Tag: CIA Director

CIA Conduct During Russia Assessment May Be Next Boomerang in Probe of Investigators

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By his own admission, ex-CIA Director John Brennan chafed at being questioned earlier this month by federal prosecutor John Durham about the Obama administration’s intelligence assessment that Russia’s meddling in 2016 election was designed to help Donald Trump.

Brennan “questioned why the analytic tradecraft and the findings of the ICA are being scrutinized by the Department of Justice, especially since they have been validated by the Mueller Report and the bipartisan Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Review,” a statement issued by his spokesman Nick Shapiro said.

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Ex-CIA Chief Brennan to Brief House Democrats on Iran

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  House Democrats will hear from former CIA director John Brennan about the situation in Iran, inviting him to speak next week amid heightened concerns over the Trump administration’s sudden moves in the region. Brennan, an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, is scheduled to talk to House Democrats at a private weekly caucus meeting Tuesday, according to a Democratic aide and another person familiar with the private meeting. Both were granted anonymity to discuss the meeting. The invitation to Brennan and Wendy Sherman, the former State Department official and top negotiator of the Iran nuclear deal, offers counterprogramming to the Trump administration’s closed-door briefing for lawmakers also planned for Tuesday on Capitol Hill. Democratic lawmakers are likely to attend both sessions. Brennan a Trump critic The Trump administration recently sent an aircraft carrier and other military resources to the Persian Gulf region and withdrew nonessential personnel from Iraq, raising alarm among Democrats and some Republicans on Capitol Hill over the possibility of a confrontation with Iran. Trump in recent days downplayed any potential for conflict. But questions remain about what prompted the actions, and many lawmakers have demanded more information. Trump and Brennan have clashed openly, particularly over the…

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Trey Gowdy Offers Tip to Republicans: ‘Look for Emails Between Brennan and Comey’

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by Chuck Ross   Former South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy offered up a tip Monday night for congressional investigators probing the Obama administration’s handling of the Trump-Russia investigation. “So whoever’s investigating this, tell them to look for emails between Brennan and Comey in December 2016,” Gowdy said in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, referring to former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey. In the interview, Gowdy did not say whether he has knowledge of what is in any Brennan-Gowdy emails. But Gowdy also suggested that the FBI deemed Christopher Steele, the author of the infamous anti-Trump dossier, as a less-than-credible source. Steele, a former British spy, served as a confidential human source for the FBI. He provided the FBI with parts of his dossier, which the FBI then used to obtain surveillance warrants against Carter Page. “I think you’ll be surprised at whether or not they viewed Steele as being credible,” said Gowdy, who served on the House Intelligence Committee and is now a Fox News contributor. Republicans have sought a slew of internal FBI documents related to Steele and the dossier. They’ve called on President Trump to declassify portions of the fourth and final surveillance warrant…

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Commentary: The Tables Turn in Russian Collusion Hunt

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by Victor Davis Hanson   The irony of the entire Russian collusion hoax is that accusers who cried the loudest about leaking, collusion, lying, and obstruction are themselves soon very likely to be accused of just those crimes. Now that Robert Mueller’s 674-day, $30 million investigation is over and has failed to find the original goal of its mandate—evidence of a criminal conspiracy between the Trump presidential campaign and the Russian government to sway the 2016 election—and now that thousands of once-sealed government documents will likely be released in unredacted form, those who eagerly assumed the role of the hunters may become the hunted, due to their own zealous violation of the nation’s trust and its laws. Take Lying  Former FBI Director James Comey’s testimonies cannot be reconciled with those of his own deputy director Andrew McCabe. He falsely testified that the Steele dossier was not the main basis for obtaining FISA court warrants. On at least 245 occasions, Comey swore under oath that he either did not know, or could not remember, when asked direct questions about his conduct at the FBI. He likely lied when he testified that he did not conclude his assessment of the Clinton illegal…

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