Tobbaco

[webfact]

Trump to ask Justice Dept. to look into campaign surveillance claims

By Doina Chiacu

 

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he delivers remarks during the Prison Reform Summit at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 18, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump demanded on Twitter on Sunday that the Justice Department look into whether his 2016 presidential campaign was infiltrated or surveilled by the agency or the FBI under the Obama administration.

 

Trump's simmering anger over Special Counsel Robert Mueller's year-old Russia probe appeared to spill over into a series of well-worn recriminations in several tweets, including that the investigation was politically motivated and had its roots in the administration of his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama.

 

Federal investigators are looking into whether Russia tried to sway the election and if it worked with the Trump campaign to do so. Trump has denied any collusion and repeatedly dismissed the investigation as a "witch hunt."

 

"I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

 

Trump also escalated his attacks on the Justice Department on Friday, suggesting that the FBI may have planted or recruited an informant in his 2016 presidential campaign. He cited unidentified reports that at least one FBI representative was "implanted" for political purposes into his campaign.

 

Neither Trump nor Rudy Giuliani, a former New York mayor who is now one of Trump's lawyers, provided any evidence of government infiltration into Trump's presidential campaign. Giuliani acknowledged in a CNN interview on Friday that neither he nor the president really knew if such action took place.

 

Giuliani was quoted by the New York Times later on Sunday as saying that Mueller had said the investigation would wrap up by Sept. 1.

A source familiar with the probe called the Sept. 1 deadline "entirely made-up" and "another apparent effort to pressure the special counsel to hasten the end of his work."

 

"He’ll wrap it up when he thinks he's turned over every rock, and when that is will depend on how cooperative witnesses, persons of interest and maybe even some targets are, if any of those emerge, and on what new evidence he finds, not on some arbitrary, first-of-the-month deadline one of the president's attorneys cooks up," said the source, a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

 

UNSUBSTANTIATED ASSERTIONS

In September, the Justice Department said it had no evidence to support another of Trump's unsubstantiated assertions: that Obama had ordered a wiretap of Trump Tower during the 2016 presidential campaign.

 

It was unclear what kind of response Trump was seeking from the Justice Department this time, since investigations are kept secret and designed to be insulated from political influence and White House meddling.

 

A spokeswoman said the Justice Department had asked the Inspector General to expand a review of the process for requesting surveillance warrants to include determining whether there was impropriety or political motivation in how the FBI conducted its investigation.

 

Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, called Trump's suspicion of an embedded spy "nonsense." "His 'demand' DOJ investigate something they know to be untrue is an abuse of power, and an effort to distract from his growing legal problems," Schiff said on Twitter.

 

In his earlier tweets on Sunday, Trump reprised his attacks on Hillary Clinton, his Democratic challenger in 2016, and maintained that Democrats were not submitted to the same FBI scrutiny.

 

Trump also implied that the special counsel investigation of whether foreign governments tried to influence the presidential campaign was designed to hurt Republicans in the November congressional elections.

 

"Now that the Witch Hunt has given up on Russia and is looking at the rest of the World, they should easily be able to take it into the Mid-Term Elections where they can put some hurt on the Republican Party," he wrote.

 

Trump, who has long complained the Russia probe has overstepped its bounds, referred to reports that his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., met in August 2016 with an envoy representing the crown princes of United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

 

The New York Times reported on Saturday the meetings were an indication that other countries besides Russia may have offered help to Trump's presidential campaign.

 

(Additional reporting by John Walcott, Sarah Lynch, Patricia Zengerle and Julia Harte; Editing by Peter Cooney and Sandra Maler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-05-21

[attrayant]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

[Trump] cited unidentified reports that at least one FBI representative was "implanted" for political purposes into his campaign.

 

The same Trump who criticizes the media for using unnamed sources.

[Jingthing]

He thinks he's a dictator above the rule of law. He may be right. The congress has totally failed to check him. 

[zaphod reborn]

Trump hires known Russian collaborators Carter Page, George Papadopolous, Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn to run his campaign.  He also has Roger Stone working in Moscow during the campaign, allegedly on the Trump Tower deal.  The FBI investigation begins after Papadopolous drunkenly brags to an Australian diplomat at the Kensington Wine Room that Russia has dirt on Clinton.  The FBI, as part of their investigation, sends a double agent to approach Papadopolous and Page (who had previously been subject of an investigation where he was a recruiting target of convicted Russian spies) to get information about their Russian contacts.

 

Does Trump really think the FBI shouldn't be investigating his campaign this way?  It would be a calamity if the FBI didn't investigate this obvious infiltration of the campaign.  Either Trump didn't vet his campaign staff or he wanted people with expertise in getting assistance from Russia on his campaign team.

[KKr]

When he was wrong, Donald Duck always screamed louder than his three little Duck opponents or Uncle to show them he was right.

[farcanell]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

In his earlier tweets on Sunday, Trump reprised his attacks on Hillary Clinton, his Democratic challenger in 2016, and maintained that Democrats were not submitted to the same FBI scrutiny.

And here was me believing that the FBI tanked hillaries bid for potus with their last minute investigation announcements, giving don the underdog an upset victory ???

[farcanell]

“U.S. President Donald Trump demanded on Twitter on Sunday that the Justice Department look into whether his 2016 presidential campaign was infiltrated or surveilled by the agency or the FBI under the Obama administration.”

 

wait one... mueller will be right over to take a statement... I understand he might have a few questions to ask, as well ?

[Chomper Higgot]

Trump could of course simply call the DoJ and ask for an investigation. 

 

His use of Twitter to request this investigation gives away the fact he knows there is nothing to these claims he's making, but his base will swallow yet another of his lies. 

 

Meanwhile the DoJ will play along while the main investigation by Mueller presses on.

 

The truth will (despite Trump's best efforts) out.

[farcanell]

9 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Trump could of course simply call the DoJ and ask for an investigation. 

 

His use of Twitter to request this investigation gives away the fact he knows there is nothing to these claims he's making, but his base will swallow yet another of his lies. 

 

Meanwhile the DoJ will play along while the main investigation by Mueller presses on.

 

The truth will (despite Trump's best efforts) out.

Lol.... I know who the leaker is, I know who the leaker is ????

i wonder if there is a reward

 

meanwhile, I see trump is putting some thought into possible accommodation, after his stay at the White House.

 

6 hours ago, webfact said:

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he delivers remarks during the Prison Reform Summit at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 18, 2018.

 

[riclag]

51 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Trump could of course simply call the DoJ and ask for an investigation. 

 

His use of Twitter to request this investigation gives away the fact he knows there is nothing to these claims he's making, but his base will swallow yet another of his lies. 

 

Meanwhile the DoJ will play along while the main investigation by Mueller presses on.

 

The truth will (despite Trump's best efforts) out.

Many months ago the media was ripping  and mocking PT Tweet  for even suggesting that the past Admin was  putting his campaign under surveillance.

http://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/388436-after-year-of-investigation-trump-can-rightly-claim-some-vindication

 

[smotherb]

What, no pro-trump rants?

[spidermike007]

Tiny D is going down in flames. Mueller is getting closer and closer to making this happen. Impeachment or resignation. He will not serve out this term. Just watch and wait. Triple D (draft dodging Don) will exit stage left quite soon. And the world will celebrate the disappearance of a dangerous huckster fool. 

 

If there is even the possibility that Tiny D. is guilty, he is. He cheats. He steals. He lies. That is just who he is. He tries hard not to get caught. Is his luck running out? One can only hope. 

Edited May 21, 2018 by spidermike007

[atyclb]

why doesn't the fbi just get the evidence on russian collision from the belarus sex coach in a bangkok jail?

 

 

[Chomper Higgot]

4 hours ago, riclag said:

Many months ago the media was ripping  and mocking PT Tweet  for even suggesting that the past Admin was  putting his campaign under surveillance.

http://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/388436-after-year-of-investigation-trump-can-rightly-claim-some-vindication

 

There is no evidence that Obama spied on Trump (Trump’s actual claim).

 

Obama, unlike Trump, made no attempts to have the DoJ act as his personal servants.

[riclag]

36 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

There is no evidence that Obama spied on Trump (Trump’s actual claim).

 

Obama, unlike Trump, made no attempts to have the DoJ act as his personal servants.

The New York Times this week disclosed that the FBI made a conscious effort to use secret counterintelligence powers to investigate Trump officials and may have had a confidential informant who was used in connection with key Trump figures long before the November 2016 election. (Officials stated anonymously that this was a longstanding source who worked with both the FBI and CIA for years.

http://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/388436-after-year-of-investigation-trump-can-rightly-claim-some-vindication

"After the media went into meltdown mode in order to spin and distract from the blockbusting news that the Obama administration, via the intelligence agencies under his control, did indeed order surveillance on the Trump campaign before the official“Russia investigation” began as well as before and after the 2016 presidential election, a rapid series of articles, legal opinions, and reactions followed".

https://thedailycoin.org/2018/05/20/new-information-confirms-there-is-a-major-political-reckoning-on-the-horizon/

 

N.Y. TIMES CONFIRMS OBAMA SPIED ON TRUMP

Operation 'Crossfire Hurricane' began days after Clinton probe ended

http://www.wnd.com/2018/05/n-y-times-confirms-obama-spied-on-trump/

[Chomper Higgot]

1 minute ago, riclag said:

The New York Times this week disclosed that the FBI made a conscious effort to use secret counterintelligence powers to investigate Trump officials and may have had a confidential informant who was used in connection with key Trump figures long before the November 2016 election. (Officials stated anonymously that this was a longstanding source who worked with both the FBI and CIA for years.

http://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/388436-after-year-of-investigation-trump-can-rightly-claim-some-vindication

"After the media went into meltdown mode in order to spin and distract from the blockbusting news that the Obama administration, via the intelligence agencies under his control, did indeed order surveillance on the Trump campaign before the official“Russia investigation” began as well as before and after the 2016 presidential election, a rapid series of articles, legal opinions, and reactions followed".

https://thedailycoin.org/2018/05/20/new-information-confirms-there-is-a-major-political-reckoning-on-the-horizon/

 

N.Y. TIMES CONFIRMS OBAMA SPIED ON TRUMP

Operation 'Crossfire Hurricane' began days after Clinton probe ended

http://www.wnd.com/2018/05/n-y-times-confirms-obama-spied-on-trump/

Yeh.... 

 

Individuals already known to be acting as Russian agents.

 

[smotherb]

12 minutes ago, riclag said:

The New York Times this week disclosed that the FBI made a conscious effort to use secret counterintelligence powers to investigate Trump officials and may have had a confidential informant who was used in connection with key Trump figures long before the November 2016 election. (Officials stated anonymously that this was a longstanding source who worked with both the FBI and CIA for years.

http://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/388436-after-year-of-investigation-trump-can-rightly-claim-some-vindication

"After the media went into meltdown mode in order to spin and distract from the blockbusting news that the Obama administration, via the intelligence agencies under his control, did indeed order surveillance on the Trump campaign before the official“Russia investigation” began as well as before and after the 2016 presidential election, a rapid series of articles, legal opinions, and reactions followed".

https://thedailycoin.org/2018/05/20/new-information-confirms-there-is-a-major-political-reckoning-on-the-horizon/

 

N.Y. TIMES CONFIRMS OBAMA SPIED ON TRUMP

Operation 'Crossfire Hurricane' began days after Clinton probe ended

http://www.wnd.com/2018/05/n-y-times-confirms-obama-spied-on-trump/

NY Times, you mean that FAKE News agency?  You cannot have both ways bunky.

 

Here is a timeline you ought to know:

June 16, 2015: Donald Trump announces candidacy for president.

July 2015: Hackers backed by the Russian government penetrate the Democratic National Committee’s networks, stealing large volumes of data and maintaining access for about a year.

Mid 2015: Thousands of Kremlin-backed social media accounts begin to spread propaganda and disinformation, showing a clear preference for Trump.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2018/feb/15/russia-investigation-and-donald-trump-timeline-rec/

Russian Twitter Support for Trump Began Right After He Started Campaign

https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-twitter-support-for-trump-began-right-after-he-started-campaign-1509964380

 

Well, now, if Russian--or any other non-American entity-- influence is supporting a candidate for POTUS; do you think the FBI has no obligation to investigate?

[riclag]

3 minutes ago, smotherb said:

NY Times, you mean that FAKE News agency?  You cannot have both ways bunky.

 

Here is a timeline you ought to know:

June 16, 2015: Donald Trump announces candidacy for president.

 

July 2015: Hackers backed by the Russian government penetrate the Democratic National Committee’s networks, stealing large volumes of data and maintaining access for about a year.

 

Mid 2015: Thousands of Kremlin-backed social media accounts begin to spread propaganda and disinformation, showing a clear preference for Trump.

 

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2018/feb/15/russia-investigation-and-donald-trump-timeline-rec/

 

Russian Twitter Support for Trump Began Right After He Started Campaign

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-twitter-support-for-trump-began-right-after-he-started-campaign-1509964380

 

 

 

Well, now, if Russian--or any other non-American entity-- influence is supporting a candidate for POTUS; do you think the FBI has no obligation to investigate?

 

 No one on this planet is disputing the Crossfire Hurricane Surveillance  by the FBI and DOJ. 

Fourteen months  ago the media was ripping  and mocking PT Tweets  for even suggesting that the past Admin was  putting his campaign under surveillance

http://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/388436-after-year-of-investigation-trump-can-rightly-claim-some-vindication

[Chomper Higgot]

2 minutes ago, riclag said:

 No one on this planet is disputing the Crossfire Hurricane Surveillance  by the FBI and DOJ. 

Fourteen months  ago the media was ripping  and mocking PT Tweets  for even suggesting that the past Admin was  putting his campaign under surveillance

http://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/388436-after-year-of-investigation-trump-can-rightly-claim-some-vindication

The Obama administration was not putting the Trump  ampaign under surveillance.

 

The DoJ and FBI were monitoring individuals known to be acting as Russian agents.

 

Trump then employed these individuals in his campaign.

 

You’re doing a Giuliani, the more you say the wise you make it for the crook you are defending.

[riclag]

2 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The Obama administration was not putting the Trump  ampaign under surveillance.

 

The DoJ and FBI were monitoring individuals known to be acting as Russian agents.

 

Trump then employed these individuals in his campaign.

 

You’re doing a Giuliani, the more you say the wise you make it for the crook you are defending.

Crossfire Hurricane was under the Obama Admin.They were surveilling  the Trump campaign

 "100 days prior to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the FBI began a secret investigation into the Donald Trump campaign’s ties to Russia. The investigation was given a code name: Crossfire Hurricane"

https://pitchfork.com/news/fbi-named-trump-russia-investigation-after-rolling-stones-lyrics/

 

[smotherb]

Just now, riclag said:

 No one on this planet is disputing the Crossfire Hurricane Surveillance  by the FBI and DOJ. 

Fourteen months  ago the media was ripping  and mocking PT Tweets  for even suggesting that the past Admin was  putting his campaign under surveillance

http://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/388436-after-year-of-investigation-trump-can-rightly-claim-some-vindication

Oh, so now it isn't that the FBI investigated Trump, it was the fact that the libtards scoffed at the idea. So, you are saying you think Obama ordered the FBI to investigate Trump? The same FBI that, until Trump started meddling, was supposed to be non-partisan, above political influence and somewhat isolated from the administration. No, it appears the FBI was simply doing it's job when US intelligence discovered the Russian hacking rather than being micro-managed by the POTUS.

[riclag]

13 minutes ago, smotherb said:

Oh, so now it isn't that the FBI investigated Trump, it was the fact that the libtards scoffed at the idea. So, you are saying you think Obama ordered the FBI to investigate Trump? The same FBI that, until Trump started meddling, was supposed to be non-partisan, above political influence and somewhat isolated from the administration. No, it appears the FBI was simply doing it's job when US intelligence discovered the Russian hacking rather than being micro-managed by the POTUS.

U.S, Attorney Andrew McCarthy: "Crossfire Hurricane"

"There was no criminal predicate to justify an investigation of any Trump-campaign official,” So, the FBI did not open a criminal investigation. Instead, the bureau opened a counterintelligence investigation and hoped that evidence of crimes committed by Trump officials would emerge.”

He wrote it is “an abuse of power to use counterintelligence powers, including spying and electronic surveillance, to conduct what is actually a criminal investigation.”

http://www.wnd.com/2018/05/n-y-times-confirms-obama-spied-on-trump/

I never said Obama ordered the spying

 

Edited May 21, 2018 by riclag

[atyclb]

6 hours ago, riclag said:

Many months ago the media was ripping  and mocking PT Tweet  for even suggesting that the past Admin was  putting his campaign under surveillance.

http://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/388436-after-year-of-investigation-trump-can-rightly-claim-some-vindication

 

  fake news, we all know trump is the de facto vice president of russia

Edited May 21, 2018 by atyclb

[smotherb]

14 minutes ago, riclag said:

U.S, Attorney Andrew McCarthy: "Crossfire Hurricane"

"There was no criminal predicate to justify an investigation of any Trump-campaign official,” So, the FBI did not open a criminal investigation. Instead, the bureau opened a counterintelligence investigation and hoped that evidence of crimes committed by Trump officials would emerge.”

He wrote it is “an abuse of power to use counterintelligence powers, including spying and electronic surveillance, to conduct what is actually a criminal investigation.”

http://www.wnd.com/2018/05/n-y-times-confirms-obama-spied-on-trump/

 

Don’t you feel the least bit guilty relying on stories by new agencies your boy Dotard Donald has called FAKE news?

“But Trump and his backers are wrong about what it means that the FBI reportedly was using a confidential source to gather information early in its investigation of possible campaign ties to Russia. The investigation started out as a counterintelligence probe, not a criminal one. And relying on a covert source rather than a more intrusive method of gathering information suggests that the FBI may have been acting cautiously — perhaps too cautiously — to protect the campaign, not undermine it.

As a former FBI counterintelligence agent, I know what Trump apparently does not: Counterintelligence investigations have a different purpose than their criminal counterparts. Rather than trying to find evidence of a crime, the FBI’s counterintelligence goal is to identify, monitor and neutralize foreign intelligence activity in the United States.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/05/18/if-the-fbi-used-an-informant-it-wasnt-to-go-after-trump-it-was-to-protect-him/?utm_term=.ff1f1d2bba87

“F.B.I. Used Informant to Investigate Russia Ties to Campaign, Not to Spy, as Trump Claims . . . In fact, F.B.I. agents sent an informant to talk to two campaign advisers only after they received evidence that the pair had suspicious contacts linked to Russia during the campaign.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/18/us/politics/trump-fbi-informant-russia-investigation.html

 

Oh, and by the way, you somehow forgot to answer my question. “. . . if Russian influence is supporting a candidate for POTUS; do you not think the FBI should investigate?”

 

[atyclb]

12 minutes ago, smotherb said:

Don’t you feel the least bit guilty relying on stories by new agencies your boy Dotard Donald has called FAKE news?

 

“But Trump and his backers are wrong about what it means that the FBI reportedly was using a confidential source to gather information early in its investigation of possible campaign ties to Russia. The investigation started out as a counterintelligence probe, not a criminal one. And relying on a covert source rather than a more intrusive method of gathering information suggests that the FBI may have been acting cautiously — perhaps too cautiously — to protect the campaign, not undermine it.

 

As a former FBI counterintelligence agent, I know what Trump apparently does not: Counterintelligence investigations have a different purpose than their criminal counterparts. Rather than trying to find evidence of a crime, the FBI’s counterintelligence goal is to identify, monitor and neutralize foreign intelligence activity in the United States.”

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/05/18/if-the-fbi-used-an-informant-it-wasnt-to-go-after-trump-it-was-to-protect-him/?utm_term=.ff1f1d2bba87

 

 

 

“F.B.I. Used Informant to Investigate Russia Ties to Campaign, Not to Spy, as Trump Claims . . . In fact, F.B.I. agents sent an informant to talk to two campaign advisers only after they received evidence that the pair had suspicious contacts linked to Russia during the campaign.”

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/18/us/politics/trump-fbi-informant-russia-investigation.html

 

 

 

Oh, and by the way, you somehow forgot to answer my question. “. . . if Russian influence is supporting a candidate for POTUS; do you not think the FBI should investigate?”

 

 

 

 

 

your post especially as a former fbi agent would have more credibility had you not included the pejorative term "dotard" as it could be perceived you are biased.  the dictator kim un coined that term so it is surprising an fbi agent would lend credence to an iron fisted murderer by quoting him.

[smotherb]

18 minutes ago, atyclb said:

 

 

your post especially as a former fbi agent would have more credibility had you not included the pejorative term "dotard" as it could be perceived you are biased.  the dictator kim un coined that term so it is surprising an fbi agent would lend credence to an iron fisted murderer by quoting him.

Oh, really, I thought that was his accepted nickname.

 

Oh, and by the way, sorry to have confused you even further, but I am neither an FBI agent, nor did I say I was, that was a quote from the Washington Post--as cited.

Edited May 21, 2018 by smotherb

[atyclb]

6 minutes ago, smotherb said:

23 minutes ago, atyclb said:

 

 

your post especially as a former fbi agent would have more credibility had you not included the pejorative term "dotard" as it could be perceived you are biased.  the dictator kim un coined that term so it is surprising an fbi agent would lend credence to an iron fisted murderer by quoting him.

Oh, really, I thought that was his accepted nickname.

 

Oh, and by the way, sorry to have confused you even further, but I am neither an FBI agent, nor did I say I was, that was a quote from the Washington Post--as cited.

 

 

ahhh, ok i mis assumed you were former fbi since theres a wealth of former special forces, navy seals, mi5/6, and delta force and sas living in thailand.

[smotherb]

2 minutes ago, atyclb said:

 

 

ahhh, ok i mis assumed you were former fbi since theres a wealth of former special forces, navy seals, mi5/6, and delta force and sas living in thailand.

No, just plain old CORDS

[janclaes47]

13 hours ago, attrayant said:

 

The same Trump who criticizes the media for using unnamed sources.

 

The same FBI that claims that Russia interfered in the US elections, but so far hasn't come up with the slightest evidence.

[riclag]

1 hour ago, smotherb said:

Don’t you feel the least bit guilty relying on stories by new agencies your boy Dotard Donald has called FAKE news?

 NO guilt,I already told you "Crossfire Hurricane" has been confirmed .

"It is somewhat funny, then, to read what The New York Times buries in paragraph 70 of the story":

"A year and a half later, no public evidence has surfaced connecting Mr. Trump’s advisers to the hacking or linking Mr. Trump himself to the Russian government’s disruptive efforts".

http://thefederalist.com/2018/05/17/10-key-takeaways-from-new-york-times-error-ridden-defense-of-fbi-spying-on-trump-campaign/

 

Your question  "if Russian influence is supporting a candidate for POTUS; do you not think the FBI should investigate?” This is answered above . No crimes by Trump have been found because of russian influence in the Trump campaign 

 

Edited May 21, 2018 by riclag