The Terror of Fake News

[Parihaka]

YF,



the question is why he feels compelled to talk at all and make a deal-- and also publicly announce that he's willing to talk. that's about as interesting as whatever information he has to offer.

Has he been asked to appear before the various investigations?

[astralis]

as far as i'm aware, no.

he's volunteering to come forth with a story, because if the two committees give him "use" immunity, then whatever he says to them cannot be used against him in trial.

unwritten in the Flynn letter but according to the WSJ, he's also tried to get a broader transactional immunity from the FBI and DOJ, but no takers.

in any case the Senate committee has already rejected the offer and the House committee will likely reject it. the feeling being that whatever he has can probably be unearthed by the continuing FBI investigation, so why let him off the hook at all.

that's why i say the reason why Flynn wants to talk is just as interesting, if not more so, than what he actually has.

[Parihaka]

as far as i'm aware, no.

he's volunteering to come forth with a story, because if the two committees give him "use" immunity, then whatever he says to them cannot be used against him in trial.

unwritten in the Flynn letter but according to the WSJ, he's also tried to get a broader transactional immunity from the FBI and DOJ, but no takers.

in any case the Senate committee has already rejected the offer and the House committee will likely reject it. the feeling being that whatever he has can probably be unearthed by the continuing FBI investigation, so why let him off the hook at all.

that's why i say the reason why Flynn wants to talk is just as interesting, if not more so, than what he actually has.

Yeah I agree. my take is he's using his association with the Trump team to try and negate any investigations into his actions over the last few years. Pence did right to sack him.

[astralis]

just wanted to insert some humor here. :-) the Onion predicts the future!

http://www.theonion.com/article/trum...-he-coul-55321

NEWS IN BRIEF
2.17.17 Vol 53 Issue 06
Trump Staffer Grateful To Work With So Many People He Could Turn Over To FBI In Exchange For Immunity

WASHINGTON—Fully mindful of the privilege he enjoyed, Trump administration staffer Greg Potreski told reporters Friday that he was grateful to be working with so many individuals he could turn over to the FBI in exchange for immunity. “It’s such an honor to be surrounded by almost countless people who, if it ever came down to it, I could hand over to the authorities in order to escape prosecution,” said Potreski, adding that he never imagined he’d find himself in a workplace that was staffed wall-to-wall with professionals whose comparatively more serious crimes he could expose to save himself. “I’ve held positions in government before, but I’ve never had an experience like this—there’s an opportunity for me to do no jail time in every single office. I learn so much just by talking to these folks.” When asked by reporters, Potreski’s colleagues said they were equally grateful to have someone like him at work.

[YellowFever]

Yeah I agree. my take is he's using his association with the Trump team to try and negate any investigations into his actions over the last few years. Pence did right to sack him.

That's the way I see it.

Only problem is how long will it take for Demos to turn it political and try to hang it around Trump's neck.

Already the social media (including some "reputable" news people) is proclaiming it the beginning of the end of Trump.

[Parihaka]

That's the way I see it.

Only problem is how long will it take for Demos to turn it political and try to hang it around Trump's neck.

Already the social media (including some "reputable" news people) is proclaiming it the beginning of the end of Trump.

You're going to have to get used to the fact of a permanent war in the US. The Dems control legacy media wholesale, it's about 50/50 in new media but the current crop of alt media is conservative. (Just as a side note I always refer to the right in the US as conservative as the remains of the Republican party are simply neo-cons and Democrats in drag.)

[astralis]

YF,

Only problem is how long will it take for Demos to turn it political and try to hang it around Trump's neck.

uh...in what possible democratic system would the opposition party NOT try to make hay out of something already very explicitly political? were things reversed do you think Republicans would hesitate for even a second?

moreover, let's not even talk about the Russia issue with this: let's just talk about the person involved, Flynn. i think we're all in agreement as to the type of character Flynn has-- we've already established that Flynn lied to his boss and is now in the process of trying to sell out his boss to save his own miserable skin.

what does that say about the boss whom hand-picked him in the first place? you tell me.

[YellowFever]

You're going to have to get used to the fact of a permanent war in the US. The Dems control legacy media wholesale, it's about 50/50 in new media but the current crop of alt media is conservative. (Just as a side note I always refer to the right in the US as conservative as the remains of the Republican party are simply neo-cons and Democrats in drag.)

Oh, I'm used to it and plan on giving just as good as I get. The legacy media is dead in my eyes and judging by recent polls 6 out of 10 people between the ages of 25 to 49 thinks so as well.

The conservatives lost the millenials but that's no big loss because they seem mostly preoccupied with their feelings and tend to bitch and riot after votes...but the important thing is they don't seem to vote in huge block.

I think the conservatives are winning the war with regards to Generation Z as it is the first true generation that has the capability to get unfiltered images. And they're chomping at the bit to get active.,

I think we'll be OK.

YF,



uh...in what possible democratic system would the opposition party NOT try to make hay out of something already very explicitly political? were things reversed do you think Republicans would hesitate for even a second?

Funniest thing I heard today.

The major difference would be if the Republicans were to try to pull this off, the mainstream media would call it what it is...pure bullshit.

But it's the Dems doing it so the mainstream media not only goes along with it but actively participates in it.

Moreover it's a total outsider in the top political office so the ruling class just can't handle it.

Furthermore, you seem to differentiate between the politican assholes and the assholes that reports about them.

As far as I'm concerned the Mathews and the Lemons and the Maddows are just as big lying assholes as the Pelosis and the Mccains and the Nuneses. I don't trust any of those bastards. And neither does half the country. That's why Trump is prez now and the Alt media is thriving.

moreover, let's not even talk about the Russia issue with this: let's just talk about the person involved, Flynn. i think we're all in agreement as to the type of character Flynn has-- we've already established that Flynn lied to his boss and is now in the process of trying to sell out his boss to save his own miserable skin.

what does that say about the boss whom hand-picked him in the first place? you tell me.

Uhh...maybe Trump made a mistake and rectified the situation when he found out what Flynn is really all about?

Gee, what does a bad appointee throughout history says about the president that hired them?

Dude, calm down and let go of your Trump hate.

[YellowFever]

Like I'm going to take anything these mainstream "impartial reporter" assholes say seriously.....

[astralis]

YF,

The major difference would be if the Republicans were to try to pull this off, the mainstream media would call it what it is...pure bullshit.

But it's the Dems doing it so the mainstream media not only goes along with it but actively participates in it.

Moreover it's a total outsider in the top political office so the ruling class just can't handle it.

Furthermore, you seem to differentiate between the politican assholes and the assholes that reports about them.

As far as I'm concerned the Mathews and the Lemons and the Maddows are just as big lying assholes as the Pelosis and the Mccains and the Nuneses. I don't trust any of those bastards. And neither does half the country. That's why Trump is prez now and the Alt media is thriving.

lol OK. so we're talking about the Democratic Party acting like any other party, and suddenly you turn this into yet another screed against the media...just after you acknowledged that Flynn asking for immunity is possibly not fake news after all. :-)

Uhh...maybe Trump made a mistake and rectified the situation when he found out what Flynn is really all about?

uhh, questions about Flynn's character and conduct were rife even prior to his selection as NSA. he was fired as head of DIA for a reason, and you're saying that it took THIS situation for Trump to 'find out what Flynn is really all about'?

and BTW, with this whole Flynn situation: may i remind you that DOJ first warned POTUS that Flynn was lying and was opening himself to blackmail as early as Jan 26. the Post ran with the story on 9 February, which Flynn repeated his lies.

on 10 Feb Trump professes ignorance of the Post's article. on 13 Feb the WH begins by defending Flynn, then by saying his situation was in the air, and then that night Flynn resigns.

so actually, it looks very much like Flynn resigned because his lying became -public-, not because he lied.

oh, and after all that, Trump called him a "wonderful man" whom was "treated very, very unfairly by the media, as I call it, the fake media in many cases" and that those leaks were meant to "cover up for a terrible loss that the Democrats had under Hillary Clinton".

OK.

Dude, calm down and let go of your Trump hate.

lol, i'm not the one tweeting at 4 in the morning...:-)

[Parihaka]

So Fox News sets the platform for the right-wing platform

The U.S. intelligence official who “unmasked,” or exposed, the names of multiple private citizens affiliated with the Trump team is someone “very well known, very high up, very senior in the intelligence world,” a source told Fox News on Friday.

Intelligence and House sources with direct knowledge of the disclosure of classified names told Fox News that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., now knows who is responsible -- and that person is not in the FBI.

For a private citizen to be “unmasked,” or named, in an intelligence report is extremely rare. Typically, the American is a suspect in a crime, is in danger or has to be named to explain the context of the report.

“The main issue in this case, is not only the unmasking of these names of private citizens, but the spreading of these names for political purposes that have nothing to do with national security or an investigation into Russia’s interference in the U.S. election,” a congressional source close to the investigation told Fox News.

The unmasking of Americans whose communications apparently were caught up in surveillance under the Obama administration is a key part of an investigation being led by Nunes, who has come under fire from Democrats for focusing on that aspect.

Nunes has known about the unmasking controversy since January, when two sources in the intelligence community approached him. The sources told Nunes who was responsible and at least one of the Trump team names that was unmasked. They also gave him serial numbers of reports that documented the activity.

This was long before Trump sent out his now-infamous March 4 tweets claiming then-President Barack Obama “wiretapped” Trump Tower during the 2016 election.

Nunes had asked intelligence agencies to see the reports in question, but was stonewalled.

He eventually was able to view them, but there was only one safe place to see the documents without compromising the sources’ identities -- the old executive office building on White House grounds, which has a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) required to view classified or top secret reports. The White House did not tell Nunes about the existence of the intelligence reports, but did help him gain access to the documents at his request, the source said.

The White House, meanwhile, is urging Nunes and his colleagues to keep pursuing what improper surveillance and leaks may have occurred before Trump took office. They’ve been emboldened in the wake of March 2 comments from former Obama administration official Evelyn Farkas, who on MSNBC suggested her former colleagues tried to gather material on Trump team contacts with Russia.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Friday her comments and other reports raise “serious” concerns about whether there was an “organized and widespread effort by the Obama administration to use and leak highly sensitive intelligence information for political purposes.”

“Dr. Farkas’ admissions alone are devastating,” he said.

Farkas parted ways with the White House in 2015 and defended herself on Twitter, saying she didn’t personally “give anybody anything except advice” on Russia information and wanted Congress to ask for facts.

The communications collected from Trump team associates apparently were picked up during surveillance of foreign targets. But an intelligence source familiar with those targets said they were spied on long before Trump became the GOP presidential nominee in mid-July.

In addition, citizens affiliated with Trump’s team who were unmasked were not associated with any intelligence about Russia or other foreign intelligence, sources confirmed. The initial unmasking led to other surveillance, which led to other private citizens being wrongly unmasked, sources said.

"Unmasking is not unprecedented, but unmasking for political purposes ... specifically of Trump transition team members ... is highly suspect and questionable,” an intelligence source told Fox News. “Opposition by some in the intelligence agencies who were very connected to the Obama and Clinton teams was strong. After Trump was elected, they decided they were going to ruin his presidency by picking them off one by one."

Nunes first revealed on March 22 in a press conference that the U.S. intelligence community “incidentally collected” information on Trump’s transition team, putting the information and names into various intelligence reports. His committee had been investigating whether Russia interfered in the U.S. election as well as how names of private citizens from these reports were leaked.

House Intelligence Ranking Member Adam Schiff, D-Calif., criticized Nunes for his handling of the investigation, claiming he should never have briefed Trump. Nunes apologized the following day, but said he briefed the president because the information he found was not related to Russia.

The minority members on the House Intelligence Committee were expected to visit a National Security Agency facility on Friday to view the same reports Nunes has seen, an intelligence source told Fox News.

As usual of course, unnamed sources.

[astralis]

Nunes had asked intelligence agencies to see the reports in question, but was stonewalled.

He eventually was able to view them, but there was only one safe place to see the documents without compromising the sources’ identities -- the old executive office building on White House grounds, which has a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) required to view classified or top secret reports

mm...this right here seems quite off to me.

if Nunes already asked the intel agencies to see the reports...it doesn't make sense that he would need to protect his sources' identity by going to a specific SCIF. (and why would going to a specific SCIF protect his sources? indeed, getting -access- to the WH grounds means leaving a log trail, which is precisely what reporters have picked up on.

nor does this explain Nunes' behavior after he saw the reports. if he saw something in the reports that would affect the investigation, why did he choose to go to the WH to brief POTUS instead of his own committee members?

[Parihaka]

mm...this right here seems quite off to me.

if Nunes already asked the intel agencies to see the reports...it doesn't make sense that he would need to protect his sources' identity by going to a specific SCIF. (and why would going to a specific SCIF protect his sources? indeed, getting -access- to the WH grounds means leaving a log trail, which is precisely what reporters have picked up on.

I can't remember where I read it to link to but the explanation is that the two named administration officials were simply the ones who escorted him to and gave access to the secure system, not the source(s) of the existence and names of the documents.

[astralis]

the two named administration officials were simply the ones who escorted him to and gave access to the secure system,

extremely unlikely. it makes no sense to use the old executive building SCIF as a "one safe place to see documents" when Congress has numerous SCIFs of its own. (i still do not see how using a specific SCIF "hides" sources.)

nor does it make sense for a senior intel director of the NSC and a WH counsel to act simply as WH escort/SCIF personal security attendant.

[snapper]

So you are saying that these 'White House staffers' (I think the names are revealed) shared classified information with Nunes about ongoing investigations into their Boss so he could give a press Conference about it? And this is somehow making it better? Why did not go straight to Trump? Still Nunes has not said what he says he was shown... not even to his committee which is supposed to be investigating the whole lot. One has to wonder if he was shown anything by the people working directly for Trump. If he was it was almost certainly under investigation and therefore likely to bias any investigation by the security agencies. My bet it is was all a media hoax just to get the news off the fact that the Trump administration is being investigated regarding it's 'coordination' with the Muscovite interference. I would love to hear what Nunes learned but I suspect it is an empty space and that is why he won't tell anyone.