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Lisa Page bombshell: FBI couldn’t prove Trump-Russia collusion before Mueller appointment
The Hill ^ | 9/14/2018 | John Solomon

Posted on 09/16/2018 10:38:44 AM PDT by yesthatjallen

To date, Lisa Page’s infamy has been driven mostly by the anti-Donald Trump text messages she exchanged with fellow FBI agent Peter Strzok as the two engaged in an affair while investigating the president for alleged election collusion with Russia.

Yet, when history judges the former FBI lawyer years from now, her most consequential pronouncement may not have been typed on her bureau-issued Samsung smartphone to her colleague and lover.

Rather, it might be eight simple words she uttered behind closed doors during a congressional interview a few weeks ago.

“It’s a reflection of us still not knowing,” Page told Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) when questioned about texts she and Strzok exchanged in May 2017 as Robert Mueller was being named a special prosecutor to take over the Russia investigation.

With that statement, Page acknowledged a momentous fact: After nine months of using some of the most awesome surveillance powers afforded to U.S. intelligence, the FBI still had not made a case connecting Trump or his campaign to Russia’s election meddling.

Page opined further, acknowledging “it still existed in the scope of possibility that there would be literally nothing” to connect Trump and Russia, no matter what Mueller or the FBI did.

“As far as May of 2017, we still couldn’t answer the question,” she said at another point.

I reached out to Page's lawyer, Amy Jeffress, on Friday. She declined to answer questions about her client’s cooperation with Congress.

It might take a few seconds for the enormity of Page’s statements to sink in. After all, she isn’t just any FBI lawyer. She was a lead on the Russia case when it started in summer 2016, and she helped it transition to Mueller through summer 2017.

For those who might cast doubt on the word of a single FBI lawyer, there’s more.

Shortly after he was fired, ex-FBI Director James Comey told the Senate there was not yet evidence to justify investigating Trump for colluding with Russia. “When I left, we did not have an investigation focused on President Trump,” Comey testified.

And Strzok, the counterintelligence boss and leader of the Russia probe, texted Page in May 2017 that he was reluctant to join Mueller’s probe and leave his senior FBI post because he feared “there’s no big there, there.”

The Department of Justice (DOJ) inspector general asked Strzok shortly before he was fired from the FBI what he meant by that text, and he offered a most insightful answer.

Strzok said he wasn’t certain there was a “broad, coordinated effort” to hijack the election and that the evidence of Trump campaign aides talking about getting Hillary Clinton dirt from Russians might have been just a “bunch of opportunists” talking to heighten their importance.

Strzok added that, while he raised the idea of impeachment in some of his texts to Page, “I am, again, was not, am not convinced or certain that it will,” he told the IG.

So, by the words of Comey, Strzok and Page, we now know that the Trump Justice Department — through Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein — unleashed the Mueller special prosecutor probe before the FBI could validate a connection between Trump and Russia.

Which raises the question: If there was no concrete evidence of collusion, why did we need a special prosecutor?

Page’s comments also mean FBI and Justice officials likely leaked a barrage of media stories just before and after Mueller’s appointment that made the evidence of collusion look far stronger than the frontline investigators knew it to be. Text messages show contacts between key FBI and DOJ players and the Washington Post, the Associated Press and the New York Times during the ramp-up to Mueller’s probe.

And that means the news media — perhaps longing to find a new Watergate, to revive sagging fortunes — were far too willing to be manipulated by players in a case that began as a political opposition research project funded by Trump’s Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, and led by a former British intelligence agent, Christopher Steele, who despised Trump.

Finally, Page’s statement signals that the nation’s premier intelligence court may not have been given a complete picture of the evidence — or lack thereof — as it approved an extraordinary surveillance intrusion into an American presidential nominee’s campaign just weeks before Election Day.

There was no fault to the FBI checking whether Trump was compromised by Russia; that is a classic counterintelligence responsibility.

The real fault lies in those leaders who allowed a secret investigation to mushroom into a media maelstrom driven by official leaks that created a story that far exceeded the evidence, and then used that false narrative to set a special prosecutor flying downhill ahead of his skis.

No matter where Mueller ends his probe, it is now clear the actions that preceded his appointment turned justice on its head, imposing the presumption of guilt upon a probe whose own originators had reason to doubt the strength of their evidence.

John Solomon is an award-winning investigative journalist whose work over the years has exposed U.S. and FBI intelligence failures before the Sept. 11 attacks, federal scientists’ misuse of foster children and veterans in drug experiments, and numerous cases of political corruption. He is The Hill’s executive vice president for video.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: jamescomey; lisapage; lisapagetestimony; mueller; peterstrzok; robertmueller; seebreakingnews; trump; trumprussia
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1 posted on 09/16/2018 10:38:44 AM PDT by yesthatjallen
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To: yesthatjallen

The Commie media will totally ignore this, doesn’t fit their narrative..This entire WITCH HUNT has been a HUGE waste of time..all because the Commies can’t get over the fact that they LOST


2 posted on 09/16/2018 10:42:11 AM PDT by Sarah Barracuda
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To: yesthatjallen
Strzok said he wasn’t certain there was a “broad, coordinated effort” to hijack the election...

Not certain? Heck, he was a key player of the effort to hijack the election.

3 posted on 09/16/2018 10:43:08 AM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: yesthatjallen

Put these criminal pinheads in prison.


4 posted on 09/16/2018 10:44:03 AM PDT by hal ogen (First Amendment or Reeducation Camp?)
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To: yesthatjallen
Which raises the question: If there was no concrete evidence of collusion, why did we need a special prosecutor?

It was revenge by the filthy 'elites' who didn't get the President they wanted: the witch and her rapist husband. Revenge when only 'white trash' will do...

5 posted on 09/16/2018 10:46:58 AM PDT by GOPJ (Deep State power peaked during the McCain funeral - it's down from here on out.)
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To: yesthatjallen
Which raises the question: If there was no concrete evidence of collusion, why did we need a special prosecutor?

Honestly? How else can the Deep State cabal destroy Trump? Unfortunately, the best special prosecutor was dead, so they chose the next best guy.


6 posted on 09/16/2018 10:50:59 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: yesthatjallen

This coup d’etat attempt is similar to the plot in the 1964 movie “Seven Days in May.”
But,instead of the military being the conspirators andperpetrators, today it’s the deep state and Democrats.


7 posted on 09/16/2018 10:52:06 AM PDT by Sasparilla ( I'm Not Tired of Winning)
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To: All
I like this:

Strzok said he wasn’t certain there was a “broad, coordinated effort” to hijack the election and that the evidence of Trump campaign aides talking about getting Hillary Clinton dirt from Russians might have been just a “bunch of opportunists” talking to heighten their importance.

It sounds like he was talking about Papadopoulos.

A naive political climber who got in over his head and was a convenient patsy.

8 posted on 09/16/2018 10:53:11 AM PDT by yesthatjallen
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To: Sarah Barracuda
This entire WITCH HUNT has been a HUGE waste of time

I don't think you can come to that conclusion. They have successfully tied Trump up with it for two years. And it is very unlikely any other outside businessman is going to attempt to run for POTUS after seeing the cost that Trump, his family, his friends and business have paid. And we haven't even got to midterms yet. What if mueller starts leaking or indicting other Trump associates in October? HUGE waste of time depends on what metric you measure success by.
9 posted on 09/16/2018 10:54:45 AM PDT by JoSixChip (He is Batman!)
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To: JoSixChip

Yep - the Democrats are trying anything to get back into power.

The mere fact they’ve harmed the country for 2 more years means nothing to them.


10 posted on 09/16/2018 10:58:42 AM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: GOPJ
Which raises the question: If there was no concrete evidence of collusion, why did we need a special prosecutor?
To keep the Justice Department from indicting Hillary.

11 posted on 09/16/2018 11:08:12 AM PDT by conservatism_IS_compassion (Journalism promotes itself - and promotes big government - by speaking ill of society.)
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To: JoSixChip

Even bigger, any non-Democrat who runs for office will be subject to this kind of trash.


12 posted on 09/16/2018 11:09:40 AM PDT by Morpheus2009
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To: JoSixChip

They’ve made a better case for “draining the swamp” than Trump ever could without the deep states attempted coup... now we have the public on our side and it’ll just grow from here as the investigations , firings and arrests come out day after day.


13 posted on 09/16/2018 11:11:25 AM PDT by Neidermeyer (Show me a peaceful Muslim and I will show you a heretic to the Koran.)
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To: yesthatjallen

FBI couldn’t prove Trump-Russia collusion before Mueller appointment.....

or after!


14 posted on 09/16/2018 11:27:20 AM PDT by TribalPrincess2U (0bama's agenda�Divide and conquer seems to be working.?)
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To: All

Was Trump’s Campaign ‘Set Up’?
The Wall Street Journal | 17 May 2018 | by Kimberley A. Strassel
FR Posted on 5/17/2018, 9:18:14 PM by Meet the New Boss

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes appearing on “Fox & Friends” provided a potentially explosive hint at what’s driving his demand to see documents related to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Trump-Russia probe. “If the campaign was somehow set up,” he told the hosts, “I think that would be a problem.”

—snip—

Think of the 2016 Trump-Russia narrative as two parallel strands—one politics, one law enforcement. The political side involves the actions of Fusion GPS, the Hillary Clinton campaign and Obama officials—all of whom were focused on destroying Donald Trump. The law-enforcement strand involves the FBI—and what methods and evidence it used in its Trump investigation.

At some point these strands intersected—and one crucial question is how early that happened.

What may well have kicked off both, however, is a key if overlooked moment detailed in the House Intelligence Committee’s recent Russia report. In “late spring” of 2016, then-FBI Director James Comey briefed White House “National Security Council Principals” that the FBI had counterintelligence concerns about the Trump campaign. Carter Page was announced as a campaign adviser on March 21, and Paul Manafort joined the campaign March 29.
—snip—

It’s long been known that Mr. Steele went to the FBI in early July to talk about the dossier, and that’s the first known intersection of the strands. But given the oddity and timing of those U.K. interactions concerning Messrs. Page and Papadopoulos, and given the history of some of the people involved in arranging them, some wonder if the two strands were converging earlier than anyone has admitted.

(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...


15 posted on 09/16/2018 11:27:27 AM PDT by Liz ( Our side has 8 trillion bullets; the other side doesn't know which bathroom to use.)
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To: JoSixChip

Can you name a single element of the Trump agenda that President Trump hasn’t been able to accomplish due to this nonsense?


16 posted on 09/16/2018 11:29:16 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("The Russians escaped while we weren't watching them ... like Russians will.")
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To: Alberta's Child
"Due to it" is a high bar.

One could say either no border wall or failed Obamacare repeal.

On the one hand, there were allegations that Republicans were withholding support expecting Trump to be ousted or resign. The opposition to a border wall might fall here.

On the other hand, Obamacare repeal was held up by McCain for personal spite, which existed no matter what might happen.

-PJ

17 posted on 09/16/2018 11:49:12 AM PDT by Political Junkie Too (The 1st Amendment gives the People the right to a free press, not CNN the right to the 1st question.)
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To: Political Junkie Too

Those failures should be draped entirely around the necks of the Republicans in Congress. They earned them on merit. The GOP has no interest in repealing Obamacare or protecting our borders.


18 posted on 09/16/2018 11:53:50 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("The Russians escaped while we weren't watching them ... like Russians will.")
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To: yesthatjallen

Rosenstein knew there was no there there when he appointed Mueller.


19 posted on 09/16/2018 11:55:19 AM PDT by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizen Means Born Here of Citizen Parents__Know Islam, No Peace - No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: Alberta's Child
Still, they are resisting pressure from Trump. Take their response (or lack of) to the recent trend of federal district judges passing nationwide injunctions. Only now are *some* Republicans speaking out about it.

I believe there were a number of things like this where Republicans held back expecting Trump to not survive. Why didn't Republicans defend Trump over the child separations at the border that happened during the Obama administration? It's not because Republicans would sacrifice children to open borders), it's because they still see Trump as damaged and don't want to be aligned with him.

That's the impact the Mueller investigations are having on Trump, making him toxic to supporters.

-PJ

20 posted on 09/16/2018 12:02:31 PM PDT by Political Junkie Too (The 1st Amendment gives the People the right to a free press, not CNN the right to the 1st question.)
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