ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Tuesday, we broke down how based on publicly disclosed information, it is a logical and reasonable conclusion that politics played a major role in the origins of the FBI’s counterintelligence operation involving the Trump campaign and alleged connections with the Russian government.

Wednesday, investigative reporter Sharyl Atkisson amplified this idea at The Hill and laid out a devastating case:

(T)here’s a growing appearance of alleged wrongdoing equally as insidious, if not more so, because it implies widespread misuse of America’s intelligence and law enforcement apparatus.



Atkisson lays out eight major indications that the operation was directed at Trump, not the Kremlin, and was politically motivated.

Her observations include the plethora of wiretaps:

Secret surveillance was conducted on no fewer than seven Trump associates: chief strategist Stephen Bannon; lawyer Michael Cohen; national security adviser Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn; adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner; campaign chairman Paul Manafort; and campaign foreign policy advisers Carter Page and George Papadopoulos.

The extraordinary use of National Security Letters:

Improper use of such letters has been an ongoing theme at the FBI. Reviews by the Department of Justice’s Inspector General found widespread misuse under Mueller — who was then FBI director — and said officials failed to report instances of abuses as required.

The ubiquitous and insidious use of media leaks to help drive and shape the news narrative surrounding the investigation:

A few of the notable leaks include word that Flynn was wiretapped, the anti-Trump “Steele dossier” of political opposition research, then-FBI Director James Comey briefing Trump on it, private Comey conversations with Trump, Comey’s memos recording those conversations and criticizing Trump, the subpoena of Trump’s personal bank records (which proved false) and Flynn planning to testify against Trump (which also proved to be false).

Atkisson joined me on my daily radio program on WMAL in Washington Wednesday to discuss her analysis and the latest developments in the investigation of the investigation:

You would not normally use a sledgehammer to kill an ant if you can wipe him off with a feather duster. Using surveillance inside a political campaign should be almost a last resort under our constitution. Spying on US citizens is something that is supposed to be almost never done and if done at all, is super justified and supervised. And, really, even more so if you’re talking about a political campaign or a journalist because of the potential that it looks like abuse or it could be abuse.

Listen to the entire interview here:





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