On April 27, 2018, the House Intelligence Committee released a declassified version of their complete report on Russian election interference – Report on Russian Active Measures. The classified version was published on April 22, 2018.

On March 22, 2018, the House Intelligence Committee released its Final Report – essentially a summary of the report released today. Of particular interest was the Final Findings and Recommendations. We wrote about them here.

Today’s Report provides some crucial new details to previously released findings.

They concern James Clapper and circular leaking.

Here are five important findings from the March Final Report:

Finding #44: Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, now a CNN national security analyst, provided inconsistent testimony to the Committee about his contacts with the media, including CNN.

Finding #42: The leaks prior to the classified Intelligence Community Assessment’s publication, particularly leaks occurring after the U.S. presidential election, correlate to specific language found in the Intelligence Community Assessment.

Finding #16: The Intelligence Community Assessment judgments on Putin’s strategic intentions did not employ proper analytic tradecraft.

Finding #40: Leaks of classified information regarding Russian intentions to sow discord in the U.S. presidential election began prior to election – November 8, 2016.

Finding #41: Leaks of classified information alleging Russian intentions to help elect candidate Trump increased dramatically after the election day – November 8, 2016.

Yesterday, we published a comprehensive piece which walks through every major news story sequentially and provides details and insights gained over the last 18 months.

One of the more important items covered was the following CNN article.

January 10, 2017 – A CNN article, Intel Chiefs Presented Trump With Claims of Russian Efforts to Compromise Him by Evan Perez, Jim Sciutto, Jake Tapper and Carl Bernstein – this article would later be updated and have a January 12, 2017 date.

Some background from an earlier post provides the necessary backdrop:

The Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) report was released internally on January 5, 2017.

On this same day, Obama held a secret White House meeting to discuss the dossier with Susan Rice and FBI Director Comey.

Rice would later send herself an email documenting the January 5, Oval Office meeting. Rice’s email is the only known documentation of the meeting.

A declassified version of the Intelligence Community Assessment was released on January 6, 2017 – the same day Brennan, Clapper and Comey attached a written summary of the dossier to the classified briefing they gave Obama.

Later the same day (January 6), Comey met with President Trump to inform him of the Dossier. This meeting took place just hours after Comey, Brennan and Clapper formally briefed Obama on both the ICA and the Steele Dossier.

Notably, Comey would only inform President Trump of the “salacious” details. “Because that was the part that the leaders of the intelligence community agreed he needed to be told about.”

Shortly after Comey’s meeting with President Trump both the Trump/Comey meeting and the existence of the Dossier were leaked to CNN.

The significance of the meeting was material – as Comey noted in his Memo:

I said media like CNN had them [the Dossier] and were looking for a news hook. I said it was important that we not give them the excuse to write that the FBI has the material.

The media had widely dismissed the Dossier as unsubstantiated and unreportable. It was only after learning that Comey briefed President-Elect Trump that CNN reported on the Dossier.

We’ve previously noted that DNI James Clapper was the individual who leaked information of Comey’s meeting with President Trump to CNN.

The House Intelligence Committee’s Report provides new details.

New information on Finding #41 from today’s Report on Russian Active Measures (page 104):

(U) It is important to note that Evan Perez, Jim Sciutto, Jake Tapper, and Carl Bernstein of CNN reported on January 12, 2016, that President-elect Trump was briefed on classified information indicating that the Russians have compromising personal or financial information that the Russians could use against President-elect Trump.

The Committee’s investigation revealed that President-elect Trump was indeed briefed on the contents of the Steele dossier and when questioned by the Committee, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper admitted that he confirmed the existence of the dossier to the media.

New information on Finding #44 from today’s Report on Russian Active Measures (page 107):

(U) When initially asked about leaks related to the ICA in July 2017, former DNI Clapper flatly denied “discuss[ing] the dossier [compiled by Steele] or any other intelligence related to Russia hacking of the 2016 election with journalists.” Clapper subsequently acknowledged discussing the “dossier with CNN journalist Jake Tapper,” and admitted that he might have spoken with other journalists about the same topic.

Clapper’s discussion with Tapper took place in early January 2017, around the time IC leaders briefed President Obama and President-elect Trump, on “the Christopher Steele information,” a two-page summary of which was “enclosed in” the highly-classified version of the ICA.”

(U) On January 10, 2017, CNN published an article by Tapper and others, which claimed that “classified documents presented last week to President Obama and President-elect Trump included allegations about Mr. Trump ” that were (1) “presented in a two-page synopsis…appended to a report on Russian interference in the 2016 election” and (2) derived from “memos compiled by a former British intelligence operative.”

Those claims were sourced to “multiple U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the briefings.” The next day, Clapper issued a statement describing a call with President-elect Trump in which Clapper “expressed my profound-dismay at the leaks that have been appearing the in press” and “emphasized . . . that I do not believe the leaks came from within the lC.”

Here is Clapper’s January 11, 2017, formal statement:

This evening, I had the opportunity to speak with President-elect Donald Trump to discuss recent media reports about our briefing last Friday. I expressed my profound dismay at the leaks that have been appearing in the press, and we both agreed that they are extremely corrosive and damaging to our national security.

We also discussed the private security company document, which was widely circulated in recent months among the media, members of Congress and Congressional staff even before the IC became aware of it.

I emphasized that this document is not a U.S. Intelligence Community product and that I do not believe the leaks came from within the IC. The IC has not made any judgment that the information in this document is reliable, and we did not rely upon it in any way for our conclusions.

However, part of our obligation is to ensure that policymakers are provided with the fullest possible picture of any matters that might affect national security.

President-elect Trump again affirmed his appreciation for all the men and women serving in the Intelligence Community, and I assured him that the IC stands ready to serve his Administration and the American people.

James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence

As I noted in a February 23, 2108 post, every single assertion in Clapper’s statement is factually incorrect.

The Intelligence Community:

knew of the Dossier from the start.

helped in the Dossier’s creation.

directly leaked information – including Clapper himself.

relied on the Dossier in obtaining the FISA Warrant.

relied on the Dossier – at least in part – in the IC Assessment Report.

repeatedly lied about doing so.

actively colluded against the Trump Administration.

Note how Clapper’s statement reaffirms the Dossier and specifies that Clapper has now discussed the Dossier with President-Elect Trump.

Additionally, despite full awareness of the Dossier, Clapper repeatedly denied any knowledge of the FISA Warrant and denied leaking to the media.

Clapper did so on March 5, 2017. He did so again on September 24, 2017 – but this interview appeared far more defensive.

On January 31, 2018, Clapper nervously executed something of an about face.

This was simply an extension of uh, the original, uh, FISA request. Meaning that, or implying, that apparently, there was information that was considered, uh, ‘valuable’, that was being obtained, via the initial FISA request.

When the time was up for the initial FISA report, FISA request, then it was time to get an extension.

Sometime between September 24, 2017 and January 31, 2018, Clapper admitted that he leaked details of the Dossier to CNN.

This admission was made to the House Intelligence Committee. Clapper may have previously made the same admission to Inspector General Horowitz and/or Outside Prosecutor John Huber.

Consider what transpired in full.

1. James Clapper leaks details of the Steele Dossier to CNN’s Jake Tapper on or before January 6, 2017:

Clapper subsequently acknowledged discussing the “dossier with CNN journalist Jake Tapper,” and admitted that he might have spoken with other journalists about the same topic. Clapper’s discussion with Tapper took place in early January 2017.

Clapper briefed CNN on the Dossier before Comey briefed President-Elect Trump.

Remember, Comey specifically told President-Elect Trump that “CNN had them and were looking for a news hook.”

That CNN already had the Dossier – and specifically wanted a rationale to publish – was Comey’s entire reasoning in briefing President-Elect Trump.

2. Clapper then directs FBI Director Comey to brief President Trump on the Dossier on January 6, 2017. From Comey’s Memos:

I said there was something that Clapper wanted me to speak to the PE [President-Elect] about alone or in a very small group.

I then executed the session exactly as I had planned. I told him [President Trump] that I wanted to meet with him to tell him more about what is in the reports written by [redacted – likely Steele]. I said that the written reports themselves were [redacted] and the content known at IC senior level and that I didn’t want him to get caught cold by some of the detail.

I said I wasn’t saying this was true, only that I wanted him to know both that it had been reported and that the reports were in many hands. I said media like CNN had them and were looking for a news hook. I said it was important that we not give them the excuse to write that the FBI has the material or [REDACTED] and that we were keeping it very close-hold.

Again, Clapper briefed CNN on the Dossier before Comey briefed President-Elect Trump.

CNN had them [Dossier] and were looking for a news hook.

Comey’s briefing of President-Elect Trump created the very excuse for CNN to run the story. If the Dossier was of such material significance it required the FBI Director to brief the President-Elect…

I said it was important that we not give them the excuse to write that the FBI has the material or [REDACTED] and that we were keeping it very close-hold.

3. Clapper specifically instructs Comey to only brief President Trump on the “salacious details”. From the Tapper/Comey Interview transcript:

TAPPER: In January, 2017 when you met with President Trump and you did that oral presentation of what’s in that two page memo, summarizing the Steele dossier. We know from the book that you talked about these unverified allegations involving him and prostitutes.

Did you brief him about any — any of the other things in the Steele dossier, claims that his associates, Michael Cohen or Paul Manafort, were potentially working with the Russians? Or was it only about the prostitutes?

COMEY: It was only about the salacious part of it.

TAPPER: Why? Why only about that?

COMEY: Because that was the part that the leaders of the intelligence community agreed he needed to be told about because we knew it and thought it was about to become public.

That was the part that the leaders of the intelligence community agreed he needed to be told about because we knew it and thought it was about to become public.

Consider the farce surrounding this interview. Tapper knew everything because Tapper had been briefed by Clapper prior to Comey briefing President-Elect Trump.

4. Clapper informs CNN that FBI Director Comey has now completed briefing President-Elect Trump of the Dossier. Clapper’s second leak to CNN occurs sometime between January 6, 2017 and January 10, 2017.

Clapper does not reveal to CNN that Comey only briefed President-Elect Trump of the “salacious details”:

“Classified documents presented last week to President Obama and President-elect Trump included allegations about Mr. Trump ” that were (1) “presented in a two-page synopsis…appended to a report on Russian interference in the 2016 election” and (2) derived from “memos compiled by a former British intelligence operative.”

Those claims were sourced to “multiple U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the briefings.”

5. Clapper issues statement on January 11, 2017 condemning the leaks – at the same time Clapper acknowledges that he, too, has now briefed President-Elect Trump on the Steele Dossier:

This evening, I had the opportunity to speak with President-elect Donald Trump to discuss recent media reports about our briefing last Friday. I expressed my profound dismay at the leaks that have been appearing in the press, and we both agreed that they are extremely corrosive and damaging to our national security.

We also discussed the private security company document, which was widely circulated in recent months among the media, members of Congress and Congressional staff even before the IC became aware of it.

I emphasized that this document is not a U.S. Intelligence Community product and that I do not believe the leaks came from within the IC.

On January 10, 2017, immediately following the CNN story, Buzzfeed published the Steele Dossier.

The Trump-Russia Conspiracy was born.

The CNN report would establish the second phase of the Trump-Russia Collusion Narrative. It would lead to AG Sessions’ recusal – and the appointment of Mueller as Special Counsel.

I have repeatedly maintained Brennan stands at the center of everything. Clapper provided the assists.

For more on Brennan’s Role see:

In my article yesterday – A Story of Intelligence Fabrication & Media Collusion, I closed with the following:

In very broad terms, here is what I think probably transpired:

Brennan used unofficial intelligence – from unofficial channels – to establish a Multi-Agency Task Force and push the FBI into starting their July 2016 Investigation.

Some of this unofficial intelligence originated from foreign sources – particularly Britain’s GCHQ.

Some of this unofficial intelligence came through illegal Section 702 searches conducted by the FBI and NSD.

This unofficial intelligence – both foreign and Section 702 – was insufficient to obtain a FISA Warrant.

Early FISA attempts either failed or were simply not attempted due to dubious intelligence sources.

The FBI may have been rightly concerned over inclusion of illegally obtained Section 702 data in early attempts – or potential attempts – to gain a FISA Warrant.

The Steele Dossier would serve as a laundering device for both types of information previously gathered – illegal Section 702 searches and unofficial foreign intelligence.

Information that had been contrived and internal now became independent and external, was neatly packaged and presented back to the FBI as evidence of Trump-Russia collusion.

The Dossier allowed the FBI’s hands to appear clean and independent. It allowed Brennan to appear totally removed.

Carter Page’s July 2016 Moscow trip coupled with Page’s involvement in the Buryakov case presented the FBI with a fortuitous and unique opportunity.

The Steele Dossier was re-compiled. Data previously gathered – Section 702 and unofficial foreign intelligence – was combined with allegations relating to Page’s July 2016 Moscow trip and information the FBI held regarding Page’s involvement in the Buryakov case.

The reformulated Dossier was then used to obtain the October 2016 FISA Warrant. Former Deputy Director McCabe testified that without the Steele Dossier no FISA Application would have been attempted.

The FISA Warrant provided retroactive cover for opening the July 2016 FBI Investigation and the illegal Section 702 searches.

Brennan and Clapper then used the Intelligence Community Assessments to push the Russian Narrative so prevalent in 2017.

Concurrently, information from the illegal Section 702 “About” queries was disseminated into intelligence channels and leaked to the media.

I suspect that we will uncover some meaningful ties between the British, the DNC and the Hillary Campaign.

Obama Administration officials and State Department officials were involved as well.

Again, this is the broadest of descriptions. Actual details appear endless. Many more connections will be uncovered.

A few well placed intelligence officials, a small group of willing FBI officials, Clinton & Obama loyalists, some worried allies – unnerved over the prospect of losing the status quo, a shaky Dossier, and a compliant and complicit group of reporters.

They never imagined Hillary Clinton could lose.

When she did, the hubris remained. They felt certain President Trump would either be impeached or fundamentally wounded. An Administration hobbled by scandal and uncertainty until 2020.

Thankfully, they were wrong.

Ultimately, I believe there are two fundamental stories that will unveil the entirety of what’s transpired in Washington:

John Brennan’s dual role – using unofficial intelligence to establish the FBI’s Trump-Russia Investigation and using the ICA to push the Trump-Russia Narrative. FISA Abuse committed by the DOJ’s National Security Division and the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division.

Clapper is just the beginning. There will be much more to come.

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