Posted on 02/18/2017 5:07:32 PM PST by Para-Ord.45
...It was also secretive even by traditional standards: Although Comey was photographed leaving the meeting, committee members wouldn’t admit that he’d been there. And it seemed as though the briefing was urgent, with senators delaying their departure during a weekend recess to hear what Comey had to say.
The Senate Intel Committee considers all manner of intelligence matters so in theory the briefing could have been about anything. Most recently, though, the Committee’s been in the news because it’s leading the congressional investigation into Russian interference in last year’s presidential campaign. Three days ago, after Mike Flynn resigned, Mitch McConnell said he thought it was “highly likely” that the Committee would include Flynn’s interactions with the Russian ambassador as part of its broader inquiry. And now suddenly Comey’s on the Hill, amid unusual secrecy, addressing them in what seems to have been an especially important briefing.
Still, we need more than that to suspect that the briefing was about Flynn, Russia, and/or Trump campaign advisors’ “constant communications” with Russian officials during the campaign. Which … is where Marco Rubio comes in:
"I am now very confident Senate Intel Comm I serve on will conduct thorough bipartisan investigation of #Putin interference and influence"
The word “now” strongly suggests that something that just came to light has convinced him and the rest of the Committee to treat the Russia matter even more gravely than they had before. The word “bipartisan” is significant too, as Democrats were of course already gung ho to investigate. Rubio seems to be suggesting that whatever Comey told them was so serious that Republicans would be eager to get to the bottom of it too.
Has part or all of Comey’s information leaked to the media, with stories already in the works about the mysterious allegations? It didn’t occur to me at the time that there was anything more to Trump’s tweet yesterday about the media as “enemies of the people” than the president being in one of his peevish moods, but David Frum had some interesting speculation about the possible cause of that peevishness:
"Decoded: one or more of NYT, CNN or NBCNews has a very very damaging story in the pipeline …"
That’s just a theory, but if something big is about to drop, the papers may well have already contacted the White House for comment about it, alerting Trump that it’s coming and ticking him off. Could be that Frum’s wrong, of course, or it could be that he’s right but the big scoop has nothing to do with what Comey told the Intelligence Committee. We’ll probably know this week.
Update: Lo and behold, here’s Reuters with a new story this afternoon claiming that Comey’s FBI is running no fewer than three separate investigations into Russian hacking during the campaign. “This counterintelligence inquiry includes but is not limited to examination of financial transactions by Russian individuals and companies who are believed to have links to Trump associates. The transactions under scrutiny involve investments by Russians in overseas entities that appear to have been undertaken through middlemen and front companies, two people briefed on the probe said.”
Linda’s not on the intel committee.
Richard Burr, North Carolina, Chairman
Jim Risch, Idaho
Marco Rubio, Florida
Susan Collins, Maine
Roy Blunt, Missouri
James Lankford, Oklahoma
Tom Cotton, Arkansas
John Cornyn, Texas
RATS
Mark Warner, Virginia, Vice Chairman[10]
Dianne Feinstein, California
Ron Wyden, Oregon
Martin Heinrich, New Mexico
Angus King, Maine[11]
Joe Manchin, West Virginia
Kamala Harris, California
Ex officio
John McCain, Arizona
Mitch McConnell, Kentucky
Jack Reed, Rhode Island
Chuck Schumer, New York
Wow, reading over that list makes one realize the country’s peril.
So many swamp monsters, so little time........
McCain and Ryan need to be identified as the dangerous domestic enemies they are, and arrested. Others in the group soon to follow, as well.
Prayers for America’s Restoration, one monster at a time.
So McTraitor should have been there but wasn’t?
Did you mean to say Mc Cain and Graham?
He is in E.u.r.o.p.e.
I recall that he killed someone. Is this what you’re referring to?
It is scary to see some of the names on the intel committee list. I wouldn’t trust half of those people with a grocery list.
Pence’s friend? What friend?
I see McCain & Ryan as the 2 most dangerous and powerful traitors in the Republican party at present. These two must be targeted for removal by the Trump Team.
Of course, Election Reform must come first.
Interesting theory. Time will tell. Welcome to FreeRepublic, Peter Gunn.
Who is comm director now? And I like Bolton, too. He was an excellent UN Ambassador.
Yeah, plus he was involved with underage girls and drugs. In Belize, I believe.
How to get rid of TRUMP???
I think you just hit the ten ring.
Trouble ahead, trouble behind, and you know that notion just crossed my mind......
_____________________________________________
Woo hoo, they just released Cornell (5/8/77) on CD. I heard some yesterday on Sirius.
Ex-CIA Steele is all over the net saying that the contents of the list discussed by Flynn w/whomever he spoke to in Russia included the name of Pence’s close boyhood friend (undisclosed so far; thought to perhaps be Jeff Flake) in relation to pedogate. References to this are everywhere and there is no confirmation or denial, but it is supposedly why Pence exploded at Flynn.
One of several articles:
http://yournewswire.com/cia-michael-flynn-dc-pedophile-list/
Regarding whom, what?
This is so bogus. If Manafort, for example, broke some rules in receiving payments or whatever from the Russians, the FBI should investigate and the DoJ can deal with it.
Still no evidence at all that Trump’s campaign was coordinating with them, even though the Dems blatantly reached out for election help over the past decades, and Hillary’s team has been confirmed in meeting with China reps during the campaign.
But really, the Soviet/Russian involvement in influencing US elections has gone on for decades and decades, all for the the other (leftist) side, from funding of numerous leftist activist groups—from the ACLU and the NCC to the disarmament movement.
Now, somehow, without evidence, we’re to make a federal case out of unsubstantiated accusations from the Dems on this?
Enough already. And the GOP are complicit in trying to bring Trump down if they agree to a single congressional hearing on it.
Finally, what the heck is Trump doing in keeping Comey in office?
Rubio is as blackmailed by the Deep State as McCain and Graham are.
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