Several former FBI officials engaged in a counterintelligence investigation targeting members of President Trump’s 2016 campaign. Despite their insistence that they had no political motivation, the evidence suggests otherwise. Text messages exchanged between former FBI agent Peter Strzok and former Bureau lawyer Lisa Page constitute one of the many threads that, woven together, present a tapestry of deep state intrigue. The goal, it seems, was to undermine Donald Trump’s campaign, render it illegitimate in the event that he won the election, and thus end his presidency almost before it had begun.
Although Republicans ceded control of House of Representatives committees after the 2018 midterms, they did not cease their efforts to dig up and expose the foundations of this grand sedition. Some of the Strzok-Page texts have been re-examined as more of the puzzle pieces fall into place, and they suggest the FBI may have been attempting to infiltrate Vice President Mike Pence’s transition team, after the election.
Beyond Normal Procedure
It is normal practice for the incoming administration to receive various briefings as it prepares to assume executive branch authority. The text messages suggest, however, that Page, Strzok and other senior Bureau officials were hoping to establish relationships with members of Pence’s team in the same way law enforcement or intelligence agencies infiltrate criminal or terrorist organizations, or entities controlled by foreign adversaries.
The messages in question were exchanged in mid-November 2016, less than two weeks after the election. In them, the two Bureau officials discuss a briefing for the incoming vice president’s team. Strzok and Page appear to be concerned that sending certain FBI personnel to the briefing might look suspicious. They also discuss trying to feel out individuals on Pence’s staff who they can “develop” for “potential relationships.” This is the kind of language that intelligence operatives use when they discuss the handling of human assets.
Simply put, this is beyond the standard protocols for FBI officers preparing intelligence briefings for incoming administrations. The texts leave little doubt that Strzok – working in concert with his immediate boss, Bill Priestap, and former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe – was essentially hoping to cultivate one or more members of the Vice President-elect’s staff as human intelligence sources; in practice, as spies.
In response to this latest development in the FBI misconduct scandal, Mike Pence gave a brief statement to the news organization Axios:
“I was deeply offended to learn that two disgraced FBI agents considered infiltrating our transition team by sending a counter intelligence agent to one of my very first intelligence briefings only 9 days after the election. This is an outrage and only underscores why we need to get to the bottom of how this investigation started in the first place.”
Will Justice Finally Be Served?
Republican Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson have addressed a letter to Attorney General William Barr, urging him to probe the matter. They wrote: “Any improper FBI surveillance activities that were conducted before or after the 2016 election must be brought to light and properly addressed.”
In recent days, President Trump has referred to the FBI’s concocted “Russian collusion” investigation as an attempted coup. It seems shocking to hear such an accusation come from the mouth of a sitting president but, as more details come to light, it is becoming ever more difficult to doubt that the term is entirely appropriate.
For Democrats and their deep state allies who hoped to kill Trump’s presidency with fabricated charges of what amounts to treason, the other shoe appears almost ready to drop. Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz is expected to wrap up – by mid-2019 – his investigation into possible abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and AG Barr is looking into the conduct of the FBI, as it relates to the Trump campaign. Rumors of indictments are already circulating.
Corruption and abuse of power within government are often investigated, but the most senior officials are rarely held to account, even when their guilt is obvious. Hillary Clinton and her inner circle are prime examples. Perhaps in the age of Trump and “drain the swamp,” the American people may witness – at long last – the imposition of criminal penalties on those in government who have violated their sacred oaths and attempted the unthinkable.
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