Chris Wallace sat down with Vladimir Putin. The goal of the interview, it seemd, is to show the world how important Chris Wallace is. The video, if it is still available, is at this link.
The unmitigated arrogance of “journalists” is, or should be, breathtaking. Wallace practically jumps out of his chair. I have questions. That he has questions is taken by him, and by reporters everywhere, as an undeniable urgency. You must answer because I am asking.
Reporters believe they are greater than those in power. They believe this with some reason, as reporters did until recently have the unimpeded ability to destroy lives. All lives, any lives. Whoever they perceived as an enemy. And since, to most of them, the ends justified the means, any slur, insinuation, slander or libel was employed in an effort to confirm their preconceptions.
The point is not this Wallace, but his bratty behavior is typical. Tell me, he asked (and I’m paraphrasing), why did Mueller choose to issue this indictment only a day before you and Trump met?
The implication was not only did Russia launch an army of bots that reached deep into Ohio, and which swam far from the internet to influence people to vote for Hillary, and that people had not choice but to follow the whispered orders of their occult Russian masters, but that Putin’s tendrils were still deep into the deep state and that the heroic Mueller is on to him.
You do not meet this kind of blind idiocy every day. Or, that is, you do. Trump has driven his enemies mad. Every one of them is in a lather as they try and convince you Bigfoot was seen piloting a UFO over Loch Ness to bring back mystical mind-altering chemicals.
Did the USA ever try to influence the election, in any way, of a foreign government? Did a cabal of FBI and other intelligence agents do their best to ensure Trump did not win the election? And, if so, does that not make them akin to a foreign government and therefore justifiably worthy of public criticism? Were reporters meddling in the election when they used every calumny short of accusations of murder to take down Trump? Just asking.
Here again is a (long) excerpt from Alexandr Solzhenitsyn’s “A World Set Apart” speech:
The press too, of course, enjoys the widest freedom. (I shall be using the word press to include all media.) But what sort of use does it make of this freedom?
Here again, the main concern is not to infringe the letter of the law. There is no true moral responsibility for deformation or disproportion. What sort of responsibility does a journalist or a newspaper have to his readers, or to his history — or to history? If they have misled public opinion or the government by inaccurate information or wrong conclusions, do we know of any cases of public recognition and rectification of such mistakes by the same journalist or the same newspaper? It hardly ever happens because it would damage sales. A nation may be the victim of such a mistake, but the journalist usually always gets away with it. One may — One may safely assume that he will start writing the opposite with renewed self-assurance.
Because instant and credible information has to be given, it becomes necessary to resort to guesswork, rumors, and suppositions to fill in the voids, and none — and none of them will ever be rectified; they will stay on in the readers’ memories. How many hasty, immature, superficial, and misleading judgments are expressed every day, confusing readers, without any verification. The press — The press can both simulate public opinion and miseducate it. Thus, we may see terrorists described as heroes, or secret matters pertaining to one’s nation’s defense publicly revealed, or we may witness shameless intrusion on the privacy of well-known people under the slogan: “Everyone is entitled to know everything.” But this is a false slogan, characteristic of a false era.
The greatest benefit of the internet is the impeachment of the heretofore sacrosanct class of journalists. We no longer have to take them seriously. Indeed, their foibles, mistakes, and biases are exposed daily.
As is their insanity. The key word yesterday was “Treason!”. They meant it. They were in tears, shaking with rage. They are seeing their impotence and they hate it.
Man, was it enjoyable.
Pat Buchanan liked it, too. Trump Calls Off Cold War II. “Trump thereby repudiated the records and agendas of the neocons and their liberal interventionist allies, as well as the archipelago of War Party think tanks beavering away inside the Beltway…Helsinki showed that Trump meant what he said when he declared repeatedly, ‘Peace with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing.'”
Amen to that.
Update Another fun take.
The Left absolutely hates the intelligence community. The NSA – evil peeping Toms. The CIA – evil over-throwers of small countries. The FBI – evil anti-Muslim terrorist bigots.
Until President Trump speaks the obvious truth that the intelligence community has been acting against him, as a candidate and as President. Then the Left goes librarian-poo, and their heads explode with faux rage. How dare he!
Ditto the amen!
Yes, Amen to peace with Russia and Amen to war with the MSM.
Someday, when you mature Bill, you too will be upset by fascism and child molestation (and the cults that support them).
“Did the USA ever try to influence the election, in any way, of a foreign government?”
Of course, and far worse. And if the US-installed leader of one of these governments stood smiling on a stage next to the US president, and said that the intelligence, defense, and law enforcement agencies of his country were all wrong, that the US did not really interfere, and he knows this because the US president told him so, he would rightly be considered both an idiot and a traitor by the people of his country.
Thank you, Mr Briggs. The smug, self righteousness of the pandering press has become intolerable and turnoffable.
Mr. Solzhenitsyn experienced it in the Soviet Union and warned America way back when. Good article.
Perhaps the fact that the BBC is funded by the nation prevents them from clear and persistent bias nevertheless the coverage of Trumps visit here, and the NATO meetings, and the Helsinki summit has been, if not neutral, at least advances a certain fairness. However I have tuned into Channel 4 now and again over the past month and I have been bemused to say the least. Trumps nominee to the Supreme Court is INSANE and will lead to the end of civilization (actually rather moderate by Republican standards). Insisting Europe pony up for its own defence is INSANE and will lead to Russian invasion a week next Wednesday. Rapprochement with Putin is INSANE now the entire Western intelligence community is under Vlads thumb and so on and so forth and such like. Each guest more vehement than the last, including reporters and anchor. Now I find Trump rather tiresome as an individual and I hardly agree with his administrations every move but when did newscasts become hour long editorials? Look mate report the news, and if you feel tempted to say “Here’s what I think” just go kick a football around, read a book, take a walk, have a pint, whatever!
None of you can call himself a patriot. You are a bunch of traitor of what was once a great nation. The USA are now th puppet of Russian government.
Sylvia,
Take that back.
“On a day in early December, one of Moscow’s agents in the United States, working undercover as a journalist for Izvestia, reported a private meeting with the president-elect’s “closest adviser.” The adviser, who met privately with the Russian spy, was frank and hopeful about a significant improvement in relations from the previous administration. He “stressed that was not merely expressing his personal opinion but the position of the future president.” The two men met alone, and there was no American record made of the encounter…. Starting in late May 1961, Robert would meet at least 35 times—an extraordinary number—over the next 19 months with a Soviet intelligence officer named Georgi Bolshakov (of the military intelligence service, then as now called the GRU) to voice his brother’s hope for a lessening of tensions between the superpowers. Unsurprisingly, the press and public knew nothing about these meetings. But Kennedy also kept most of them a secret from the rest of his administration.”
Oh, that was not Trump. That was Pres. Kennedy’s punk kid brother, Robert.
That’s right–treason! The President authorizing his closest adviser, and brother, to meet with Soviet intelligence.
And they hid their meetings from the American intel community.
“Did the USA ever try to influence the election, in any way, of a foreign government? Did a cabal of FBI and other intelligence agents do their best to ensure Trump did not win the election? And, if so, does that not make them akin to a foreign government and therefore justifiably worthy of public criticism? Were reporters meddling in the election when they used every calumny short of accusations of murder to take down Trump? Just asking.”
Thanks Dr. Briggs for thisexcellent example of the “So’s-Your-Old-Man Fallacy” (more formally known as the “tu quoque” fallacy) as you so aptly described it in your post of July 11, 2016.
the “tu quoque” fallacy
A formal fallacy does not mean the conclusion is wrong. It means only that it is not logically proven.
https://lastedenblog.wordpress.com/2017/03/11/fallacies-arent-what-you-think-they-are-and-they-arent-very-useful/
If (that’s a question) – if Russian influence was the cause of Clinton’s defeat, then thank Putin.
@YOS. Yes, obviously. But Dr. Briggs seems to think that it has some importance, that’s what I’m pointing out. It was his post after all. You know, pot and kettle.
It seems that “Ye Olde Statistcian” believes that Rob Ryan is in urgent need of having some obvious thing pointed out to him, but it’s not clear why he believes that. I see no sign that R. Ryan is unaware of this elementary nugget of wisdom. But I have noticed that when people have just recently learned something, that they are often eager to show off a bit by telling the next person they encounter about it. Like a cute tyke reciting the multiplication table to Mommy’s friend. It’s tiresome, but kind people recognize the impulse and indulge it.
Perhaps my text was incomplete. I said, up above, that the quisling “would rightly be considered both an idiot and a traitor by the people of his country”, but I should have specified “by the patriots of his country”, not the likes of Briggs.
Kent Clizbe,
It is not treasonous to meet the leader of another country. Very few are complaining that Trump met with Putin or Kim Jung UN.
Many complain about what Trump gives to other at the expanse of the US national security.
Kim played Trump like a kid. He got Trump to treat him as an equal. He got Trump to say that he was smart and that he treated his population well. Trump even saluted a North Korean general. These comment gave legitimacy to a despot that had none. Trump received nothing in return other than having the North Korean speeding its nuclear program.
If Trump owes nothing to Russia than you would see him being though on Putin. Yet Trump seems to appreciate the golden shower Putin is giving him (might explain why he is agent orange after all).
Trump is not strong, he is weak. Bullying works when the Bully is able to scare the others. America don’t scare much people by electing the idiot in chief. Of course, we are some concerns with the fact that the big baby could decide to launch a nuclear for a banality. But we are not scared of him or the USA. You need our resources a lot more than we need you.
By longtime friendship with the USA, America’s allies try to play nice with him (if I had been May I would have kicked him out of England after is Sun interview). Canada should tax export of gas to the USA (we are selling cheap gas, providing 20% of US daily requirement, polluting our land and getting insulted in return). China would be very happy to have access to this gas.
“Trump received nothing in return…”
In my view, Trump cares naught for your opinion of how he goes about fixing things, he only cares that they get fixed.
By being nice and allowing KJU to “save the day”, KJU gets to save face – something Trump cares not about, but Kim does. So let him have it, if it gets the wanted results. It’s PERSONAL diplomacy, which is required when dealing with dictators.
Russia? Suggest you have a look at RT to get their side of the story – you don’t need to take it at face value, any more than you should local media. Hear both sides of the story before deciding who’s “evil”…
Personally, I remain quite content that the the Russia-stole-the-election meme continues to occupy Trump’s enemies (and by extension my enemies), and, apparently, drive them literally bonkers. It’s all just so inane. If it weren’t Russia, it would be something else, so better it’s Russia. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not overestimating the intelligence of the American people when it comes to separating fact from fiction in personal attacks, but Russians? Might as well be Martians.
Many people prayed for many years. God’s answer? Trump! It’s Old Testament Biblical – God sends you what you need, in the form of an imperfect vessel, but one proving a perfect match to the task at hand. Is God shrouding the vision of Trump’s enemies? It makes as much sense as anything else I can come up with.
Will Trump eventually disappoint? I keep expecting it, conditioned by years of betrayal. But so far, it just keeps getting better and better.
Sylvain and Lee – We, the conservatives, wish tho preserve our great nation. You, the Leftist progressives, wish to “fundamentally alter the United States of America.”
Get off my lawn, you quisling tools. “Useful idiots”, indeed.
I don’t know which is battier, the idea that I’m a leftist or the idea that Trump and his supporters are conservatives.
“Today’s press conference in Helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory. The damage inflicted by President Trump’s naivete, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate. […] the president made a conscious choice to defend a tyrant against the fair questions of a free press, and to grant Putin an uncontested platform to spew propaganda and lies to the world. […] a recent low point in the history of the American presidency.” — John McCain, leftist progressive.
Mr Briggs:
I enjoy your blog. It often skewers those most in need of skewering. That said, I do not comprehend your views on President Trump’s antics and your support for the allegations that the FBI tried to stop his election in 2016.
The last time FBI officials tried to upend a President, “Deep Throat” (aka Assistant FBI Director Mark Felt) succeeded in bringing President Nixon down. Perhaps the most (only?) useful moments of Special Agent’s Strzok’s recent Congressional testimony was his claim that he could have leaked information in the summer of 2016 that would have hurt Candidate Trump but did not do so because of his adherence to US law including related FBI regulations and procedures. It seems no one, including DOJ IG Michael Horowitz who has investigated the matter, has come forward to challenge his assertion of compliance with the rule of law. (Just to refresh recollection, President Obama appointed Mr Horowitz to the IG position.) Moreover to the extent the FBI took public action, i.e. Director Comey’s handling of the investigation into Secretary Clinton’s email server, the general conclusion is that his actions hurt Ms Clinton and thereby aided Candidate Trump.
Those attacking the FBI for alledged malicious action against Mr Trump’s candidacy have a heavy burden of proof. That burden is not sustained merely by Mr Strzok’s intemperate emails.
Your interpretation of the CIA/FBI/DOJ conspiracy to insure Hillary was elected is charitable to the co-conspirators, to say the least.
You appear to either not know the actions taken by the conspirators, or to not understand the significance. Here’s a (incomplete, but illustrative) summary:
Neocon Never-Trump financiers working under cover of a website paid a foreign intelligence agent (UK) to compile a dossier on Trump. Their goal was to destroy Trump’s candidacy. The foreign intelligence agent worked with other foreign intelligence powers (Russia, Australia, others) to compile fake/false stories about Trump and his associates.
The neocon fake journalists passed the dossier to Hillary’s campaign, and to neocon Republicans, including John McCain.
McCain, and probably others, ran screaming to the FBI, and shared the fake allegations.
John Brennan, acting in concert with foreign intelligence and diplomatic powers, began an operation to “corraborate” the fake foreign intel-created dossier. He appears to have tasked a joint FBI/CIA asset to undertake entrapment operations against Trump’s circle.
The entrapment operation bore fruit in London. A low-level Trump staffer was poked and prodded by another foreign intel operator (Australian) until he mentioned Russia and Trump.
Brennan appears to have entered into the official record this statement as an “intelligence report.” He appears to have brought in the FBI. Their efforts to paper over an excuse to request FISA surveillance of Trump and his circle were now complete.
Strozk and his crew flew to London to confer with the foreign intel services, and Brennan’s officers there (who were led by the current DCIA).
The FISA court approved surveillance of the Trump circle.
All the pieces were in place now.
All of Hillary’s minions, and Obama and his minions, could crow that Trump and his associates were under investigation for colluding with Russian intelligence.
The dossier, and other details of the fake investigation, were leaked to PC-Prog and neocon media outlets. A constant drip-drip-drip of salacious and breath-taking claims hit the front pages of the WashPost, NYTimes, etc.
And then….Trump won the election.
Whoa! The secret neocon/PC-Prog conspiracy, carried out behind classified firewalls would be visible to the Trump administration, once they were in power.
Cover-up time!
The charges of treason/collusion/Russian pawn were inflated, repeated, headlined, and screamed throughout the pre-inaugural period. And continued in the early days of the new Trump administration.
Everything that’s happened since then is a furious attempt to cover-up the crimes of the Obama administration, and its law enforcement, intel, and diplomatic Deep State operatives.
Hope that helps.
Kent
Not really.
Just to pick on one unpersuasive point: why haven’t the new leaders of DOJ and the FBI who were appointed by President Trump (AG Sessions, DAG Rosenstein, FBI Director Wray etc found the “secret neocon/PC-Prog conspiracy…[now that they are] in power”? As noted in my prior comment DOJ IG Horowitz didn’t find it? Why didn’t President Trump’s CIA Director, Mike Pompeo, launch an investigation into the allegations of inappropriate and likely illegal (if true) actions of former CIA Director John Brennan? Why did the Trump Administration seek and obtain two extensions of a FISA surveillance directed at a US person related to the Russia meddling investigation? AG Sessions would almost certainly have had to approve both the requests for extensions. (FYI, senior officials who sign FISA requests take all of them seriously but a surveillance of a US person receives even more careful scrutiny.) Why do President Trump’s senior national security officials agree that Russia launched an attack against the 2016 election campaign of candidate Clinton? They are so convinced that the attack was real that they seem to repeatedly bludgeon the President into publicly admitting it as well. No easy task with any President, let alone this one.
“Those attacking the FBI for alledged malicious action against Mr Trump’s candidacy have a heavy burden of proof. That burden is not sustained merely by Mr Strzok’s intemperate emails.”
You’re ignoring the actual actions, words, facts, and evidence to set up a straw man. No one said Strzok’s text messages are the the ONLY evidence of the conspiracy. And the lack of action by those with the potential to act simply shows the depth of the Deep State control of the levers of power in Washington.
The entire entrapment operation, beginning with Brennan working with the CIA/FBI asset, Stefan Halper, and foreign intel agents, which culminated in the FISA approval to surveil Trump, while he was a candidate for President, is clearly shown by evidence already made public.
Squinting your eyes so you don’t see that evidence does not make it go away.
The conspirators’ electronic communications regarding their plan to destroy Trump’s chances of election, and to create an insurance policy that he would not be elected, are just one drop in the bucket–which is overflowing.
Wishing it would go away won’t make it so.
These comments have become surprisingly entertaining.
There are three excellent resources–infographics–that provide contextual background to the current swirling attacks on Trump.
Careful study of the actual facts and context will quickly dispel any tendency to pooh-pooh the “malicious action against Mr Trump’s candidacy” by the Deep State forces–PC-Progs expecting a win by Hillary, and neocons expecting a win by any of their wholly-owned Republican candidates.
First, you must understand the depths to which Hillary/Obama/Podesta/Brennan’s forces were in bed with Russians. The Uranium One deals are but a piece of their treasonous actions, but a good place to start:
https://throughthelookingglassnews.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/epoch_times_uranium_one_final.jpg
Then, the Deep State struggled to block the release of the Congressional memo that detailed the unlawful operation to obtain a FISA to surveil Trump and his staff:
https://throughthelookingglassnews.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/final_memo_epochtimes-1-e1517754294263.jpg
And third, Strozk’s “Insurance Policy” to destroy Trump:
https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2018/01/18/Fusion-GPS-Map_The-Epoch-Times.jpg
“That burden is not sustained merely by Mr Strzok’s intemperate emails.”
But the burden is completely sustained by the massive amount of evidence of the operation to destroy Trump.
You’re welcome!
The latest indictment mentions that the Russian group in question started its activities in 2014, which is interesting. And NBC a couple days ago took great pains to point out that no one has asserted that the Russia ‘meddling’ changed the outcome of the election or that the indictments indicate any collusion with US citizens.
Me, I remember Soviet interference in US elections back in the 60s, when they directly backed various peace/isolationist groups and protest movements. As well as US interference in elections in Iran and Chile, and more recently in installing Boris Yeltsin in Russia. So the notion of some ad buys on Facebook constituted ‘meddling’ more serious than encouraging coups d’etat here and there is more than a little risible. It’s about time Mrs. Clinton accepted responsibility for her own ineptitude.
At the risk of going around in circles I didn’t create a strawman.
Yes, Strzok was directing an investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Yes, he wrote emails that indicate his deep antipathy towards Donald Trump. But then what? You, and others, claim a large conspiracy involving the FBI and CIA including the personal involvement of then CIA Director Brennan to torpedo the Trump campaign. Here things get a little murky. If such a conspiracy existed, we all must agree that it was an utter failure.
You cite some events as evidence of the conspiracy but an investigation by the DoJ IG failed to find this conspiracy. Your answer to the question of why the Trump administration hasn’t exposed this conspiracy is to blame the unstoppable power of the Deep State. In my experience, entrenched bureaucracies are really good at frustrating change. The record is thin, if it exists at all, that they are skillful at pulling off convoluted conspiracies and keeping them secret especially when they cross agency boundaries.
One “fact” you cite to support your theory is almost certainly wrong. There is no public indication that candidate, or President-elect, Trump was the target of a FISA surveillance. If he had been the target of such a surveillance, it would have leaked in spectacular fashion long ago. The claim by President-elect Trump of surveillance of Trump Tower is just that: a claim. It is not evidence. The public record certainly suggests that a FISA surveillance either directly or indirectly ensnared Gen Flynn post election. There does not seem to be any support for the claim that that surveillance was directed at any US person, including either Gen Flynn or President-elect Trump. This is another case of where once in power the Trump Administration has not produced the evidence to back up its claims.
So I am back to my original point: Strzok’s emails are not sufficient to sustain the charge of an anti-Trump conspiracy by the FBI and CIA. The rest of the “evidence” is at best equivocal, and after 18 months the Trump Administration has yet to bring forth credible documentary evidence or testimony that describes the conspiracy, identifies its participants and enumerates its actions. Given how important exposing the alleged conspiracy would be to President Trump, both personally and officially, the silence is deafening.
Sylvain you are misjudging the man for someone who doesn’t know precisely what he’s doing.
There’s no need to share his politics or like his hair or his manner to understand why he is dealing with other nations the way that he is. That it is different from what has become mundanely expected in recent years does not matter. What matters is that there is a good outcome. If Vlad can see this why can’t you? Vlad hardly shares the same values as Trump and yet they are talking!
Trump was utterly mistreated by the media when he came to England. It would have made me weep if I had a spare tear.
If you want to know what most people think watch the Queen’s face and look at Theresa May’s greeting of him at Blenheim. The treasonous Mayor of London should be in the tower for his antics which was aided and abetted by media with rent a mob. The blimp was only allowed to be flown twenty metres off the ground and only for two hours. Still appalling but not quite the coup claimed by media and the very few protesters in this country who are allowed to be in front of the mic.
What you have over Russia in the US and over much of Trump’s coverage is a controlling of the narrative and a misrepresentation by the media of all kinds so as to influence the public. To influence voters ultimately.
The worse traitors are the media when it comes to influencing elections. For this read US, UK referenda (they failed on both counts) and they still haven’t given up with the latest crisis over Europe and the nonsense spin over Russia and the US. Incidentally, the previous weasel of a president tried to influence our referendum directly and made himself unpopular overnight with some who had previously been ambivalent.
Go Trump, God bless you and God bless both Boris Johnson AND Theresa May . The latter for her great effort in an almost insurmountably impossible situation. I hope she changes her mind but if she doesn’t she has to go. As she is a lady she won’t need to be pushed she will retire gracefully.
…and Melania Trumps’ yellow dress was beautiful and is burnt on my mind. Yellow’s a difficult colour!
“So I am back to my original point: Strzok’s emails are not sufficient to sustain the charge of an anti-Trump conspiracy by the FBI and CIA. The rest of the “evidence” is at best equivocal, and after 18 months the Trump Administration has yet to bring forth credible documentary evidence or testimony that describes the conspiracy, identifies its participants and enumerates its actions. Given how important exposing the alleged conspiracy would be to President Trump, both personally and officially, the silence is deafening.”
It’s only deafening because you are apparently deaf!
Examine the 3 linked infographics in my post above.
That is credible documentary evidence that describes the conspiracy, identifies its participants, and enumerates its actions.
There is more where that came from.
There is none so blind as those who choose not to see.
Using the most intrusive counter-intelligence surveillance tool (FISA warrants) against a political opponent is unprecedented and scary. That’s exactly what Obama/Lynch/Brennan/Comey and all their minions were doing. All aided and abetted by foreign intelligence operators–official and unofficial. There’s your “foreign influence of an American election.” Thank God they failed.
Details on the FISA abuse here:
http://thefederalist.com/2018/07/13/10-ways-doj-abused-authority-spied-trumps-campaign/
For those who still are unable to see the Deep State/Swamp working to destroy Trump, check out the FISA application–just released today.
If you have trouble visualizing the conspiracy, try comprehending this:
“… the FISA court was never told that the key information justifying the requests came from a “dossier” that was created by Fusion GPS, a paid agent of the Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee. The initial Carter Page warrant was granted just weeks before the 2016 election. Today’s document release supports criticisms by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee who released a memo that criticized the FISA targeting. The memo details how the “minimally corroborated” Clinton-DNC dossier was an essential part of the FBI and DOJ’s applications for surveillance warrants to spy on Page.”
And yes, the FISA warrants against two members of Trump’s campaign would have opened up the entire campaign to surveillance. It’s called being caught in the net.
You just keep dreaming about a non-partisan intelligence community and FBI–it’s sort of cute!
That is, until the coup starts.
The release of the FISA applications involving Page is helpful to your point of view in one dimension: there are major redactions in key parts of the initial application and the renewals so it isn’t possible to assess fully the strength of the government’s case.
As to whether the release buttresses the claim that the application was legally deficient I invite you to read a brief analysis by David Kris, former Ass’t AG of the National Security Division, the DoJ entity responsible for presenting all applications to the FISA Court. ( http://www.lawfareblog.com/what-make-carter-page-applications ) He comes to the opposite conclusion and criticizes the Chairman Nunes memo attacking the application for employing the same sort of deception that Rep Nunes accuses the DOJ of in presenting the application. You needn’t bother claiming Kris is a member of the Deep State–a very tiresome phrase–I understand your point of view.
I am not sure exactly what you mean when you say that the FISA surveillance would have opened up the whole Trump campaign to surveillance. Presumably all of Page’s electronic communications could have been collected (at least those on his devices the Government knew about). Thus anyone communicating with Page, whether or not in the Trump campaign, might have been overheard. Government could target those individuals for collection only if it obtained a FISA order against those individuals. At this point we do not know if the Page surveillance spawned FISA surveillance orders against others. Also, FISA minimization procedures would have limited the extent to which the contents of intercepts not relevant to the purpose of the surveillance could be retained or disseminated by the FBI. It is almost a certainty that those procedures specifically addressed the retention and dissemination of political information about the Trump campaign.
You are relying on a horribly biased source. The Lawfare Blog, Benjamin Wittes, was in the thick of the media operations conducted by the Obama minions.
Everything Wittes says and does is in furtherance of the Comey/Brennan operation to destroy Trump.
Nothing Lawfare says is of interest, except as a window into the minds of the Comey/Brennan anti-Trump, anti-election conspirators.
You might want to consult a more objective source, to more fully understand how bad Wittes and Lawfare are:
“On Comey’s watch he allowed the FBI to become a weaponized tool against political enemies. The upper-level officials within the FBI are now under scrutiny as their actions are increasingly transparent in their political motives. With James Comey sitting in the sunlight, I doubt there is a more apropos example for the value of hindsight-review than to visit the 2016 writing of Benjamin Wittes.
[Wittes writing in Lawfare in Oct. 2016]: The Coalition of All Democratic Forces should certainly see what kind of use it might make of the legislature, but realistically, we should probably expect that the coalition’s job in Congress will be to prevent Trump from passing anti-democratic legislation. That is, the task in Congress will be a negative one of denying Trump the use of the Article I powers, not the positive one of the coalition’s using them itself.
That leaves the tool that will certainly be available: the courts. The courts have a few obvious advantages, starting with hundreds of independent judges of both parties whom Trump cannot remove from office and who don’t have to face his supporters in forthcoming elections. ”
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/02/08/october-2016-james-comey-friend-benjamin-wittes-discusses-the-insurance-policy-against-trump/