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<\/a><\/p>\nBy Monica Crowley
\nThe Washington Times<\/p>\n
ANALYSIS\/OPINION:<\/strong><\/p>\n The best defense, the saying goes, is a good offense.<\/p>\n The key orchestrators of the Big Trump-Russia Collusion Lie seem to have hewed tightly to that tactical advice.<\/p>\n Over the past two years, one of their biggest \u201ctells\u201d has been their hyper-aggressive and gratuitous attacks on the president. Given that special counsel\u00a0Robert Mueller<\/a>\u2019s investigation found no collusion or obstruction of justice, their constant broadsides now look, in retrospect, like calculated pre-emptive strikes to deflect attention and culpability away from themselves.<\/p>\n By accusing\u00a0Mr. Trump<\/a>\u00a0of what they themselves were guilty of, they created a masterful distraction through projection.<\/p>\n With\u00a0Mr. Mueller<\/a>\u2019s findings,\u00a0Mr. Comey<\/a>\u2019s and Mr. McCabe\u2019s media benders look increasingly suspicious.<\/p>\n As do those of their comrades in the Obama national security apparatus, including former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and his partner in possible crime, former\u00a0CIA<\/a>\u00a0Director\u00a0John Brennan<\/a>, who, apart from former President\u00a0Barack Obama<\/a>\u00a0himself, may be the biggest player of them all.<\/p>\n Any investigation into the origins and execution of the Big Lie must focus on Mr.\u00a0Brennan<\/a>, whose job as the nation\u2019s chief spook would have prohibited him, by law, from engaging in any domestic political spy games.<\/p>\n Of course, the law didn\u2019t stop him from illegally spying on the Senate Intelligence Committee by hacking into its computers and lying repeatedly about it, prompting Democratic senators to call for his resignation.<\/p>\n Once out of Langley,\u00a0Mr. Brennan<\/a>\u00a0tore into Mr. Trump, accusing him of \u201ctreason\u201d (among other crimes) in countless television appearances and bitter tweets. It got so vicious that\u00a0Mr. Trump<\/a>\u00a0pulled his security clearance.<\/p>\n Consider a few critical data points.<\/p>\n The Obama Department of Justice and\u00a0FBI<\/a>\u00a0targeting of two low-level Trump aides, George Papadopoulos and Carter Page, was carried out in the spring of 2016 because they wanted to spy on the Trump campaign but needed a way in. They enlisted an American academic and shadowy\u00a0FBI<\/a>\u00a0informant named Stefan Halper to repeatedly sidle up to both Mr. Papadopoulos and Mr. Page. But complementing his work for the\u00a0FBI<\/a>, Mr. Halper had a side gig as an intelligence operative with longstanding ties to the\u00a0CIA<\/a>and British intelligence MI6.<\/p>\n Another foreign professor, Joseph Mifsud, who played an important early part in targeting Papadopoulos, also had abiding ties to the\u00a0CIA<\/a>, MI6 and the British foreign secretary.<\/p>\n A third operative, Australian diplomat Alexander Downer, targeted Mr. Papadopoulos in a London bar. It was Mr. Downer\u2019s \u201ctip\u201d to the\u00a0FBI<\/a>\u00a0that provided the justification for the start of Russia counterintelligence investigation, complete with fraudulently-obtained FISA warrants to spy on the Trump campaign.<\/p>\n All of these interactions reek of entrapment. Mr. Papadopoulos now says, \u201cI believe Australian and UK intelligence were involved in an active operation to target Trump and his associates.\u201d Like Mr. Halper and Mr. Mifsud, Mr. Downer had ties to the\u00a0CIA<\/a>, MI6 and (surprise!) the Clintons.<\/p>\n Given the deep intelligence backgrounds of these folks, it\u2019s difficult to believe that former DOJ\/FBI<\/a>officials such as Peter Strzok or even\u00a0James Comey<\/a>\u00a0and Andrew McCabe on their own devised the plan to deploy them.<\/p>\n So: who did? How did the relationships with Messrs. Halper, Mifsud and Downer come about? Who suggested them for these tasks? To whom did they report? How were they compensated?<\/p>\n Any investigation must follow the money \u2014 and the personnel. There were plenty of DOJ\/FBI<\/a>\u00a0officials involved, but what about intelligence officials? Was\u00a0Mr. Brennan<\/a>\u00a0a central player in the hoax, which would help explain the participation of Mr. Halper, Mr. Mifsud and Mr. Downer? Intel officials are likely to draw on other intelligence operatives.<\/p>\n There is also a glimpse of a paper trail. Fox News\u2019 Catherine Herridge reported last week that \u201cin a Dec. 12, 2016 text, [FBI<\/a>\u00a0lawyer Lisa] Page wrote to McCabe: \u201cBtw, Clapper told Pete that he was meeting with\u00a0Brennan<\/a>\u00a0and Cohen for dinner tonight. Just FYSA [for your situational awareness].\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWithin a minute, McCabe replied, \u201cOK.\u201d Ms. Herridge notes that those named are likely Peter Strzok and\u00a0Mr. Brennan<\/a>\u2019s then-deputy, David Cohen. Ms. Herridge also notes that while we don\u2019t yet know what was discussed during the dinner, government sources thought it \u201cirregular\u201d for Mr. Clapper to be in contact with the more junior-level Mr. Strzok. She also points out that the text came \u201cduring a critical time for the Russia probe.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed. It was right before the publication of the ICA, the official Intelligence Community Assessment of Russian 2016 election interference.<\/p>\n As Paul Sperry has reported, \u201cA source close to the House investigation said\u00a0Brennan<\/a>\u00a0himself selected the\u00a0CIA<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0FBI<\/a>\u00a0analysts who worked on the ICA, and that they included former\u00a0FBI<\/a>\u00a0counterespionage chief Peter Strzok.<\/p>\n \u201cStrzok was the intermediary between\u00a0Brennan<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Comey<\/a>, and he was one of the authors of the ICA,\u201d according to the source.\u201d Recall that the dossier-based ICA was briefed to\u00a0Obama<\/a>, Trump and Congress ahead of Trump\u2019s inauguration.<\/p>\n Post-Mueller<\/a>\u00a0report,\u00a0Mr. Brennan<\/a>\u00a0is spinning wildly that perhaps his early condemnations of\u00a0Mr. Trump<\/a>were based on \u201cbad information.\u201d<\/p>\n These are just some of the threads suggesting\u00a0Mr. Brennan<\/a>\u00a0may be one of the Masters of the Big Lie, requiring full investigation.<\/p>\n If the devil is in the details,\u00a0Mr. Brennan<\/a>\u00a0is all over the details.<\/p>\n No wonder he \u2014 and his fellow caballers \u2014 have been so loud. They doth protest too much.<\/p>\n \u2022 Monica Crowley is a columnist for The Washington Times.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n