadler said. “The Russian government waged a massive campaign to discredit our election. Carter page appears to have played a role in that effort.”
SCHIFF RIDICULED AT HOME – Appearing at a California town hall, Adam Schiff got an earful of – “Liar, Liar,” – from a highly annoyed constituency.
MICHIGAN REP. ELISSA SLOTKIN, one of the Democrat newbie’s facing reelection in a district Trump carried in 2016, faced an angry crowd in Oakland, but she indicates she will vote for impeachment of the president.
HOW PATHETIC – Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) told Fox’s Bret Baier Tuesday that she didn’t know how she would vote on impeachment and stated that she would wait to hear the facts presented to the Senate. Really, senator. You haven’t heard enough? How pathetic. New Hampshire deserves you.
TRUMP IS A BOX OFFICE HIT after the Political Theater of the Schiff/Nadler hearings, bringing in receipts of $10 million in one week. That’s 40 percent of what any of the Democrat candidates raised in the entire third quarter, in which Sanders led with $25.3.
As we witness the backlash in fundraising, I’m predicting a decisive backlash at the polls in November.
SENSIBLE CITIZENS WRITE – Every once in a while, informed citizens put their thoughts in letters to editors. I thought I would share two of those with you sent to the editor of the left-leaning Arizona Republic.
Under the heading, “Yes, the country is split. And who do think is responsible?” Howard Greene of Phoenix reminded readers that another reader wrote that ‘what divides our country will be here until President Trump leaves office.’”
“No, no, no. It will be here for at least one or two decades after, because the Democrats pushed us too far.
“At one time in this country we could disagree, but be friends. No more.
“You thought it was cute calling us ISIS followers and terrorists.
“You called us ‘deplorables’ and Walmart people. Then you graduated to ‘stupid.’
“We laughed at the first two. Then you went too far and called us ‘racist.’
“So you think everything will be forgotten when the next president arrives? I don’t think so.
“The lying insults are too great for us to swallow. Expect deep and dark division in this country for many, many years to come. The Democrats have begged for this to happen.”
THAT LETTER ATTRACTED ME because it was on August 24, 2019 that I wrote, “Democrats feed racism, hate, division,” and I quoted from a Wall Street Journal piece by Heather MacDonald, “Trump is not the one dividing us by race.”
I have previously commented that in addition to the Democrat Party, the leftist media, with their daily anti-Trump negative reporting, are the main reason our country is divided. And it is the reason for President Trump’s unreasonable approval rating.
ANOTHER LETTER WRITER to the Arizona Republic – Bob Archer of Scottsdale – wrote a timely letter, “Democrats are selective about parts of the Constitution they like.”
“As the Democrats shout to uphold the Constitution by impeaching President Trump, I wonder why upholding the Constitution and my Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms really doesn’t matter to the Democrats.”
Mr. Archer’s letter reminded me of my December 10, 2019 special report, “Democrats suddenly look favorably on our founders and the Constitution.”
THE LEFTIST COLUMNIST for the Arizona Republic, E. J. Montini, wrote, “Trump should be impeached, but there should be no trial, not with a Senate ‘jury’ that has broken its oath of impartiality before even taking it.”
How convenient that he “forgets” the lack of impartiality exhibited by the House in developing its articles of impeachment.
MY LAUGH-OF-THE-DAY – When Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin started putting her columns behind a paywall, Neontaster, Tweeting @neontaster, wrote: “Putting Jen Rubin’s columns behind a paywall is like charging you a fee to open a dumpster.”
May God continue to bless the United States of America
