Tucker: Criticizing FBI could get you investigated (!)
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 4
Rolling Stones - Brown Sugar / Crossfire Hurricane
Looking back, some inside the F.B.I. and the Justice Department say that Mr. Comey should have seen the political storm coming and better sheltered the bureau. They question why he consolidated the Clinton and Trump investigations at headquarters, rather than in a field office. And they say he should not have relied on the same team for both cases. That put a bull’s-eye on the heart of the F.B.I. Any misstep in either investigation made both cases, and the entire bureau, vulnerable to criticism.
And there were missteps. Andrew G. McCabe, the former deputy F.B.I. director, was cited by internal investigators for dishonesty about his conversations with reporters about Mrs. Clinton. That gave ammunition for Mr. Trump’s claims that the F.B.I. cannot be trusted. And Mr. Strzok and Lisa Page, an F.B.I. lawyer, exchanged texts criticizing Mr. Trump, allowing the president to point to evidence of bias when they became public.
The messages were unsparing. They questioned Mr. Trump’s intelligence, believed he promoted intolerance and feared he would damage the bureau.
The inspector general’s upcoming report is expected to criticize those messages for giving the appearance of bias. It is not clear, however, whether inspectors found evidence supporting Mr. Trump’s assertion that agents tried to protect Mrs. Clinton, a claim the F.B.I. has adamantly denied.
Mr. Rubio, who has reviewed many of the texts and case files, said he saw no signs that the F.B.I. wanted to undermine Mr. Trump. “There might have been individual agents that had views that, in hindsight, have been problematic for those agents,” Mr. Rubio said. “But whether that was a systemic effort, I’ve seen no evidence of it.”
Mr. Trump’s daily Twitter posts, though, offer sound-bite-sized accusations — witch hunt, hoax, deep state, rigged system — that fan the flames of conspiracy. Capitol Hill allies reliably echo those comments.
“It’s like the deep state all got together to try to orchestrate a palace coup,” Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, said in January on Fox Business Network.
WASHINGTON — In the days after President Trump fired James B. Comey as F.B.I. director, law enforcement officials became so concerned by the president’s behavior that they began investigating whether he had been working on behalf of Russia against American interests, according to former law enforcement officials and others familiar with the investigation.
The inquiry carried explosive implications. Counterintelligence investigators had to consider whether the president’s own actions constituted a possible threat to national security. Agents also sought to determine whether Mr. Trump was knowingly working for Russia or had unwittingly fallen under Moscow’s influence.
The investigation the F.B.I. opened into Mr. Trump also had a criminal aspect, which has long been publicly known: whether his firing of Mr. Comey constituted obstruction of justice.
Agents and senior F.B.I. officials had grown suspicious of Mr. Trump’s ties to Russia during the 2016 campaign but held off on opening an investigation into him, the people said, in part because they were uncertain how to proceed with an inquiry of such sensitivity and magnitude. But the president’s activities before and after Mr. Comey’s firing in May 2017, particularly two instances in which Mr. Trump tied the Comey dismissal to the Russia investigation, helped prompt the counterintelligence aspect of the inquiry, the people said.
The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, took over the inquiry into Mr. Trump when he was appointed, days after F.B.I. officials opened it. That inquiry is part of Mr. Mueller’s broader examination of how Russian operatives interfered in the 2016 election and whether any Trump associates conspired with them. It is unclear whether Mr. Mueller is still pursuing the counterintelligence matter, and some former law enforcement officials outside the investigation have questioned whether agents overstepped in opening it.
The criminal and counterintelligence elements were coupled together into one investigation, former law enforcement officials said in interviews in recent weeks, because if Mr. Trump had ousted the head of the F.B.I. to impede or even end the Russia investigation, that was both a possible crime and a national security concern. The F.B.I.’s counterintelligence division handles national security matters.
If the president had fired Mr. Comey to stop the Russia investigation, the action would have been a national security issue because it naturally would have hurt the bureau’s effort to learn how Moscow interfered in the 2016 election and whether any Americans were involved, according to James A. Baker, who served as F.B.I. general counsel until late 2017. He privately testified in October before House investigators who were examining the F.B.I.’s handling of the full Russia inquiry.
“Not only would it be an issue of obstructing an investigation, but the obstruction itself would hurt our ability to figure out what the Russians had done, and that is what would be the threat to national security,” Mr. Baker said in his testimony, portions of which were read to The New York Times. Mr. Baker did not explicitly acknowledge the existence of the investigation of Mr. Trump to congressional investigators.
No evidence has emerged publicly that Mr. Trump was secretly in contact with or took direction from Russian government officials. An F.B.I. spokeswoman and a spokesman for the special counsel’s office both declined to comment.
Rudolph W. Giuliani, a lawyer for the president, sought to play down the significance of the investigation. “The fact that it goes back a year and a half and nothing came of it that showed a breach of national security means they found nothing,” Mr. Giuliani said on Friday, though he acknowledged that he had no insight into the inquiry.
The cloud of the Russia investigation has hung over Mr. Trump since even before he took office, though he has long vigorously denied any illicit connection to Moscow. The obstruction inquiry,revealed by The Washington Post a few weeks after Mr. Mueller was appointed, represented a direct threat that he was unable to simply brush off as an overzealous examination of a handful of advisers. But few details have been made public about the counterintelligence aspect of the investigation.
The decision to investigate Mr. Trump himself was an aggressive move by F.B.I. officials who were confronting the chaotic aftermath of the firing of Mr. Comey and enduring the president’s verbal assaults on the Russia investigation as a “witch hunt.”
A vigorous debate has taken shape among some former law enforcement officials outside the case over whether F.B.I. investigators overreacted in opening the counterintelligence inquiry during a tumultuous period at the Justice Department. Other former officials noted that those critics were not privy to all of the evidence and argued that sitting on it would have been an abdication of duty.
The F.B.I. conducts two types of inquiries, criminal and counterintelligence investigations. Unlike criminal investigations, which are typically aimed at solving a crime and can result in arrests and convictions, counterintelligence inquiries are generally fact-finding missions to understand what a foreign power is doing and to stop any anti-American activity, like thefts of United States government secrets or covert efforts to influence policy. In most cases, the investigations are carried out quietly, sometimes for years. Often, they result in no arrests.
Mr. Trump had caught the attention of F.B.I. counterintelligence agents when he called on Russia during a campaign news conference in July 2016 to hack into the emails of his opponent, Hillary Clinton. Mr. Trump had refused to criticize Russia on the campaign trail, praising President Vladimir V. Putin. And investigators had watched with alarm as the Republican Party softened its convention platform on the Ukraine crisis in a way that seemed to benefit Russia.
Other factors fueled the F.B.I.’s concerns, according to the people familiar with the inquiry. Christopher Steele, a former British spy who worked as an F.B.I. informant, had compiled memos in mid-2016containing unsubstantiated claims that Russian officials tried to obtain influence over Mr. Trump by preparing to blackmail and bribe him.
In the months before the 2016 election, the F.B.I. was also already investigating four of Mr. Trump’s associates over their ties to Russia. The constellation of events disquieted F.B.I. officials who were simultaneously watching as Russia’s campaign unfolded to undermine the presidential election by exploiting existing divisions among Americans.
“In the Russian Federation and in President Putin himself, you have an individual whose aim is to disrupt the Western alliance and whose aim is to make Western democracy more fractious in order to weaken our ability, America’s ability and the West’s ability to spread our democratic ideals,” Lisa Page, a former bureau lawyer, told House investigators in private testimony reviewed by The Times.
“That’s the goal, to make us less of a moral authority to spread democratic values,” she added. Parts of her testimony were first reported by The Epoch Times.
And when a newly inaugurated Mr. Trump sought a loyalty pledge from Mr. Comey and later asked that he end an investigation into the president’s national security adviser, the requests set off discussions among F.B.I. officials about opening an inquiry into whether Mr. Trump had tried to obstruct that case.
But law enforcement officials put off the decision to open the investigation until they had learned more, according to people familiar with their thinking. As for a counterintelligence inquiry, they concluded that they would need strong evidence to take the sensitive step of investigating the president, and they were also concerned that the existence of such an inquiry could be leaked to the news media, undermining the entire investigation into Russia’s meddling in the election.
After Mr. Comey was fired on May 9, 2017, two more of Mr. Trump’s actions prompted them to quickly abandon those reservations.
The first was a letter Mr. Trump wanted to send to Mr. Comey about his firing, but never did, in which he mentioned the Russia investigation. In the letter, Mr. Trump thanked Mr. Comey for previously telling him he was not a subject of the F.B.I.’s Russia investigation.
Even after the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, wrote a more restrained draft of the letter and told Mr. Trump that he did not have to mention the Russia investigation — Mr. Comey’s poor handling of the Clinton email investigation would suffice as a fireable offense, he explained — Mr. Trump directed Mr. Rosenstein to mention the Russia investigation anyway.
He disregarded the president’s order, irritating Mr. Trump. The president ultimately added a reference to the Russia investigation to the note he had delivered, thanking Mr. Comey for telling him three times that he was not under investigation.
The second event that troubled investigators was an NBC News interview two days after Mr. Comey’s firing in which Mr. Trump appeared to say he had dismissed Mr. Comey because of the Russia inquiry.
“I was going to fire Comey knowing there was no good time to do it,” he said. “And in fact, when I decided to just do it, I said to myself — I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story. It’s an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should’ve won.”
Mr. Trump’s aides have said that a fuller examination of his comments demonstrates that he did not fire Mr. Comey to end the Russia inquiry. “I might even lengthen out the investigation, but I have to do the right thing for the American people,” Mr. Trump added. “He’s the wrong man for that position.”
As F.B.I. officials debated whether to open the investigation, some of them pushed to move quickly before Mr. Trump appointed a director who might slow down or even end their investigation into Russia’s interference. Many involved in the case viewed Russia as the chief threat to American democratic values.
“With respect to Western ideals and who it is and what it is we stand for as Americans, Russia poses the most dangerous threat to that way of life,” Ms. Page told investigators for a joint House Judiciary and Oversight Committee investigation into Moscow’s election interference.
F.B.I. officials viewed their decision to move quickly as validated when a comment the president made to visiting Russian officials in the Oval Office shortly after he fired Mr. Comey was revealed days later.
“I just fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job,” Mr. Trump said, according to a document summarizing the meeting. “I faced great pressure because of Russia. That’s taken off.”
Read the whole story
· · · · · · ·
Harrowing footage shows gunmen opening fire and killing a man ...
Daily Mail-Jan 7, 2019
Gregorio Cruz Perez was killed during a Sunday morning gun battle in Isla Verde, a district popular with tourists visiting Puerto Rico.
La Policía realiza operativo en residencial para dar con los pistoleros ...
El Nuevo <a href="http://Dia.com" rel="nofollow">Dia.com</a>-10 hours ago
... ocurrido en Isla Verde en el Día de Reyes durante un operativo en el ... dará la espalda a la criminalidad en Puerto Rico y no toleraremos la ...
Ordenan el cierre inmediato del negocio de Isla Verde vinculado a la ...
El Nuevo <a href="http://Dia.com" rel="nofollow">Dia.com</a>-Jan 9, 2019
La Junta de Planificación de Puerto Rico ordenó el miércoles el cese inmediato de operaciones del local Zokkus Lounge Restaurant en la ...
Ordenan cerrar negocio de Isla Verde donde ocurrió balacera
International-Diario Metro de Puerto Rico-Jan 9, 2019
International-Diario Metro de Puerto Rico-Jan 9, 2019
Federales arrestan a dos relacionados a balacera en Día de Reyes en ...
Diario Metro de Puerto Rico-9 hours ago
... participantes en el tiroteo ocurrido el Día de Reyes en Isla Verde. ... y Explosivos (ATF) y la Policía de Puerto Rico (PPR), como parte de la ...
Federales arrestan dos relacionados al asesinato a plena luz del día ...
La Perla del Sur-6 hours ago
La Perla del Sur-6 hours ago
Primera Hora
Detienen individuos presuntamente vinculados con balacera en Isla ...
Telemundo Puerto Rico-Jan 8, 2019
Detienen individuos presuntamente vinculados con balacera en Isla Verde ... relacionadas con la balacera ocurrida el domingo en Isla Verde.
Terrifying moment man is shot dead at point blank range at a gas ...
Daily Mail-Jan 9, 2019
Surveillance cameras at a gas station in northern Puerto Rico ... And a street in the nearby tourist zone of Isla Verde was the site of a wild ...
Diario Metro de Puerto Rico
Autoridades identifican a gatilleros de Isla Verde
Telemundo Puerto Rico-Jan 7, 2019
El inspector Carlos Nazario del Cuerpo de Investigaciones Criminales (CIC) de Carolina aseguró el lunes que tienen un panorama claro del ...
Tiroteo a plena luz del día cobra vida de hombre en Isla Verde
International-Diario Metro de Puerto Rico-Jan 6, 2019
International-Diario Metro de Puerto Rico-Jan 6, 2019
Diario Metro de Puerto Rico
Las autoridades realizan bloqueo en Isla Verde
Telemundo Puerto Rico-Jan 8, 2019
El Personal de Patrullas de Carreteras del Negociado de la Policía de Puerto Rico junto a la Policía Municipal de Carolina efectúan un ...
Atropellan a dos personas en Isla Verde
Telemundo Puerto Rico-Jan 9, 2019
Dos personas fueron arrolladas este miércoles en la Avenida Isla Verde, en Carolina. Según información preliminar, el accidente ocurrió frente ...
'I want peace in Puerto Rico': Heartwarming video shows boy praying ...
Daily Mail-9 hours ago
A 12-year-old boy in Puerto Rico afraid of leaving his home issued an .... A Sunday morning shooting near the tourist district of Isla Verde killed ...
Tribunal ordena cierre del negocio vinculado a balacera grabada en ...
Primera Hora-19 hours ago
La jueza Luisa Lebrón ordenó ayer la paralización de operaciones del negocio Zokku's Lounge en Isla Verde, esto a solicitud del Municipio de ...
Federales colaboran en pesquisa de balacera en Isla Verde
Primera Hora-Jan 7, 2019
La víctima fue identificada por su progenitor como Gregorio Cruz Pérez, de 30 años, residente en Trujillo Alto, quien tenía antecedentes ...
Captan imágenes del tiroteo en Isla Verde
NotiCel-Jan 6, 2019
Captan imágenes del tiroteo en Isla Verde. Dejó a una ... Puede leer la historia completa aquí: Tirotean a plena luz del día en Isla Verde ...
Heavy gunfire erupts near San Juan in Puerto Rico
BNO News-Jan 6, 2019
It happened just before 8:45 a.m. local time on Sunday when several people opened fire in front of businesses along a busy street in Isla Verde, ...
Terrifying moment suspect jumps out of a SUV and shoots at two ...
Daily Mail-Jan 8, 2019
Sergeant Arnaldo Ruiz told Telemundo Puerto Rico that Richard Baez ... A street in the nearby tourist zone of Isla Verde was the site of a wild ...
Primera Hora
Fin de semana violento con nueve asesinatos
Telemundo Puerto Rico-Jan 6, 2019
... a las 5:04 de la madrugada en la carretera PR-153 en Santa Isabel. ... Lounge, ubicado en la marginal Villa Mar en Isla Verde Carolina.
Agreden sexualmente a mujer en Isla Verde
NotiCel-Dec 16, 2018
Agreden sexualmente a mujer en Isla Verde ... atendida en el Hospital de la Universidad de Puerto Rico en Carolina, llegó hasta un edificio de ...
Tiroteos en el Día de Reyes en Puerto Rico desatan condena pública
El Nuevo Herald-Jan 6, 2019
... Mar, en Isla Verde, donde falleció una persona y otra resultó herida. ... Según información preliminar provista por la Policía de Puerto Rico, ...
Tiroteo entre pandillas deja el saldo de un muerto y un herido de bala
Primera Hora-Jan 6, 2019
... la marginal Villa Mar en Isla Verde aterrorizando a toda la comunidad. ... El pasajero de otro de los automóviles abre la puerta para rematar ...
Read the whole story
· · · · · · · ·
/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F749312%2Fba7af77a-08e7-4be2-bebd-2fc603e62a88.jpg)
Signs for company Cambridge Analytica in the lobby of the building in which they are based on March 21, 2018 in London, England.
Getty Images
The number of Facebook users affected by the recent data sharing scandal could exceed 87 million and records could be stored in Russia, Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie said on Sunday.
Wylie said that Aleksandr Kogan, whose quiz app harvested the data of tens of millions of Facebook users, could have allowed that data to be stored in Russia. An organization run by Kogan, called Global Science Research (GSR), shared the data with controversial political data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica without their permission.
“I think that there is a genuine risk that this data has been accessed by quite a few people and it could be stored in various parts of the world, including Russia, given the fact that the professor who was managing the data harvesting process was going back and forth between the U.K. and Russia at the same time that he was working for Russian-funded projects on psychological profiling,” Wylie told NBC’s Chuck Todd during a “Meet the Press” segment.
“I couldn’t tell you how many people had access to it, that’s a question better answered by Cambridge Analytica, but I can say that various people had access to it.”
Facebook and Cambridge Analytica were not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC. CNBC also contacted Kogan’s Cambridge University email address, but the academic was not available at the time of publication.
Wylie believes the total number of Facebook users whose data was shared could be even more than the 87 million admitted by Facebook last week. Initial reports by the Observer and New York Times newspapers put the figure at 50 million. Cambridge Analytica has said that it licensed no more than 30 million Facebook users from GSR.
You can watch the full NBC interview here.
WATCH: Here’s how to download a copy of everything Facebook knows about you
VIDEO01:00
Here’s how to download a copy of everything Facebook knows about you
Read the whole story
· ·
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 5
Facebook data gathered by Cambridge Analytica (CA) was accessed from Russia, an MP has said.
Damian Collins, who is leading a parliamentary inquiry into fake news, told CNN that the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) had found evidence that files were accessed from Russia and other countries.
He said: "I think what we want to know now is who were those people and what access did they have, and were they actually able to take some of that data themselves and use it for whatever things they wanted."
He added: "So is it possible, indirectly, that the Russians learned from Cambridge Analytica, and used that knowledge to run ads in America during the presidential election as well."
CA folded as a company earlier this year, shortly after being suspended by Facebook amid allegations it amassed data on millions of voters from their profiles and misused it.
