Russia probes kick into high gear

[Merc14]

38 minutes ago, Tiggs said:

I hear that all lies matter.

Don't really want to do a deep dive into Benghazi in a thread about Russian probes, but should probably mention in passing that Abu Khattala -- the person jailed for organizing the assault on the embassy -- reportedly told those attacking the embassy that it was in retaliation for the YouTube video.

On the day of the attack, Islamists in Cairo had staged a demonstration outside the United States Embassy there to protest an American-made online video mocking Islam, and the protest culminated in a breach of the embassy’s walls — images that flashed through news coverage around the Arab world.

As the attack in Benghazi was unfolding a few hours later, Mr. Abu Khattala told fellow Islamist fighters and others that the assault was retaliation for the same insulting video, according to people who heard him.

Source: New York Times (bolding mine).

I just want to be clear before this goes any further, are you contending that the Benghazi attack was a protest about  the YT video?  That is was a riot?

[.ZZ.]

20 minutes ago, Merc14 said:

I just want to be clear before this goes any further, are you contending that the Benghazi attack was a protest about  the YT video?  That is was a riot?

Of course, spontaneous protesters always arrive armed with RPG's. 

[Merc14]

1 hour ago, .ZZ. said:

Of course, spontaneous protesters always arrive armed with RPG's. 

...and mortars and knew the full lay out of the place, you know, kind of like they'd been working on this attack for awhile, and by the hundreds when the video only had 150 or so viewers.   Hell, someone wants to pretend the video was the cause I won't say anything and will bow out now because I don't need the trouble I will make for myself.     

Edited January 21, 2018 by Merc14

[.ZZ.]

Hillary looked into the eyes of the families and lied to their faces blaming that very obscure YouTube video.

.Funny, she told her family the night of the murders that it was a terrorist attack.

[.ZZ.]

3 hours ago, Tiggs said:

The FBI did not retain text messages exchanged by two senior officials involved in the probes of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump for a five-month period ending the day a special counsel was appointed to investigate possible connections between the Trump campaign and Russia, according to a congressional letter.

...

“The FBI has informed (the Department of Justice) that many FBI-provided Samsung 5 mobile devices did not capture or store text messages due to misconfiguration issues related to rollouts, provisioning, and software upgrades that conflicted with the FBI’s collection capabilities. The result was that data that should have been automatically collected and retained for long-term storage and retrieval was not collected,’’ according to an earlier letter from a Justice Department official to the Senate committee.

Source: Washington Post

And by two senior officials -- they're referring to Strzok and Page.

 

Now why does that sound like another BleachBit wipe ala HRC?

Isn't it odd? Maybe shades of Lois Lerner?

Come on, this is getting ridiculous.

[Paranormal Panther]

26 minutes ago, .ZZ. said:

Now why does that sound like another BleachBit wipe ala HRC?

Isn't it odd? Maybe shades of Lois Lerner?

Come on, this is getting ridiculous.

Come on, ZZ. The article came from the Washington Post. 

[F3SS]

I agree. All these conveniently innocent mishaps are all as insulting as Loretta Lynch matter-of-factly telling the press that her meeting with Bill Clinton on the tarmac was both coincidence and primarily “a conversation about their grand children”.

Edited January 21, 2018 by F3SS

[Tiggs]

3 hours ago, Merc14 said:

I just want to be clear before this goes any further, are you contending that the Benghazi attack was a protest about  the YT video?  That is was a riot?

The NYT article's pretty clear. The video was used as a justification during the attack.

I'd imagine it'd be a useful tool -- both to encourage the other attackers, and to ignite outrage in others.

 

2 hours ago, Merc14 said:

...and mortars 

From the same NYT article:

He formed a militia of perhaps two dozen fighters, naming it Obeida Ibn Al Jarra for an early Islamic general. But by the summer, Mr. Abu Khattala and his band had become notorious across Benghazi.
...
A short time later, Mr. Abu Khattala drove to the headquarters of Ansar al-Shariah, a local Benghazi militia whose members, witnesses said, also played a prominent role in the attack.

So -- they were militia members, apparently.

 

2 hours ago, Merc14 said:

and knew the full lay out of the place, you know, kind of like they'd been working on this attack for awhile

Maybe they were planning a symbolic attack on the anniversary of 9/11.

Maybe they were biding their time, waiting for a wave of Islamic outrage, in hope it'd spark a chain reaction.

Whichever is true -- the usage of the video as a justification during the attack explains the initial confused reporting. 

 

2 hours ago, Merc14 said:

and by the hundreds when the video only had 150 or so viewers.  

First line of the NYT article I quoted:

On the day of the attack, Islamists in Cairo had staged a demonstration outside the United States Embassy there to protest an American-made online video mocking Islam, and the protest culminated in a breach of the embassy’s walls — images that flashed through news coverage around the Arab world.

The number of YouTube hits becomes irrelevant, once the story of the video -- and its consequences -- gets beamed into millions of homes, via mainstream media.

 

2 hours ago, Merc14 said:

Hell, if he wants to pretend the video was the cause I' won't say anything and will bow out now because I don't need the trouble I will make for myself.     

And I'd much rather not do a deep dive into Benghazi in this thread -- so I guess we're good.

[Tiggs]

4 hours ago, .ZZ. said:

Hillary looked into the eyes of the families and lied to their faces blaming that very obscure YouTube video.

.Funny, she told her family the night of the murders that it was a terrorist attack.

Probably has a lot to do with a terrorist group -- Ansar Al-Shariah -- quickly claiming responsibility for the attack.

Which they then retracted, within 24 hours.

[F3SS]

Susan Rice went on a talk show tour blaming the video. It was a farce because the administration either did something shady, ineffective or just plain f’d up. Blaming the video to this day is maddening.

[Tiggs]

The FBI has not been permitted to see the memo Rep. Devin Nunes and his staff wrote about alleged abuses by the intelligence community, The Daily Beast has learned.

"The FBI has requested to receive a copy of the memo in order to evaluate the information and take appropriate steps if necessary. To date, the request has been declined,” said Andrew Ames, a spokesperson for the FBI.

Source: The Daily Beast

[Merc14]

4 minutes ago, Tiggs said:

The FBI has not been permitted to see the memo Rep. Devin Nunes and his staff wrote about alleged abuses by the intelligence community, The Daily Beast has learned.

"The FBI has requested to receive a copy of the memo in order to evaluate the information and take appropriate steps if necessary. To date, the request has been declined,” said Andrew Ames, a spokesperson for the FBI.

Source: The Daily Beast

Understandable given some of the people it talks about are still in their positions.   The IG will take care of the FBI since the underlying info is from his year long investigation into how corrupt that agency has become, at least the upper echelon in DC. 

Edited January 22, 2018 by Merc14

[F3SS]

Absolutely if the fbi is complicit I wouldn’t show them either. They’ve evaluated and taken enough steps already. 

[Tiggs]

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team has been talking with George Nader, a little-known Bannon associate who boasts of his well-placed connections in the Middle East, Axios has learned.

Nader has spoken with Mueller's team at least twice, according to a source briefed on the investigation. A second source briefed on the investigation confirmed that Mueller's team has brought Nader in for questioning in the past week. The Special Counsel's office declined to comment.

Source: Axios

[skliss]

Who the heck is Axios?

[acidhead]

39 minutes ago, skliss said:

Who the heck is Axios?

They are somebody who knows a source that heard from a second source from somebody who was briefed on the investigation.

[Tiggs]

1 hour ago, skliss said:

Who the heck is Axios?

The much-anticipated new media venture from Politico co-founder and former C.E.O. Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen, the founding father of its Playbook newsletter (the lifeblood of the enterprise for years), has been shrouded in mystery since the duo departed earlier this year. VandeHei seemed to suggest its broad contours through various well-placed hints and intimations. Now, he and his partners are unveiling the company name and its mission statement, neatly rolled out ahead of VandeHei’s appearance at a Recode conference later today.

The name: Axios. The mission statement: “Media is broken—and too often a scam.”

Source: Vanity Fair

[Astra.]

20 hours ago, RoofGardener said:

After reading some of these posts, I started googling around, and I found a number of articles going back to early 2016 regarding allegations of White House/NSA/FBI misbehavior regarding FISA warrants and 'illegal' wiretaps. The mainstream media didn't exactly 'ignore' this story, but they did pour cold water on it. (possibly because some very senior figures - including the head of the FBI - stated that the story was not true). 

There's an interesting short-form summary here - https://www.factcheck.org/2017/09/revisiting-trumps-wiretap-tweets/

Now then, when this 'memo' is published, one of two things are going to happen. Either the Obama administration will be revealed as having broken the law in a most egregious manner - and the former head of the FBI will be revealed as having lied to the public - or Nunes (and some other Republican representatives) will be revealed to have lied to the public about the allegations. 

I struggle to see any "middle ground" here ? It's a binary outcome. 

What baffles me is why several - presumably intelligent - Representatives would have TOLD a lie about the memo (claiming it is earth-shattering etc), knowing that the truth would come out, and they would be made to look like complete idiots. And liars to boot ! And at the same time, if its allegations are true, why so many senior Democrat representatives would risk exposure by claiming it was untrue. 

It doesn't seem to make sense, and I look forward to it's publication with GREAT interest.

Bold; Agree, as a lot doesn't seem to make much sense at all. It's all very odd indeed. 

As far as the memo's publication is concerned that contains this alleged jaw-dropping material, well lets hope it's well worth it, especially after hearing how 'shocking' it is. 

Lets hope also, that it doesn't get stalled too much, because according to this article, this mysterious memo might not see the light of day (public wise) until mid-March before it's release. 

https://www.theblaze.com/news/2018/01/21/gop-congressman-reveals-house-intel-committee-will-release-top-secret-fisa-memo-to-public

Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) said Saturday the House Intelligence Committee “plans to begin” the release process very soon, if not immediately.

The process, he said, might take up to 19 congressional working days. According to the House’s 2018 calendar, that means the earliest the document could be released is sometime in mid-March.

 

 

 

 

[RoofGardener]

18 hours ago, Tiggs said:

Politicians lying to the public for partisan gain? Unpossible!

From an earlier post:

It's not as if Nunes hasn't already been publicly caught telling porky pies, on the White House's behalf.

As to why -- there's an old saying -- "'A lie gets halfway around the world before truth puts on its boots."

In a propaganda war - the ability to shape public opinion is more valuable than truth.

Lies, yes. But STUPID lies, that the author(s) would KNOW would be revealed quite soon ? That is NOT the hallmark of a politician... UNLESS they know that they are already in BIG trouble, and that uncovering of the lies could not make matters any worse. And by "big trouble", I mean something that would destroy their political careers. 

The Nunes thing is confusing, but the issue of the source/destination of his allegation seems pretty mild stuff in comparison to Watergate Mk2. But then I guess that the original "Watergate" issue seemed pretty mild to start with. (A burglary). Who KNOWS where it may lead ? 

As for Benghazi; it was a very shrewd move to blame it all (falsely and cynically) on the Innocence of the Muslim youtube film. Don't we already have a thread somewhere about the love affair between the "Left" and radical Islam ? If  you blame stuff on an "Islamophobic" video, then the "Liberal" press will gleefully swallow it, and ask few questions,  as it fits in with their world-view. (that Muslims are always the victims). This is especially true when the creator of the video was an unsavoury character. Oh.. and he wasn't arrested/imprisoned for making the video; he was imprisoned for breaking his parole terms. He was a felon on licensed release. (and a VERY useful felon, from Obama and HC's perspective). 

Finally, this stuff about Michael Cohen, well that seems like another rabbit hole entirely. A practicing lawyer with multiple passports in false names ? I mean... really ? 

The names Cohen. James Cohen. (cue theme music) . 

I'm just surprised that the Left's Smoke Machine hasn't painted him as working for the Russians. Or MI6. Or both. (the latter bit would at least be credible  )

Edited January 22, 2018 by RoofGardener

[skliss]

6 hours ago, Tiggs said:

media venture from Politico

Got it...will look elsewhere for real info.

[Gromdor]

2 hours ago, skliss said:

Got it...will look elsewhere for real info.

Not to be mean, but we are in the politics section on a site about aliens, monsters and wild conspiracies.  I trust the facts that people here say to a degree but in the back of my mind I remind myself that many here have very divergent views of reality (we are all secretly rules by aliens, the earth is flat, dragons still exist, etc.).  So I read the links, verify the information, and check other sites and points of view.  I enjoy this site because of this very reason.  The people here have a wide and varied set of opinions because of these very quirks.  Stuff the "common" man wouldn't even think of.

Talking with people that form their view from a singular set of sources is like talking to phone app to me.  They just say the same talking points over and over and get confused if you talk about something outside the scope of their sources.  I have Siri for that.

[skliss]

4 hours ago, Gromdor said:

Not to be mean, but we are in the politics section on a site about aliens, monsters and wild conspiracies.  I trust the facts that people here say to a degree but in the back of my mind I remind myself that many here have very divergent views of reality (we are all secretly rules by aliens, the earth is flat, dragons still exist, etc.).  So I read the links, verify the information, and check other sites and points of view.  I enjoy this site because of this very reason.  The people here have a wide and varied set of opinions because of these very quirks.  Stuff the "common" man wouldn't even think of.

Talking with people that form their view from a singular set of sources is like talking to phone app to me.  They just say the same talking points over and over and get confused if you talk about something outside the scope of their sources.  I have Siri for that.

I agree, that's why I watch several different news sources...I have, however, lost 2 computers by clicking on links at a politics board that i used to participate on at another site. One that is definitely working from a biased position is not worth the looksee for me. I already know where they are coming from and doubt I'll see anything new that's reliable.

[preacherman76]

22 hours ago, F3SS said:

Susan Rice went on a talk show tour blaming the video. It was a farce because the administration either did something shady, ineffective or just plain f’d up. Blaming the video to this day is maddening.

I couldn't believe what I was reading lol. Like really? That has long been debunked.

[Paranormal Panther]

23 hours ago, F3SS said:

I agree. All these conveniently innocent mishaps are all as insulting as Loretta Lynch matter-of-factly telling the press that her meeting with Bill Clinton on the tarmac was both coincidence and primarily “a conversation about their grand children”.

We now have missing texts that are linked to the latest red flag. "Move along; there's nothing to see here."

[F3SS]

29 minutes ago, Paranormal Panther said:

We now have missing texts that are linked to the latest red flag. "Move along; there's nothing to see here."

We do? What’s going on?