Tag: FBI

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FBI Director: Capitol Rioters Fell Into 2 Main Groups – Militia Groups & White Supremacists

FBI Director Christopher Wray
FBI Director Christopher Wray
FBI Director Christopher Wray (screen capture)

From NBC News:

FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday repeatedly shot down claims by Republican allies of former President Donald Trump and others that antifa activists participated in the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol.

“We have not to date seen any evidence of anarchist violent extremists or people subscribing to antifa in connection with the 6th,” Wray said in testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee at a hearing to address concerns about the intelligence leading up to the riot and the domestic terrorism threat more broadly. “That doesn’t mean we’re not looking, and we’ll continue to look, but at the moment we have not seen that.”

Wray explained that those who participated in the breach of the Capitol fell into two main groups of violent extremists — those associated with militia groups, such as Oath Keepers, and those who advocate white supremacy.

For weeks, many allies of Donald Trump have tried to deflect blame for the violent invasion of the Capitol building from Trump to  “antifa activists.”

The vast majority of the 300+ participants who have been arrested for taking part in the insurrection have social media accounts chock full of far-right content.

Wray also said today the FBI is not aware of any widespread evidence of voter fraud that would have affected the outcome of the presidential election.

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DOJ Inspector General Finds No Evidence FBI Spied On Trump Campaign

Donald Trump
Donald Trump (image via Flickr/White House)

The Department of Justice’s inspector general has reportedly found no evidence of spying by the FBI on the 2016 Trump campaign.

The New York Times reports:

The Justice Department’s inspector general found no evidence that the F.B.I. attempted to place undercover agents or informants inside Donald J. Trump’s campaign in 2016 as agents investigated whether his associates conspired with Russia’s election interference operation, people familiar with a draft of the inspector general’s report said.

The determination by the inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, is expected to be a key finding in his highly anticipated report due out on Dec. 9 examining aspects of the Russia investigation.

The finding also contradicts some of the most inflammatory accusations hurled by Mr. Trump and his supporters, who alleged not only that F.B.I. officials spied on the Trump campaign but also at one point that former President Barack Obama had ordered Mr. Trump’s phones tapped.

The report is expected to undercut many claims by conservatives that the FBI acted improperly while investigating Trump associates during the 2016 election.

You’ll recall early in his term Trump accused President Obama of tapping his Trump Tower phones with no evidence to support the claim whatsoever.

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Andrew McCabe: Trump Disputed US Intelligence Reports “I Don’t Care – I Believe Putin”

Former FBI director Andrew McCabe on CBS’ 60 Minutes

Speaking to 60 Minutes’ Scott Pelley, former FBI director Andrew McCabe shared an episode from a security briefing with Donald Trump in which the president told intelligence heads he didn’t believe their reports on North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile capabilities.

When the intel chiefs explained their sourcing and report, Trump reportedly fired back, “I don’t care. I believe Putin.”

“The president launched into several unrelated diatribes. One of those was commenting on the recent missile launches by the government of North Korea. And, essentially, the president said he did not believe that the North Koreans had the capability to hit us here with ballistic missiles in the United States. And he did not believe that because President Putin had told him they did not. President Putin had told him that the North Koreans don’t actually have those missiles. Intelligence officials in the briefing responded that that was not consistent with any of the intelligence our government possesses. To which the president replied, ‘I don’t care. I believe Putin’.”

After the airing of 60 Minutes, Trump took to Twitter to retweet his attacks on McCabe, and added this:

(h/t JoeMyGod)

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NY Times: FBI Launched Investigation Into Whether Donald Trump Was Working On Behalf Of Russia

In the days after President Trump fired James B. Comey as F.B.I. director, law enforcement officials became so concerned by the president’s behavior that they began investigating whether he had been working on behalf of Russia against American interests, according to former law enforcement officials and others familiar with the investigation.
Donald Trump

Quite the bombshell.

From The New York Times:

In the days after President Trump fired James B. Comey as F.B.I. director, law enforcement officials became so concerned by the president’s behavior that they began investigating whether he had been working on behalf of Russia against American interests, according to former law enforcement officials and others familiar with the investigation.

The inquiry carried explosive implications. Counterintelligence investigators had to consider whether the president’s own actions constituted a possible threat to national security. Agents also sought to determine whether Mr. Trump was knowingly working for Russia or had unwittingly fallen under Moscow’s influence.

The investigation the F.B.I. opened into Mr. Trump also had a criminal aspect, which has long been publicly known: whether his firing of Mr. Comey constituted obstruction of justice.

I’m also going to make a point to include this from the Times report:

No evidence has emerged publicly that Mr. Trump was secretly in contact with or took direction from Russian government officials. An F.B.I. spokeswoman and a spokesman for the special counsel’s office both declined to comment.

Clearly, I don’t have the evidence that the FBI has gathered but we do know that Trump frequently praised Russian President Putin, taking his word over that of the US intelligence community regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election.

That alone that should give pause to any American.

The Donald’s short little fingers flew across his iPhone’s keyboard this morning in a Twitter rage complete with ‘the Failing New York Times,’ ‘Lyin James Comey,’ ‘Crooked Hillary,’ and a boast of being ‘FAR tougher on Russia than Obama.’

The Twitterverse has their own thoughts on the historic news:

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FBI Claps Back At Trump Claim China Hacked Hillary’s Email Server

Donald Trump took to Twitter last night after apparently watching a report on Fox News (what else?) that China might have hacked into Hillary Clinton's email server.
Donald Trump

Donald Trump took to Twitter last night after apparently watching a report on Fox News (what else?) that China might have hacked into Hillary Clinton’s email server.

Are we still talking about the emails???

Trump wrote, “‘China hacked Hillary Clinton’s private Email Server.’ Are they sure it wasn’t Russia (just kidding!)? What are the odds that the FBI and DOJ are right on top of this? Actually, a very big story. Much classified information!”

He followed that up with another missive asserting, “Hillary Clinton’s Emails, many of which are Classified Information, got hacked by China. Next move better be by the FBI & DOJ or, after all of their other missteps (Comey, McCabe, Strzok, Page, Ohr, FISA, Dirty Dossier etc.), their credibility will be forever gone!”

Now, the truth is the FBI has already determined that no classified information was sent via Hillary Clinton’s email server.

Today, the FBI pushed back against that notion telling The Washington Post, “The FBI has not found any evidence the servers were compromised.”

As usual, the Donald was making stuff up to obfuscate his own ongoing problems.

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FBI Agent Peter Strzok: My Text Messages Were In Response To Trump’s ‘Disgusting Behavior’

Earlier today, FBI agent Peter Strzok resoundingly denounced the approach and tone House Republicans took during his testimony before the House Oversight Committee.
FBI agent Peter Strzok

Earlier today, FBI agent Peter Strzok resoundingly denounced the approach and tone House Republicans took during his testimony before the House Oversight Committee.

This is amazing.

“Sir, I think it’s important when you look at those texts that you understand the context in which they were made, and the things that were going on across America. In terms of the texts that, ‘We will stop it.’ You need to understand that that was written late at night, off-the-cuff and it was in response to a series of events that included then-candidate Trump insulting the immigrant family of a fallen war hero, and my presumption based on that horrible, disgusting behavior that the American population would not elect somebody demonstrating that behavior to be president of the United States.

“It was in no way, unequivocally, any suggestion that me, the FBI, would take any action whatsoever to improperly impact the electoral process, for any candidate. So I take great offense and I take great disagreement to your assertion of what that was or wasn’t.

“As to the ‘100 million to one’ that was clearly a statement made in jest and using hyperbole, I of course recognize that millions of Americans were likely to vote for candidate Trump. I acknowledge that is absolutely their right, that is what makes our democracy such a vibrant process that it is.

“But to suggest somehow that we can parse down the words of shorthand textual conversations like they’re some contract for a car is simply not consistent with my or most people’s use of text messaging. I can assure you, Mr. Chairman, at no time, in any of these texts, did those personal beliefs ever enter into the realm of any action I took.

“Furthermore, this isn’t just me sitting here telling you you don’t have to take my word for it. At every step, at every investigative decision, there are multiple layers of people above me, the assistant director, executive assistant director, deputy director and director of the FBI, and multiple layers of people below me, section chiefs, supervisors, unit chiefs, case agents and analysts, all of whom were involved in all of these decisions. They would not tolerate any improper behavior in me any more than I would tolerate it in them.

“That is who we are as the FBI. And the suggestion that I in some dark chamber somewhere in the FBI would somehow cast aside all of these procedures, all of these safeguards and somehow be able to do this is astounding to me. It simply couldn’t happen. And the proposition that that is going on, that it might occur anywhere in the FBI, deeply corrodes what the FBI is in American society, the effectiveness of their mission, and it is deeply destructive.”

And when he finished, there was applause in the chamber.

Strzok is accused of anti-Trump bias during the 2016 while investigating possible Russian interference in the election.

A late night text to a colleague has been the basis of personal attacks against him.

As has been established, there is no law preventing an FBI agent from having a personal opinion as long as it doesn’t come into play with their work.

Watch below.

(h/t JoeMyGod)

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Breaking: FBI Raids Office & Home Of Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen

Donald Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen

Update: The Washington Post now says Michael Cohen is “under federal investigation for possible bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance violations, according to a person with knowledge of the case.”

Whoa.

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Breaking news right now as word comes that the FBI raided the office and home of Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, in connection to the ongoing Stormy Daniels/Trump scandal.

Cohen has admitted to paying Daniels $130,000 just days before the 2016 election as part of a non-disclosure agreement regarding an alleged affair Daniels had with Trump.

According to The New York Times, prosecutors executed the search after receiving a referral from Special Counsel Robert Mueller who is investigating possible connections between the Trump campaign and Russian interference during the election.

Today’s search and seizure doesn’t seem to be directly related to Mr. Mueller’s investigation. Experts say today’s actions were the result of information Mueller had discovered and handed over to prosecutors in New York.

Mr. Cohen has stated in the past that he is cooperating with authorities regarding the Russian meddling and has turned over thousands of documents to congressional investigators.

The Times reports the $130K payment to Daniels is only one of several topics being investigated by the FBI in relation to Cohen. Also seized today were tax documents, emails and business records.

Included in today’s search were communications between Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen.

The Times says review of those documents will require a special team of agents because conversations between lawyers and clients enjoy attorney/client privilege in most cases.