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Will Russiagate Become Obamagate? (Good stuff by former CIA officer)
theamericanconservative.com ^ | Philip Giraldi

Posted on 04/13/2017 9:26:49 AM PDT by RoosterRedux

Russiagate’s latest celebrity is a former Donald Trump associate named Carter Page. Page, who worked for Merrill Lynch in Moscow and speaks Russian, is a banker and investor who early in 2016 was a part of the amorphous group that was advising Trump on foreign policy. There is no evidence to suggest that he was ever an insider with the Trump campaign—quite the contrary. The Washington Post reports that he made several efforts to meet directly with Donald Trump but that his entreaties were rejected.

So why the fuss? Page appears to have been a target of Russian intelligence for a time, even though he had no sensitive information to give anyone and the presumed relationship appears to have ended long before the 2016 campaign. The possibility that Page might have been some kind of Moscow-controlled agent of influence close to Donald Trump has nevertheless excited Democratic Party critics who have been looking for some solid evidence of Russian government subversion of America’s electoral process. It has also provided some insights into the never-ending spy vs. counterspy battle, while suggesting that the Obama administration was not quite a wide-eyed innocent regarding FBI investigation of anyone plausibly linked to Trump.

Bear in mind that intelligence officers make a living and get promoted based on the “scalps” they acquire, to use the CIA expression, which means recruitment of possible sources of information. Page was and is somewhat of an expert on energy issues and, by virtue of his time spent in Russia, something of a Russophile. The combination would be very attractive to a Russian case officer looking for a new asset, so it is perhaps no surprise that Page bumped into Russian diplomat Victor Podobny at an energy conference in New York. The two soon established mutual interests in energy-industry developments and Page, apparently looking for business and investment opportunities, eventually passed some unclassified papers he had prepared to the Russian.

The passage of documents is a key case-officer objective. The assumption is that once documents are provided by the target and suitable noises are made about how they could result in wonderful business opportunities, this will lead to receipt of papers that are more sensitive.

Read the rest: The American Conservative


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: carterpage; deepstate; deepstategate; energy; intelligence; obamagate; podobn; russia; russians; surveillance; susanrice; trump; trumptowergate; victorpodobn; wiretapping
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1 posted on 04/13/2017 9:26:49 AM PDT by RoosterRedux
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To: hoosiermama; onyx; Jane Long; V K Lee; RitaOK; Black Agnes; PennsylvaniaMom; Fai Mao; Fiddlstix; ...

Ping


2 posted on 04/13/2017 9:29:16 AM PDT by RoosterRedux
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To: RoosterRedux

May the deep state be permanently changed. May Trump drain the swamp and put so many career political activists in jail for such a long time that it changes the entire WA DC culture.


3 posted on 04/13/2017 9:31:53 AM PDT by Robert357 ( Dan Rather was discharged as "medically unfit" on May 11, 1954.)
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To: RoosterRedux

Interesting story.

It still seems to me they were targeting Trump. Maybe looking for the best possible person to use to get that warrant.


4 posted on 04/13/2017 9:32:54 AM PDT by RummyChick (can we switch Don,Jr for Prince Kush and his flak jacket. From Yacht Party to Warzone ready to wear.)
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To: RoosterRedux

Later


5 posted on 04/13/2017 9:33:19 AM PDT by gaijin
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To: RoosterRedux

Russian agents cozied up to a foreign business man in Russia? What are the odds?


6 posted on 04/13/2017 9:35:36 AM PDT by Ray76 (DRAIN THE SWAMP)
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To: RummyChick

Page said that the papers he provided were the exact ones he used in a College class he taught. The word ‘unclassified’ does fully describe how unimportant they were.


7 posted on 04/13/2017 9:36:39 AM PDT by Jimmy The Snake
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To: Jimmy The Snake

But FISA court doesn’t know that.

The question really is..was this about Trump or Page.

I maintain it was about Trump and they used Page to get FISA on board with the warrant.


8 posted on 04/13/2017 9:41:21 AM PDT by RummyChick (can we switch Don,Jr for Prince Kush and his flak jacket. From Yacht Party to Warzone ready to wear.)
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To: Robert357
May the deep state be permanently changed. May Trump drain the swamp and put so many career political activists in jail for such a long time that it changes the entire WA DC culture.


9 posted on 04/13/2017 9:46:41 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (Don't bother reading fake news about Trump on FR. Trump will tweet or email us his real news!)
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To: RoosterRedux
Deep State Gate under Obama:


10 posted on 04/13/2017 10:01:35 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (Don't bother reading fake news about Trump on FR. Trump will tweet or email us his real news!)
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To: RoosterRedux

11 posted on 04/13/2017 10:04:18 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (Don't bother reading fake news about Trump on FR. Trump will tweet or email us his real news!)
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To: RoosterRedux
All they need to find out is whether other GOP candidates were monitored in this way. If so, then the whole "muh Russia" meme comes tumbling down and investigations against the Obama Gang can proceed.
12 posted on 04/13/2017 10:20:24 AM PDT by Major Matt Mason (It is time to make America an uncomfortable place for Marxist usurpers.)
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To: RummyChick
I'll just toss this in for giggles....

British spies were first to spot Trump team's links with Russia Exclusive: GCHQ is said to have alerted US agencies after becoming aware of contacts in 2015

There's something rotten in Whitehall.

13 posted on 04/13/2017 10:23:19 AM PDT by mewzilla (Was Obama surveilling John Roberts? Might explain a lot.)
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To: RoosterRedux

Bump


14 posted on 04/13/2017 10:44:14 AM PDT by Guenevere (If my people......will humble themselves and pray and seek my face .....I will heal their land...)
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To: RoosterRedux

I don’t see the MEDIA allowing “Russiagate” to taint Obama in any way. They are sold out to Obama.


15 posted on 04/13/2017 10:56:06 AM PDT by CyberAnt ("Peace Through Strength")
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To: RoosterRedux

Please stop posting this crap.

No one from the Obama administration is going to punished. Everyone knows this.

The only purpose I can see to publish articles like this is to keep honest citizens like me in a continuosly aggrivated state by rubbing our noses in the above fact.

WE KNOW OBAMA AND HIS PEOPLE GOT AWAY WITH MURDER. YOU DON’T HAVE TO KEEP REMINDING US!

Please. Just stop.


16 posted on 04/13/2017 11:22:05 AM PDT by RepRivFarm ("During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." -George Orwell)
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To: RepRivFarm
Quit yur whining.

If this topic depwesses you, just don't come here.

17 posted on 04/13/2017 11:32:08 AM PDT by RoosterRedux
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To: RoosterRedux

The media won’t allow it.


18 posted on 04/13/2017 12:03:14 PM PDT by TBP (0bama lies, Granny dies.)
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To: RoosterRedux
The Washington Post also claims that Page gave a speech in Moscow “harshly critical of the United States’ policy towards Russia.”

Normally, someone doing this would get the hero treatment from The Washington Post.

19 posted on 04/13/2017 1:31:52 PM PDT by libertylover (In 2016 small-town America got tired of being governed by people who don't know a boy from a girl.)
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To: RepRivFarm
Please. Just stop.

Someone needs to locate their safe space.;-)

20 posted on 04/13/2017 2:46:15 PM PDT by RoosterRedux
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