FBI/DOJ redactions hid their misbehavior, not protect national security
The recent release of mostly unredacted FBI documents has revealed that the earlier redactions had nothing to do with protecting national security, but were done to hide misbehavior and corrupt actions by FBI and Department of Justice officials.
Now that we can see what they wanted to conceal, it is clear, yet again, that the Justice Department and the FBI cannot be trusted to decide what the public gets to learn about their decision-making.
They tell us that their lack of transparency is necessary for the protection of national security, vital intelligence, and investigative operations. But what we find out is that they were concealing their own questionable judgments and conflicting explanations for their actions; their use of foreign-intelligence and criminal-investigative authorities to investigate Michael Flynn, Trump’s top campaign supporter and former national-security adviser; and their explicitly stated belief that Flynn did not lie in the FBI interview for which Special Counsel Robert Mueller has since prosecuted him on false-statements charges. [emphasis mine]
The article is detailed and well researched. It compares the redacted documents with what we now know those documents actually said. Repeatedly, the redactions either concealed bad behavior by the FBI, or were done to conceal information that discredited their prosecution of Michael Flynn.
The author, while condemning the FBI and the Justice Department, is even more condemning of Donald Trump.
It is simply ridiculous for President Trump to continue bloviating about this situation on Twitter and in friendly media interviews, and for congressional Republicans to continue pretending that the problem is Justice Department and FBI leadership — as if Trump were not responsible for his own administration’s actions. The president has not only the authority but the duty to ensure that his subordinates honor lawful disclosure requests from Congress.
What happened with these redactions is inexcusable.
While the author is right, politically it might have been a very wise decision for Trump to have done nothing. Mueller and the FBI have no case. Their effort to pin Russian collusion on Trump has always been laughable on its face. Letting them blow in the wind with this fake investigation allows the public to slowly recognize this fact, and thus discredit them in the public’s eye. If Trump were to shut the investigation down, however, he would lay himself open to accusations of obstructing justice.
This way, he lets them hang themselves, as the story above illustrates.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
The recent release of mostly unredacted FBI documents has revealed that the earlier redactions had nothing to do with protecting national security, but were done to hide misbehavior and corrupt actions by FBI and Department of Justice officials.
Now that we can see what they wanted to conceal, it is clear, yet again, that the Justice Department and the FBI cannot be trusted to decide what the public gets to learn about their decision-making.
They tell us that their lack of transparency is necessary for the protection of national security, vital intelligence, and investigative operations. But what we find out is that they were concealing their own questionable judgments and conflicting explanations for their actions; their use of foreign-intelligence and criminal-investigative authorities to investigate Michael Flynn, Trump’s top campaign supporter and former national-security adviser; and their explicitly stated belief that Flynn did not lie in the FBI interview for which Special Counsel Robert Mueller has since prosecuted him on false-statements charges. [emphasis mine]
The article is detailed and well researched. It compares the redacted documents with what we now know those documents actually said. Repeatedly, the redactions either concealed bad behavior by the FBI, or were done to conceal information that discredited their prosecution of Michael Flynn.
The author, while condemning the FBI and the Justice Department, is even more condemning of Donald Trump.
It is simply ridiculous for President Trump to continue bloviating about this situation on Twitter and in friendly media interviews, and for congressional Republicans to continue pretending that the problem is Justice Department and FBI leadership — as if Trump were not responsible for his own administration’s actions. The president has not only the authority but the duty to ensure that his subordinates honor lawful disclosure requests from Congress.
What happened with these redactions is inexcusable.
While the author is right, politically it might have been a very wise decision for Trump to have done nothing. Mueller and the FBI have no case. Their effort to pin Russian collusion on Trump has always been laughable on its face. Letting them blow in the wind with this fake investigation allows the public to slowly recognize this fact, and thus discredit them in the public’s eye. If Trump were to shut the investigation down, however, he would lay himself open to accusations of obstructing justice.
This way, he lets them hang themselves, as the story above illustrates.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Yes, the events that have followed Trump’s inauguration – and his responses to them – could be construed as a calculated risk on his part. I do hope – though I see no evidence – that the president has been quietly building an apparatus to hoist the perpetrators of this conspiracy on their own petard.
This entire contrived Investigation is IMO eventually going to be crap canned and ended by either the DOJ or the Congress.
Totally agree to allow Mueller to continue under the direction of Rosenstein, they are painting a picture of unfairness and government over reach and abuse of power in the minds of the public. This is one more thing that will tip the November midterm elections in Trumps overall favor. Mueller, Rosenstein, Comey and the rest are all conspirators and are self interested parties and have no business being near this investigation.
Probably between 15 to 20 top people in the FBI and the DOJ leadership have been fired or have been demoted or have “resigned”.
All for cause, I call that evidence of bad acts, possible and probable illegal acts and non disputable evidence that these government employees have abused their power through these individuals inappropriately exercising their power against a particular politico in the interests of their preferred politico.
And the ones that are reported as “resigning” are I am assuming cooperating witnesses, cooperating and giving answers to questions asked by prosecutors about the actions of their leadership. And after they have answered those questions they are allowed to “Resign” waiting to testify at some later date.
The leadership of the FBI and the DOJ have committed crimes against us all in the interests of you know who and her sure shot becoming the president. Either witting, coerced or unwitting these corruptions must in time be dealt with. The two sets of laws created to accommodate and ensure the election of Hillary Clinton the president of the United States is the collusion. Hillary was the 5th horseman of the New World Order / One World Government model and Trump is the patriot who has stopped it from being realized. Just one man and one election, something to think about.
ITS COMING.
During the battle of Gettysburg, General Meade held back his artillery fire, leading the Confederates to believe that the Union Forces had no artillery left. When the charging Confederates crossed Cemetery Ridge (“Pickett’s Charge”), the Union artillery opened fire, destroying the large Confederate force and, by most accounts, ended the Confederates chances of winning the war.
Keeping your big guns quiet while your enemy makes grave errors is a clever, ages old strategy that works.