News Opinons Politics

Democrat Smears on Nunes’s FISA Abuse Memo Proved False by Inspector General Report

Democrats last year smeared Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) when he issued a memo with findings that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) abused the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act process when it obtained surveillance warrants on Carter Page, a member of the Trump campaign, in 2016.

However, a report released Monday by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz provided a damning indictment of the FBI’s use of the FISA process that vindicated Nunes’s memo and proved Democrats’ smears and assertions were false.

Nunes’s memo included the findings that 1) “material and relevant information was omitted” in applications for FISA warrants; 2) the FBI inaccurately stated in their FISA warrant applications that ex-British spy Christopher Steele was not a source for a Yahoo News report used in the applications; 3) Steele maintained contact with the FBI even after being fired as a source; 4) the FBI did not corroborate the Steele dossier at the time it was included in the applications; and 5) the FISA applications for Page mentioned former campaign aide George Papadopoulos, even though there was no conspiracy between Page and Papadopoulos.



Iran vows ‘decisive’ self-defense at UN after Trump kills supreme leader in Operation Epic Fury
Concerns rise over DHS shutdown in shadow of Iran strikes: ‘Now would be a good time’ to end it
Man confesses to killing 7-year-old while on the lam after DNA links him to 30-year cold case: authorities
Obama official who backed Iran deal sparks online outrage with reaction to Trump’s strike: ‘Sit this one out’
Bill Clinton’s credibility threatened by decades of scandals amid grilling over Epstein ties
Trump says Khamenei is dead: ‘The single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country’
Monitoring the situation: White House releases photos of Trump, Rubio and team being briefed on Iran operation
Iran Supreme Leader Targeted, Believed Killed, in Sweeping US-Israeli Strikes
The US and Israel attacked Iran: What we know
Trump finds unlikely Democratic allies on decision to strike Iran
Democrats buck party leaders to defend Trump’s ‘decisive action’ on Iran
Nancy Guthrie missing: Forensic scientist encourages new investigative approach since case ‘isn’t cold yet’
FBI raises counterterror teams to high alert amid Iran tensions
Bipartisan revolt targets Trump’s war powers after massive Iran strikes
Iran strikes erase ‘space’ between Trump and Netanyahu, insiders say

The DOJ IG’s report confirmed every finding in Nunes’s memo.

Yet, Democrats tried to prevent the publishing of Nunes’s memo and had made numerous claims that Nunes’s memo was furthering a “conspiracy” or was “dangerous.”

In January 2019, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) wrote in the Washington Post that Nunes’s memo outlining concerns of FISA abuse “crosses a dangerous line.”

Schiff claimed:

The Nunes memo is designed to do just that by furthering a conspiracy theory that a cabal of senior officials within the FBI and the Justice Department were so tainted by bias against President Trump that they irredeemably poisoned the investigation.

Schiff tweeted on July 22, 2018, “the FBI acted lawfully and appropriately” and called Nunes’s memo “fraudulent.”


Iran vows ‘decisive’ self-defense at UN after Trump kills supreme leader in Operation Epic Fury
Concerns rise over DHS shutdown in shadow of Iran strikes: ‘Now would be a good time’ to end it
Man confesses to killing 7-year-old while on the lam after DNA links him to 30-year cold case: authorities
Obama official who backed Iran deal sparks online outrage with reaction to Trump’s strike: ‘Sit this one out’
Bill Clinton’s credibility threatened by decades of scandals amid grilling over Epstein ties
Trump says Khamenei is dead: ‘The single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country’
Monitoring the situation: White House releases photos of Trump, Rubio and team being briefed on Iran operation
Iran Supreme Leader Targeted, Believed Killed, in Sweeping US-Israeli Strikes
The US and Israel attacked Iran: What we know
Trump finds unlikely Democratic allies on decision to strike Iran
Democrats buck party leaders to defend Trump’s ‘decisive action’ on Iran
Nancy Guthrie missing: Forensic scientist encourages new investigative approach since case ‘isn’t cold yet’
FBI raises counterterror teams to high alert amid Iran tensions
Bipartisan revolt targets Trump’s war powers after massive Iran strikes
Iran strikes erase ‘space’ between Trump and Netanyahu, insiders say

He tweeted on February 28, 2018 that the Nunes memo was “inaccurate, misleading and extraordinarily reckless,” and that there was “no evidence of abuse.”


Iran vows ‘decisive’ self-defense at UN after Trump kills supreme leader in Operation Epic Fury
Concerns rise over DHS shutdown in shadow of Iran strikes: ‘Now would be a good time’ to end it
Man confesses to killing 7-year-old while on the lam after DNA links him to 30-year cold case: authorities
Obama official who backed Iran deal sparks online outrage with reaction to Trump’s strike: ‘Sit this one out’
Bill Clinton’s credibility threatened by decades of scandals amid grilling over Epstein ties
Trump says Khamenei is dead: ‘The single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country’
Monitoring the situation: White House releases photos of Trump, Rubio and team being briefed on Iran operation
Iran Supreme Leader Targeted, Believed Killed, in Sweeping US-Israeli Strikes
The US and Israel attacked Iran: What we know
Trump finds unlikely Democratic allies on decision to strike Iran
Democrats buck party leaders to defend Trump’s ‘decisive action’ on Iran
Nancy Guthrie missing: Forensic scientist encourages new investigative approach since case ‘isn’t cold yet’
FBI raises counterterror teams to high alert amid Iran tensions
Bipartisan revolt targets Trump’s war powers after massive Iran strikes
Iran strikes erase ‘space’ between Trump and Netanyahu, insiders say

See also  Richard Cox derails sex offender case, once again

Failed 2020 Democrat nominee Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) also got in on the smearing, telling the Post on January 29, 2018, that Nunes’s memo is a grossly distorted attack on the Mueller probe, designed to “brainwash” people into erroneous conclusions.

Swalwell called the memo “a perversion of the facts to brainwash our members and protect the president.”

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) said on February 2, 2018 in a statement it was “terrifying” to “watch Republican leadership enable to spread” a false narrative to save Trump:

From the implication that our intelligence agencies are a part of some ‘Deep State’ conspiracy to help the Democrats, to the willful manipulation and misstatement of key facts in the Russia investigation, the President – and those working with him – is eroding the very cornerstones of our democracy and slow-walking us into a constitutional crisis.

She also accused Republicans of overplaying their hand and creating a “frenzy” about this memo, according to a February 2, 2018, Politico article. “Republicans have overplayed their hand, and they have created a frenzy about this memo,” she said.

She also called the memo a “pack of lies, according to a Los Angeles Times piece on January 19, 2018.

There were no shortage of other accusatory remarks by Democrats who are responsible for the oversight of the intelligence community or Justice Department.

Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) said on NPR on January 28, 2018, that Nunes’s memo was “just the latest installment in the long campaign to try to delegitimize the FBI and the Department of Justice and Bob Mueller.”


Iran vows ‘decisive’ self-defense at UN after Trump kills supreme leader in Operation Epic Fury
Concerns rise over DHS shutdown in shadow of Iran strikes: ‘Now would be a good time’ to end it
Man confesses to killing 7-year-old while on the lam after DNA links him to 30-year cold case: authorities
Obama official who backed Iran deal sparks online outrage with reaction to Trump’s strike: ‘Sit this one out’
Bill Clinton’s credibility threatened by decades of scandals amid grilling over Epstein ties
Trump says Khamenei is dead: ‘The single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country’
Monitoring the situation: White House releases photos of Trump, Rubio and team being briefed on Iran operation
Iran Supreme Leader Targeted, Believed Killed, in Sweeping US-Israeli Strikes
The US and Israel attacked Iran: What we know
Trump finds unlikely Democratic allies on decision to strike Iran
Democrats buck party leaders to defend Trump’s ‘decisive action’ on Iran
Nancy Guthrie missing: Forensic scientist encourages new investigative approach since case ‘isn’t cold yet’
FBI raises counterterror teams to high alert amid Iran tensions
Bipartisan revolt targets Trump’s war powers after massive Iran strikes
Iran strikes erase ‘space’ between Trump and Netanyahu, insiders say

See also  ‘Peaceful protest’ narrative at center of antifa terrorism trial

“It makes allegations that are unfounded. It’s full of factual inaccuracies,” he claimed.

He also called Nunes’s memo “shoddy and dishonest” in a February 2018 tweet:

He also mocked Nunes’s memo in another tweet:

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), who sits on the Intelligence Committee, claimed in a February 2, 2018, statement that Nunes’s memo “represents a shameful effort to undermine Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation and potential findings.”


Iran vows ‘decisive’ self-defense at UN after Trump kills supreme leader in Operation Epic Fury
Concerns rise over DHS shutdown in shadow of Iran strikes: ‘Now would be a good time’ to end it
Man confesses to killing 7-year-old while on the lam after DNA links him to 30-year cold case: authorities
Obama official who backed Iran deal sparks online outrage with reaction to Trump’s strike: ‘Sit this one out’
Bill Clinton’s credibility threatened by decades of scandals amid grilling over Epstein ties
Trump says Khamenei is dead: ‘The single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country’
Monitoring the situation: White House releases photos of Trump, Rubio and team being briefed on Iran operation
Iran Supreme Leader Targeted, Believed Killed, in Sweeping US-Israeli Strikes
The US and Israel attacked Iran: What we know
Trump finds unlikely Democratic allies on decision to strike Iran
Democrats buck party leaders to defend Trump’s ‘decisive action’ on Iran
Nancy Guthrie missing: Forensic scientist encourages new investigative approach since case ‘isn’t cold yet’
FBI raises counterterror teams to high alert amid Iran tensions
Bipartisan revolt targets Trump’s war powers after massive Iran strikes
Iran strikes erase ‘space’ between Trump and Netanyahu, insiders say

He claimed, “This is a clear breakdown in the way the House Intelligence Committee conducts oversight of the intelligence community, representing uncharted territory and a constitutional crisis ahead.”

He also claimed the memo was a “political document” and a “partisan document” that “Fox News and Breitbart will make the kind of deal about that Donald Trump would like to see.”

Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL) called the release of Nunes’s memo “absolutely disgraceful,” in a January 30, 2018, statement.

“It is absolutely disgraceful that Republicans are willing to undermine our Intelligence Community and our investigation into Russia’s attack on our democracy all in the name of defending President Trump,” she said.

Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL), claimed in a January 30, 2018, tweet that Nunes’s memo is  “foolish, dangerous, and an obvious distraction”


Iran vows ‘decisive’ self-defense at UN after Trump kills supreme leader in Operation Epic Fury
Concerns rise over DHS shutdown in shadow of Iran strikes: ‘Now would be a good time’ to end it
Man confesses to killing 7-year-old while on the lam after DNA links him to 30-year cold case: authorities
Obama official who backed Iran deal sparks online outrage with reaction to Trump’s strike: ‘Sit this one out’
Bill Clinton’s credibility threatened by decades of scandals amid grilling over Epstein ties
Trump says Khamenei is dead: ‘The single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country’
Monitoring the situation: White House releases photos of Trump, Rubio and team being briefed on Iran operation
Iran Supreme Leader Targeted, Believed Killed, in Sweeping US-Israeli Strikes
The US and Israel attacked Iran: What we know
Trump finds unlikely Democratic allies on decision to strike Iran
Democrats buck party leaders to defend Trump’s ‘decisive action’ on Iran
Nancy Guthrie missing: Forensic scientist encourages new investigative approach since case ‘isn’t cold yet’
FBI raises counterterror teams to high alert amid Iran tensions
Bipartisan revolt targets Trump’s war powers after massive Iran strikes
Iran strikes erase ‘space’ between Trump and Netanyahu, insiders say

See also  ‘We did not hear the truth from the president’: Spanberger squares up to Trump in State of the Union rebuttal

He later tweeted on February 5, 2018, that the Nunes memo “doesn’t vindicate the president”:

He then touted a counter-memo by Democrats that claimed the FBI did nothing wrong:

Rep. Denny Heck (D-WA) on February 2, 2018, called the memo “full of inaccuracies and misleading statements.”

“It is a memo designed to achieve only one purpose, and that is to discredit the investigation. It cherry-picks its facts and it is full of inaccuracies and misleading statements,” Heck claimed.


Iran vows ‘decisive’ self-defense at UN after Trump kills supreme leader in Operation Epic Fury
Concerns rise over DHS shutdown in shadow of Iran strikes: ‘Now would be a good time’ to end it
Man confesses to killing 7-year-old while on the lam after DNA links him to 30-year cold case: authorities
Obama official who backed Iran deal sparks online outrage with reaction to Trump’s strike: ‘Sit this one out’
Bill Clinton’s credibility threatened by decades of scandals amid grilling over Epstein ties
Trump says Khamenei is dead: ‘The single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country’
Monitoring the situation: White House releases photos of Trump, Rubio and team being briefed on Iran operation
Iran Supreme Leader Targeted, Believed Killed, in Sweeping US-Israeli Strikes
The US and Israel attacked Iran: What we know
Trump finds unlikely Democratic allies on decision to strike Iran
Democrats buck party leaders to defend Trump’s ‘decisive action’ on Iran
Nancy Guthrie missing: Forensic scientist encourages new investigative approach since case ‘isn’t cold yet’
FBI raises counterterror teams to high alert amid Iran tensions
Bipartisan revolt targets Trump’s war powers after massive Iran strikes
Iran strikes erase ‘space’ between Trump and Netanyahu, insiders say

Nunes took a victory lap on Monday after the release of the report, tweeting:

“Looks like DOJ IG Report is clear that Republican FISA abuse memo from February 2018 was accurate and actually understated the FISA abuse the dirty cops engaged in. Time for FISA court to take action!”

Story cited here.

 

Share this article:
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter