Tag: GOP congress

Once the party of law and order, Republicans are now challenging it

The following article by Philip Rucker and Robert Costa was posted on the Washington Post website February 3, 2018:

President Trump listens during a meeting with North Korean defectors in the Oval Office at the White House on Friday. Credit: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post

Republican leaders’ open defiance last week of the FBI over the release of a hotly disputed memo revealed how the GOP, which has long positioned itself as the party of law and order, has become an adversary of federal law enforcement as the party continues its quest to protect President Trump from the Russia investigation.

The FBI, the Justice Department and other agencies are now under concerted assault by Republicans, facing allegations of corruption and conspiracy that have quickly moved from the fringes of the right into the mainstream of the GOP. Continue reading “Once the party of law and order, Republicans are now challenging it”

How Trump’s Allies Fanned an Ember of Controversy Into Flames of Outrage

The following article by Mark Mazzetti was posted on the New York Times website February 2, 2018:

Outside a meeting room used by the House Intelligence Committee on Friday. Credit: Eric Thayer, The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The release of the memo mattered less than #releasethememo.

After weeks of buildup, the three-and-a-half-page document about alleged F.B.I. abuses during the 2016 presidential campaign made public on Friday was broadly greeted with criticism, including by some Republicans. They said it cherry-picked information, made false assertions and was overly focused on an obscure, low-level Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page. Continue reading “How Trump’s Allies Fanned an Ember of Controversy Into Flames of Outrage”

Trump and Nunes torch tradition of trust between Congress and FB

The following article by Douglas M. Charles, Associate Professor of History, Pennsylvania State University, was posted on the Conversation website February 3, 2018:

President Donald Trump’s attacks on the FBI may have reached a climax.

In an apparent attempt to discredit Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, staff of the House Intelligence Committee on behalf of its chair Republican Devin Nunes of California, wrote and on Feb. 2 released a four-page memo based on confidential information made available to them by the FBI. It outlines alleged improprieties in the FBI’s investigation, specifically the monitoring of Trump’s former campaign adviser Carter Page.

Nunes in 2017 was forced to step aside from the committee’s Russia investigation because he was seen as taking direction from the Trump White House. Continue reading “Trump and Nunes torch tradition of trust between Congress and FB”

Wray tells FBI agents ‘talk is cheap’ after memo release

The following article by Brandon Carter was posted on the Hill website February 2, 2018:

FBI Director Christopher Wray sent a message to agency employees following the release of a previously classified memo alleging abuse of government surveillance powers by the Justice Department, calling on employees to “keep calm and tackle hard.”

“The American people read the papers, and they hear lots of talk on cable TV and social media,” Wray wrote in the message, which was obtained by BBC. “But they see and experience the actual work you do — keeping communities safe and our nation secure, often dealing with sensitive matters and making decisions under difficult circumstances. And that work will always matter more.” Continue reading “Wray tells FBI agents ‘talk is cheap’ after memo release”

Kashyap Patel, Main Author of Secret Memo, Is No Stranger to Quarrels By

The following article by Katie Rogers and Matthew Rosenberg was posted on the New York TImes website February 2, 2018:

Kashyap Patel in a photograph posted in 2014.

WASHINGTON — Kashyap Patel is a lawyer who has sometimes run afoul of the rules.

As a lawyer in Florida, Mr. Patel, 37, entered and then dropped out of a charity bachelor auction featuring some colleagues after a blogger pointed out that his license to practice in the state appeared out of date. In 2016, as a counterterrorism prosecutor for the Justice Department, he was berated by a federal judge who then issued an “Order on Ineptitude” directed at the entire agency. And over the summer, in a trip arranged outside official channels, he traveled to London, where he tried unsuccessfully to meet with Christopher Steele, the author of the dossier that purported to details links between the Trump campaign and Russia, according to multiple people with knowledge of the trip. Continue reading “Kashyap Patel, Main Author of Secret Memo, Is No Stranger to Quarrels By”

Why I am Leaving the FBI

The following commentary by Josh Campbell was posted on the New York Times website February 2, 2018:

An F.B.I. agent going door to door in Missouri. Credit Eric Thayer for The New York Times

One of the greatest honors of my life was walking across the stage at the F.B.I. Academy and receiving my special agent badge from the director at the time, Robert Mueller. After 21 weeks of intensive training, my class swore an oath and became federal agents entrusted with the solemn duty of protecting Americans and upholding the Constitution.

After more than a decade of service, which included investigating terrorism, working to rescue kidnapping victims overseas and being special assistant to the director, I am reluctantly turning in my badge and leaving an organization I love. Why? So I can join the growing chorus of people who believe that the relentless attacks on the bureau undermine not just America’s premier law enforcement agency but also the nation’s security. My resignation is painful, but the alternative of remaining quiet while the bureau is tarnished for political gain is impossible. Continue reading “Why I am Leaving the FBI”

Nunes Memo Does Russia’s Work of Eroding Trust in American Justice

The following article by Michael Daly was posted on the Daily Beast website February 2, 2018:

To cast suspicion on the FBI, the memo notes Papadopoulos triggered the bureau’s probe—but omits that he later pleading guilty to lying about his dealings with the Russians.

Credit: Joshua Roberts<

However FBI Agent Peter Strzok felt about FBI lawyer Lisa Page, his texts to his supposed mistress became most emotional not about her but about a dire threat to our national security.

The threat that rouses such ardor in Strzok draws only a shrug from some in the White House and Congress who most loudly proclaim themselves patriots. President Trump excoriates those who go down on one knee during the national anthem, but himself goes down on both knees to an avowed enemy. Continue reading “Nunes Memo Does Russia’s Work of Eroding Trust in American Justice”

The Only Thing the Nunes Memo Proves is That It was Massively Overhyped

The following article by Abigail Tracy was posted on the Vanity Fair website February 2, 2018:

Trump miscalculated, badly, by advocating to #ReleaseTheMemo. Will it backfire?

Credit: Olivier Douliery/Pool/Bloomberg

The much-anticipated Nunes memo, released Friday after weeks of feverish build-up on the far-right, appears to be a dud. The declassified report accuses a group of current and former Justice Department and F.B.I. officials—including James Comey, his former deputy Andrew McCabe, and current Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein—of approving applications to surveil Trump campaign adviser Carter Page without disclosing that ex-British intelligence spy Christopher Steele, who compiled an intelligence dossier used in the warrant, was paid by Democratic sources and harbored anti-Trump bias. The most damning piece of evidence is the allegation that McCabe had testified in December that the warrant would not have been sought without the dossier, although two sources subsequently told The Daily Beast that particular claim is not true. Nowhere in the four-page memo is it noted that Page had already been on the F.B.I.’s radar, after he was targeted for recruitment by Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service years earlier. Continue reading “The Only Thing the Nunes Memo Proves is That It was Massively Overhyped”

6 key takeaways from the GOP memo alleging FBI bias in the Russia investigation

The following article by Amber Phillips was posted on the Washington Post website February 2, 2018:

President Trump approved the release of a controversial and classified congressional memo on Feb. 2. Here are some of its main claims. (The Washington Post)

Republicans claim that when the FBI got a secret court order to spy on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page during the election, it relied “extensively” on information from a politically motivated British ex-spy who was being funded by Democrats to find dirt on Donald Trump. And it didn’t share those political motivations with a secret court that ultimately authorized the surveillance.

That’s the gist of the declassified memo written by House Republicans, which President Trump agreed Friday to release despite concerns from the FBI and Justice Department that the memo is inaccurate and risks undermining source-gathering methods and ongoing investigations. Continue reading “6 key takeaways from the GOP memo alleging FBI bias in the Russia investigation”

Release of disputed GOP memo on FBI surveillance unleashes waves of recrimination

The following article by Devlin Barrett, Karoun Demirjian and Philip Rucker was posted on the Washington Post website February 2, 2018:

President Trump approved the release of a controversial and classified congressional memo on Feb. 2. Here are some of its main claims. (The Washington Post)

A GOP memo declassified on Friday accused senior law enforcement officials of misleading a court in order to conduct surveillance on a former Trump campaign adviser, fueling a growing distrust between the White House and Republicans on one side and the Justice Department and FBI on the other.

The four-page document, which the FBI said is inaccurate, had been the focus of weeks of partisan fights leading up to its release by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, and that acrimony intensified after its publication. Continue reading “Release of disputed GOP memo on FBI surveillance unleashes waves of recrimination”