We will be making weekly entries on this page until Mark finishes his review of this report. Mark will bold the passages of interest to you. You may check Durham’s report here>https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/2023-05/durhamreport.pdf
5/27/2023
The Leftists are saying this report is a nothing-burger because no one was indicted for the information therein. However, the report states that there would be insufficient evidence to get convictions without using Top Secret information in the courtroom, and getting the approval to do so, would be insurmountable.
James Comey operated like he was the head of a Mafia family. I presume Comey gave this order found on page 108.
The review team initially briefed Counterintelligence and Cyber
executive management about their findings during a conference call. Following the call, while driving home, Headquarters Analyst-3 was called by Acting Section Chief-2. Acting Section Chief-2 told Headquarters Analyst-3 that they appreciated the team’s work, but no more memorandums were to be written. 551 A meeting was then held with Assistant Director Priestap and others. During that meeting, the review team was told to be careful about what they were writing down because issues relating to Steele were under intense scrutiny. 552 Two weeks later, the Deputy Assistant Director for Counterintelligence, Dina Corsi, met with the review team and directed them not to document any recommendations, context, or analysis in the memorandum they were preparing. The instructions, which Headquarters Analyst-3 described as “highly unusual,” 553 concerned the team because analysis is what analysts do. Although the team did not
fully adhere to that instruction because of the need to provide context to the team’s findings, they did tone down their conclusions in the final memorandum. 554 Headquarters Analyst-3 recalled that a separate briefing on the review was eventually provided by the team in the Deputy Director’s conference room, although Headquarters Analyst-3 could not recall if Deputy Director David Bowdich attended the briefing. Headquarters Analyst-3 did know that Bowdich was aware of the review itself. 555
In this same regard, for a period of time, an FBI OGC attorney (“OGC Attorney-I”) was part of the review team and was present for the meeting with Corsi. He confirmed that the team was told not to write any more memoranda or analytical pieces and to provide their findings orally. 556 OGC Attorney-I remembered being shocked by the directive from Corsi. 557 OGC Attorney-I’s recollection was that Corsi was speaking for FBI leadership, but that she did not say exactly who provided the directive. OGC Attorney-I advised the Office that what Corsi said was not right in any circumstance, and it was the most inappropriate operational or professional statement he had ever heard at the FBI. 558 OGC Attorney-I stated that the directive from Corsi was “really, really shocking” to him and that he was ·’ appalled” by it. As a result of the incident,
From page 99.
As discussed in more detail below, the FBI was not able to corroborate a single
substantive allegation contained in the Steele Reports, despite protracted efforts to do so. The Steele Reports themselves, however, were not the only issue that we considered in connection with the Page FISA applications.
But the FISA application drew almost entirely from Steele’s reporting according to both Durham and Inspector General Horowitz.
From page 124.
Moreover, not a single substantive allegation pulled from the Steele Reports and used in the initial Page FISA application had been corroborated at the time of the FISA submission – or indeed, to our knowledge, has ever been corroborated by the FBI.
In this session you learn the following; 1. James Comey or other members on the 7th floor of the Hoover building knew their actions were criminal or at the least would not hold up to oversight by anyone familiar with constitutional law. That is why the order came down to not document any steps in the process toward a surveillance warrant on Carter Page. I will point out this was an illegal warrant, thus, when the FBI agent entered Page’s home and office while he was away to remove documents, they were committing a crime and stealing.
2. You know Comey committed perjury when signed the FISA surveillance application under oath that he believed all of the claims in the application were accurate.
3. No one in the application process chain tried to stop the crime against the FISA court or Carter Page. Carter Page had his civil rights violated by the FBI.
4. Carter Page was never detained or arrested for being a Russian spy which was alleged in the FISA application.
And now, the feel good video clip.
The innocent know only the language of love. ❤️pic.twitter.com/hiN9CL14L3
— Figen (@TheFigen_) May 24, 2023
6/4/2023
In 2016 during the debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, Hillary told the American public that Donald Trump was an agent of Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president. And Nancy Pelosi at every opportunity stated as a fact that President Trump is a Russian agent. Eric Swalwell did this slander on the airways too. Clinton directed her lawyer to plant this disinformation at the FBI. That’s a criminal offense that carries prison time. Robert Mueller found no evidence that Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia.
From page 62.
The FBI Intelligence Analyst who had perhaps the most in-depth knowledge of
particularly sensitive Russian intelligence information in FBI holdings during the relevant time period disclosed that she never saw anything regarding any Trump election campaign conspiracy with the Russians, nor did she see anything in FBI holdings regarding Carter Page, Michael Flynn, George Papadopoulos, or Paul Manafort engaging in any type of conspiracy with the Russians regarding the election.
Similarly, DNI James Clapper testified before Congress on the subject of Trump and
Russia and he answered “no” when asked if he was aware of any such evidence. 273 The former DNI reconfirmed this fact when he was interviewed by the Office and advised that he knew of no direct evidence that would meet the legal standard of conspiracy or collusion on Trump’s part.
Admiral Mike Rogers served as the Director of the NSA during the relevant time period. When asked about any awareness he had of any evidence of collusion as asserted in the Steele Reports, he stated that he did not recall any intelligence that supported the collusion assertions in that reporting, nor did he have any discussions during the Summer of 2016 with his counterparts in the intelligence community about collusion between the Russians and any Republicans.
I will point out two facts. 1. Clapper told otherwise to Americans even after Trump became president. 2. Rogers informed President-Elect Trump of the fact that his apartment was being illegally bugged by the Surveillance Community.
From page 63.
CIA Director John Brennan and Deputy Director David Cohen were interviewed by the Office and were asked about their knowledge of any actual evidence of members of the Trump campaign conspiring or colluding with Russian officials. When Brennan was provided with an overview of the origins of the Attorney General’s Review after Special Counsel Mueller finding a lack of evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian authorities, Brennan offered that “they found no conspiracy.”
However, Brennan was saying otherwise on Twitter and on news shows. It was a conspiracy between the highest levels of our government and Hillary Clinton.
From pages 82-83.
The Clinton Plan intelligence was relevant to the Office’s investigation for two reasons. First, the Clinton Plan intelligence itself and on its face arguably suggested that private actors affiliated with the Clinton campaign were seeking in 2016 to promote a false or exaggerated narrative to the public and to U.S. government agencies about Trump’s possible ties to Russia. Given the significant quantity of materials the FBI and other government agencies did in fact receive during the 2016 presidential election season and afterwards that originated with and/or were funded by the Clinton campaign or affiliated persons (i.e., the Steele Dossier reports, the Alfa Bank allegations, and the Yotaphone allegations), the Clinton Plan intelligence
prompted the Office to consider (i) whether there was in fact a plan by the Clinton campaign to tie Trump to Russia in order to “stir[] up a scandal” in advance of the 2016 presidential election, and (ii) if such a plan existed, whether an aspect or component of that plan was to intentionally provide knowingly false and/or misleading information to the FBI or other agencies in furtherance of such a plan. Second, the Clinton Plan intelligence was also highly relevant to the Office’s review and investigation because it was part of the mosaic of information that became known to certain U.S. officials at or before the time they made critical decisions in the Crossfire Hurricane case and in related law enforcement and intelligence efforts. Because these officials relied, at least in part, on materials provided or funded by the Clinton campaign and/or the DNC when seeking FISA warrants against a U.S. citizen (i.e., the Steele Dossier reports) and taking other investigative steps, the Clinton Plan intelligence had potential bearing on the reliability and credibility of those materials. Put another way, this intelligence-taken at face value-was arguably highly relevant and exculpatory because it could be read in fuller context, and in combination with other facts, to suggest that materials such as the Steele Dossier reports and the Alfa Bank allegations (discussed below and in greater detail in Section IV.E. l) were part of a political effort to smear a political opponent and to use the resources of the federal government’s law enforcement and intelligence agencies in support of a political objective. The Office therefore examined whether, and precisely when, U.S. law enforcement and intelligence officials became aware of the Clinton Plan intelligence; whether they vetted and analyzed the intelligence to understand its potential significance; and whether those officials, in turn, incorporated the intelligence into their decision-making regarding the investigation of individuals who were part of the Trump campaign and had possible ties to Russian election interference efforts.
As was declassified and made public previously, the purported Clinton Plan intelligence was derived from the insight that “U.S. intelligence agencies obtained into Russian intelligence analysis.” Given the origins of the Clinton Plan intelligence as the product of a foreign adversary, the Office was cognizant of the statement that DNI Ratcliffe made to Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham in a September 29, 2020 letter: “The [intelligence community] does not know the accuracy of this allegation or the extent to which the Russian intelligence analysis may reflect exaggeration or fabrication.
See Hillary Clinton Lie on 89.
During an interview of former Secretary Clinton, the Office asked if she had reviewed the information declassified by DNI Ratcliffe regarding her alleged plan to stir up a scandal between Trump and the Russians. Clinton stated it was “really sad,” but “I get it, you have to go down every rabbit hole.” She said that it “looked like Russian disinformation to me; they’re very good at it, you know.” Clinton advised that she had a lot of plans to win the campaign, and anything that came into the public domain was available to her.
Hillary Clinton cycled this disinformation through the FBI and the media. Clinton’s lawyer’s billing records show Hillary Clinton is lying to Durham’s investigators. Hillary Clinton is untouchable.
In this session, you learned the Trump-Russia collusion hoax was spawned by Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton is a liar and she is above any of our nation’s laws.
And now, the feel-good video clip.
For thousands of years Buffalo herds owned the land these highways are built on.
— BIG DAVE (@2bz4thot) May 19, 2023
On this day, they
remembered that..🦬💪🤍 pic.twitter.com/cddfdaajUa
6/10/2023
The FBI [ James Comey ] hid germane facts from the judges in the FISA court. From page 125.
OGC Unit Chief-I did have some recall that a lack of vetting of the Reports was a concern. Finally, FBI OGC Unit Chief-I told the Office that there was also some concern that Steele had been hired by a law firm on behalf of the Clinton campaign and the DNC to conduct opposition research on Trump. Despite these concerns, the fact that Steele’s information was being financed by the DNC and/or the Clinton campaign was not included in the affidavit’s source description of Steele.
With respect to the Steele Report allegations in the initial FISA application, OI Attorney1 told the Office that he did not think the FBI was initially concerned with corroborating Steele’s reporting, although he recalled that at some point some unknown efforts had been made.
Mark’s comment; the effort was made after the filing and after the first renewal. And still, after the effort that did not provide any corroboration to Steele’s allegations against Trump or Carter Page, James Comey approved three more renewals of this FISA warrant with false information to the FISA judges. The last renewal was made after Trump was in the White House.
It’s criminal! I can’t understand how James Comey is being allowed by the citizens of this country to walk freely among us with no worries for his safety. From page 126.
Notwithstanding these obvious infirmities, the FBI and the Department included these allegations in all four Page FISA applications, including in two applications after Steele’s primary sub-source (Igor Danchenko) had been identified, interviewed by the FBI, and was not able to provide corroboration for any of the allegations he provided to Steele. To that end, as discussed more fully below, OI Unit Chief-1 was aware that the primary sub-source had been identified and interviewed by the FBI, but OI Unit Chief-1 only later learned that serious questions arose from those January 2017 interviews of Danchenko concerning the reliability of his information as well as apparent contradictions with Steele’s reports. In OI Unit Chief-1 ‘s opinion, he doubted that NSD would have supported subsequent renewals of the Page
surveillance had the FBI made it fully aware of the disconnect between Steele’s reporting and the FBI’s interviews of Danchenko.
Wow, James Comey was willing to get Trump at any cost to his reputation. Danchenko is an enemy Russian spy. Comey knew this and he still sent Danchenko’s disinformation to the FISA judges in order to surveil candidate Trump and later President Trump. From page 129.
Danchenko was a known entity to the FBI in December 2016 when he was identified as Steele’s primary sub-source. As publicly reported, Danchenko was the subject of an FBI counterespionage investigation from 2009 to 2011. 719 In late 2008, while employed by the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., Danchenko engaged two fellow employees (“Brookings Researcher- I” and “Brookings Researcher-2”) at a happy hour about whether one of the employees might be willing or able in the future to provide classified information in exchange for money. Brookings Researcher-I was a research fellow for an influential foreign policy advisor who was about to enter the Obama administration. According to Brookings Researcher-I- I, Danchenko believed that he (Brookings Researcher-I) might also enter the Obama administration with the foreign policy advisor and have access to classified information. During
this exchange, Danchenko informed Brookings Researcher- I that he (Danchenko) had access to people who would be willing to pay money for classified information. Rightly concerned, Brookings Researcher-I informed a U.S. government contact at an appropriate government agency about this encounter, and the information was subsequently passed on to the FBI.
Not only we were paying Comey’s salary, we the taxpayers were funding Comey’s disinformation operation against the FISC, the voters, and Donald Trump. From page 132.
Danchenko becomes a paid FBI CHS despite the unresolved counterespionage investigation. Danchenko was interviewed by the FBI in January 2017 following his identification in December 2016 as Steele’s primary sub-source. FBI materials reviewed by the Office revealed that the primary purpose for the FBI’s initial engagement with Danchenko in January 2017 was to recruit him as a paid CHS. If this recruitment was successful, the FBI planned to mine Danchenko for information that was corroborative of the damaging allegations about President-elect Trump in the Steele Reports. The FBI initially interviewed Danchenko over the course of three days, January 24-26, 2017. These interviews were conducted pursuant to a grant of letter immunity provided by the Department. The interviews were conducted primarily by Case Agent-1 and Auten. Danchenko was represented by counsel during the entirety of the interviews.
I will have to double up my entries in order to finish this in my remaining time among you all. There are so many nuggets of corruption that are spelled out in this report.
What you learned in this session, James Comey saw to it that you, the taxpayer, funded his criminal enterprise to deceive the FISC judges, to launch a disinformation campaign against the voters, and to libel a president of the United States of America. And now the feel good video clip, you earned it.
Made his day. pic.twitter.com/ECpUg6Fexv
— The Best (@Figensport) May 19, 2023
6/16/2023
I thought the FBI wasn’t in the business of enriching Russian spies. Anything to get Trump. From pages, 136 and 137.
The VMU recommended several steps to mitigate these areas, such as administering a polygraph examination, further controls on his reporting, and additional evaluation, but these did not occur. Instead, Helson and WFO ignored nearly all of the VMU’s recommendations and continued to operate Danchenko as a CHS until WFO was ordered to close Danchenko in October 2020. In total, the FBI paid Danchenko approximately $220,000 during the 3.5 years that Danchenko was a CHS. FBI counterintelligence personnel at WFO and in the Counterintelligence Division at FBI Headquarters opposed efforts to close Danchenko and delayed doing so. Moreover, the Office learned that the FBI proposed making continued future payments to Danchenko, totaling more than $300,000, while the Office was actively investigating this matter, which would have been in addition to the $220,000 he had already received
What could go wrong? From pages 137,138, and 139.
-Danchenko’s relationship with Charles Dolan-
When interviewed by the FBI in June 2017, Danchenko failed to disclose the role a U.S.
based individual named Charles Dolan played in the reporting Danchenko provided for inclusion in the Steele Reports. In particular, Danchenko denied that Dolan provided any specific information contained in the Steele Reports. However, Dolan acknowledged to the Office that he provided information to Danchenko related to Paul Manafort’s firing as Trump’s campaign manager. Dolan further admitted to the Office that this allegation, which appears in Steele Report 2016/105, was fabricated.
Charles Dolan is a public relations professional who in 2016 was employed by a
Washington, D.C.-based public relations firm called kglobal. In addition to his work as a public relations professional, Dolan had previously served as (i) Executive Director of the Democratic Governors Association, (ii) Virginia Chairman of former President C!inton’ s 1992 and 1996 presidential campaigns, and (iii) an advisor to Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign. Moreover, beginning in 1997, President Clinton appointed Dolan to two four-year terms on the State Department’s U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. With respect to the 2016 Clinton campaign, Dolan described himself as a “door to door” guy in New Hampshire who did not hold any significant position.
What we learned from this session. The FBI at its highest levels is corrupt. A Russian spy who was being paid by the FBI with your money was being fed disinformation from a long-time Clinton crony. You have earned this feel-good video clip.
This is so beautifulpic.twitter.com/Nt4lkRJvUl
— The Best (@Figensport) June 16, 2023
6/26/2023
Holy Cow! From page 139.
Dolan’s connections to the Kremlin:
In his role as a public relations professional, Dolan spent much of his career interacting with Eurasian clients with a particular focus on Russia. For example, from approximately 1999 through 2004-2005, Dolan was employed by global public relations firm Ketchum Inc. where he assisted with Ketchum’s representation of the Russian Federation. Part of Dolan’s responsibility on the Russian Federation account consisted of, among other things, monitoring current policy discussions of U.S.-based think tanks and reporting back to the Russian government. Dolan also assisted in media consulting and press operations for the 2006 Summit held in St. Petersburg, Russia. As a senior member of Ketchum’s Russian Federation team, Dolan frequently interacted with Russian government officials, including, most importantly, Dimitry Peskov, Press Secretary of the Russian Presidential Administration, and Alex Pavlov, Deputy Press Secretary of the Presidential Administration. Peskov has often been described in media reports as Russian President Putin’s “right-hand man.” As discussed more below, both Peskov and Pavlov would subsequently feature prominently in the Steele Reports. Additionally, Dolan maintained relationships with Sergei Kislyak, who served as Russian Ambassador to the United States from 2008-2017, and Mikhail Kalugin, the head of the Russian Embassy’s Economic Section in Washington, D.C. from 2010-2016. Both Kislyak and Kalugin would also feature prominently in the Steele Reports.
The “Golden Showers” story falls apart. When I read this in Steele’s dossier, I knew for a fact that this was just a story for two reasons; 1. There wouldn’t be a guarantee that the mattress was the same mattress that the Obamas slept on. 2. There would be a record of a bill to replace the mattress. In the dossier, there was not shown a bill to Trump for the mattress or a mention of a bill. From page 145.
Notably, when interviewed by the Office, U.S. Person- I recalled he and Dolan took a
tour of the Presidential Suite. Following his initial interview with the Office, Dolan called U.S. Person-I and U.S. Person-I confirmed that he (U.S. Person-I) and Dolan had in fact taken a tour of the Presidential Suite. During that tour, a hotel staff member told the participants that Trump had previously been a guest in the Presidential Suite. According to U.S. Person-I, the staff member informed them that Donald Trump had stayed in the Suite, but did not mention any sexual or salacious activity. When interviewed by the Office, Dolan’s recollection about taking a tour of the Presidential suite at the Ritz Carlton was inconsistent and his recollection vacillated over the course of several interviews. Dolan stated, in sum, that it was possible that he (Dolan) told Danchenko about the Presidential Suite and Trump, but he had no specific recollection of doing so. Dolan was adamant that he never told Danchenko about any salacious sexual activity that occurred in the suite.
Page 145 to 146.
The Office also interviewed the then-general Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Moscow. The general manager, a German citizen who does not speak Russian, was described in the Steele Report as a “senior (western) member of staff at the hotel and identified as “Source E.” The general manager did not recognize the photograph of Danchenko he was shown by the Office. He also denied having knowledge of the Ritz-Carlton allegations concerning Trump at any time prior to their being reported in the media. 856 As such, the general manager adamantly denied discussing such allegations with, or hearing them from, Danchenko, or anyone else. Further, the Office obtained records from the Ritz Carlton Moscow that reveal that Trump was a guest at the hotel in 2013, but did not stay in the Presidential Suite then or at any other time.
I was right and all of the talking head reporters were wrong. They knew they were reporting a falsehood…anything to get Trump. You have earned this feel-good video clip.
— 🐶Nature is beautiful🐥 (@shockingnature) May 22, 2023
7/17/2023
Wow! Olga Galkina, a Russian public relations specialist, was expecting to be integrated into the State Department. Remember, Dolan is a long-time Clinton crony that reports to the Kremlin the going-ons in the US think tanks. From page 148:
On July 22, 20 I6, Dolan sent an email to Galkina and informed her that he would be
attending a reception for Hillary Clinton. Shortly thereafter, Galkina responded: “[T]ell her please she [Clinton] has a big fan in [ city name], Cyprus. Can I please ask you to sign for me her (anything).” In August 2016, Galkina sent a message to a Russia-based associate describing Dolan as an “advisor” to Hillary Clinton. Galkina further commented regarding what might happen if Clinton were to win the U.S. presidential election, stating in Russian, “[W]hen Dolan takes me off to the State Department [to handle] issues of the former USSR, then we’ll see who is looking good and who is not.”
Some lying going on. From page 149:
When initially interviewed by the Office, Dolan stated that Galkina was the “last person”
with whom he would ever discuss U.S. politics. 884 However, in a subsequent interview when
confronted with emails and social media messages with Galkina evincing communications about
Clinton and the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Dolan admitted that he had some discussions
with Galkina about the 2016 election and her support for Clinton. 885 However, in August
2017 FBI interview, Galkina stated, in sum, that she discussed some of the information contained
in the Steele Reports with Dolan. 886 Despite Galkina’s identification of Dolan as someone with
whom she discussed the Steele Reports, and the fact that Dolan resided in the Washington, D.C.
area, the FBI failed to interview Dolan about Galkina’s statements concerning the Steele
Reports.
The conspirators were even lying to each other. And I will remind you that the FBI used this dossier to get a FISA warrant to spy on Trump and his campaign members. From page 152:
Dolan provided this information regarding Manafort to Danchenko two days before it
appeared in the August 22, 2016 Steele Report (2016/105). As reflected above, the information
provided by Dolan was substantially the same as the information contained in that Steele Report.
In particular: (i) Dolan claimed to have received the information from a “GOP friend,” whom the
Steele Report describes as a “close associate of Trump”; (ii) in his email, Dolan referred to
“Ukraine revelations” about Manafort, which the Steele Report also refers to as the “Ukraine
corruption revelations”; (iii) Dolan’s email stated that “a number of people wanted Manafort
gone,” and the Steele Report similarly stated that “several senior players close to TRUMP had
wanted Manafort out”; and (iv) Dolan’s email stated that “Corey Lewandowski, who hates
Manafort and still speaks to Trump regularly played a role” in Manafort’s departure, and the
Steele Report similarly stated that Manafort’s departure was due to “Corey Lewandowski, who
hated Manafort personally and remained close to TRUMP.”
When interviewed by the Office, Dolan later acknowledged that he never met with a
“GOP friend” in relation to the information that he passed to Danchenko but, rather, fabricated
the fact of the meeting in his communications with Danchenko. Dolan instead obtained the
information about Manafort from public news sources.
Cohen was at the University of Southern California. The university’s logs show this, as well as, his passport and his phone cell tower ping logs. From page 158:
The Kremlin insider went on to identify leading pro-PUTIN Duma figure,
Konstantin KOSACHEV (Head of the Foreign Relations Committee) as an
important figure in the TRUMP campaign-Kremlin liaison operation.
KOSACHEV, also “plausibly deniable” being part of the Russian legislature
rather than executive, had facilitated the contact in Prague and by implication,
may have attended the meeting/s with COHEN there in August.
During the January 2017 interviews, Danchenko stated the information in the Steele Reports
related to Cohen and Prague came from Galkina. This is consistent with what Steele informed
the FBI during his September 2017 interview. However, as discussed more below, when
interviewed by the FBI in August 2017, Galkina denied knowing anything about a Cohen
meeting in Prague. Indeed, the FBI found no evidence that Cohen had met Russian officials in
Prague.
Here is the feel good moment.
— 🐶Nature is beautiful🐥 (@shockingnature) May 20, 2023