{"id":122989,"date":"2019-05-22T15:58:39","date_gmt":"2019-05-22T19:58:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=122989"},"modified":"2019-05-22T15:59:06","modified_gmt":"2019-05-22T19:59:06","slug":"clearly-mueller-time-is-over-its-time-to-pay-the-barr-tab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=122989","title":{"rendered":"Clearly &#8216;Mueller time&#8217; is over; it&#8217;s time to pay the &#8216;Barr tab&#8217;."},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Attorney General Barr puts former intel bosses on notice<\/h1>\n<p><!--more-->BY KEVIN R. BROCK, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR<br \/>\nThe Hill<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/s3\/files\/inline-images\/comey%20brennan%20clapper_0.jpg?itok=G4jHbPOb\" data-image-external-href=\"\" data-image-href=\"\/s3\/files\/inline-images\/comey%20brennan%20clapper_0.jpg?itok=G4jHbPOb\" data-link-option=\"0\"><picture><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/zh-prod-1cc738ca-7d3b-4a72-b792-20bd8d8fa069.storage.googleapis.com\/s3fs-public\/inline-images\/comey%20brennan%20clapper_0.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"316\" data-entity-type=\"file\" data-entity-uuid=\"d7b5bb2f-57e2-4217-9b75-12faa85e5fa2\" data-responsive-image-style=\"inline_images\" \/><\/picture><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Things seem to be moving quickly now. It has been a remarkable few weeks in American history. Momentum is building toward uncovering the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/judiciary\/442278-james-comey-is-in-trouble-and-he-knows-it\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">distasteful possibility<\/a>\u00a0that the targeting of a U.S. presidential campaign was actually a political operation, fostered at the highest levels of government, masquerading as an FBI counterintelligence investigation.<\/p>\n<p>Attorney General\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/william-barr\" data-nid=\"435744\">William Barr<\/a>\u00a0has signaled that his interest in examining the origins of the investigation into the Trump campaign extends beyond whether the FBI operated \u201cby the book,\u201d as former FBI Director\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/judiciary\/443741-jim-comeys-own-words-justify-bill-barrs-review\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Comey asserts<\/a>. Barr also wants to understand the role that the larger intelligence community, or IC, may have played in all of this.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad__wrapper-element\">\n<aside id=\"article-outstream\">\n<div id=\"my_spring1\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<p>Barr has thrown punches that have left an interesting mix of characters with a standing eight count. Certain eyes around D.C. are a little glassy right now.<\/p>\n<p>Barr\u2019s words and actions are telling. First, he raised the concern that the Trump campaign\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/ag-william-barr-doubles-down-on-spying-claims-questions-origins-of-russia-probe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">was \u201cspied\u201d upon<\/a>. His use of the word \u201cspying\u201d appears more calculated than casual. The wailing and gnashing of teeth that followed is also telling. \u201cThe FBI doesn\u2019t spy\u201d became the sputtering counter-refrain of those trying to mask their nervousness.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a fair point that\u2019s beside the point. The FBI is charged with acting under strict legal restrictions and court orders. Spying is not a term traditionally associated with those activities.<\/p>\n<p>But it also misses the point Barr appears to be making. The IC does spy; that\u2019s what they do. Barr may have been referring less to the FBI and more to the IC\u2019s possible murky involvement.<\/p>\n<p>This seems to be validated by Barr\u2019s second haymaker in as many weeks: his appointment of a surrogate investigator,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/ag-william-barr-doubles-down-on-spying-claims-questions-origins-of-russia-probe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">U.S. Attorney John Durham<\/a>. Why would the attorney general add a third investigation to those under way by Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz and U.S. Attorney John Huber? Because those investigations are focused on the FBI. Durham\u2019s assignment is not similarly constrained; his marching orders appear broader.<\/p>\n<p>Through Durham, Barr can start dusting for fingerprints across the government, not just the FBI. The squirming has begun.<\/p>\n<p>In just the past week, we\u2019ve seen a rush to comment by the former directors of national intelligence\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolitics.com\/video\/2019\/04\/11\/john_brennan_disappointed_in_ag_bill_barrs_spying_comments.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">and the CIA<\/a>. The FBI\u2019s former general counsel has chimed in publicly and, of course, fired FBI Director Comey has been on a media offensive, practicing character assassination as a strategy with Barr among those in his crosshairs.<\/p>\n<p>Each appears to be anxious about his own role in handling the controversial Steele dossier from the Trump-Russia investigation, and so there is some elbowing under the basket to get optimum positioning. And who can blame them? The attorney general has stated that he is going to focus particularly on the dossier\u2019s exploitation, and specifically on the actions of the leadership of those agencies.<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, this establishes these leaders as principal witnesses in Durham\u2019s inquiry. In essence they are using their easy access to public media platforms to coordinate and communicate their stories among themselves.<\/p>\n<p>Ordinarily, this type of witness activity is troubling, if not borderline obstructive when done privately. In this case, Durham may be licking his chops as a prosecutor since a certain element of finger-pointing among the principals has emerged.<\/p>\n<p>Each also is dealing with an elephant that\u2019s not just in the room but sitting uncomfortably in their laps. Christopher Steele\u2019s dossier is clearly a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2019\/05\/16\/steele-dossier-sources-state-department\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Russian intelligence operation<\/a>\u00a0(\u201cactive measure\u201d in IC-speak) that took advantage of a cooperative outreach by the Hillary Clinton campaign.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad__wrapper-element\"><\/div>\n<p>If these IC leaders didn\u2019t recognize it as such, then it truly was amateur hour at the top. The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/white-house\/444508-two-scenarios-on-trump-russia-investigators-and-neither-is-comforting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">more troubling scenario<\/a>\u00a0would be if each made a conscious decision to ignore the obvious Russian interference attempt and, instead, wring political value out of the dossier.<\/p>\n<p>This is a key area that deserves Durham\u2019s attention. After all, this Russian active measures operation was used to further an FBI counterintelligence investigation against American citizens, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/ex-top-fbi-lawyer-gratuitous-to-name-dems-who-funded-steele-dossier-in-carter-page-fisa-applications\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">even secure a court order<\/a>\u00a0to electronically intercept former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.<\/p>\n<p>The American people shouldn\u2019t feel badly if all this seems confusing. Even experienced counterintelligence investigators are scratching their heads. Former FBI general counsel to Comey, James Baker, added to the confusion last week with some lawyer language \u2014 that the FBI \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/ex-top-fbi-lawyer-james-baker-we-took-trump-dossier-seriously-but-not-necessarily-literally\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">took the dossier seriously, but not necessarily literally<\/a>.\u201d Say what?<\/p>\n<p>IG Horowitz likely will take note of that statement as he finalizes his review of possible abuses by Comey and his team of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) process. It seems doubtful that a FISA court judge would have granted an electronic surveillance order had he been told the FBI believed Page was acting as an agent of Russia \u2014 but not literally so.<\/p>\n<p>Barr also wants to understand the role of CIA confidential sources, or \u201cassets,\u201d that were cozied up next to Page and another former Trump campaign adviser, George Papadopoulos. Both were announced as Trump campaign members the same week in March 2016, and almost immediately began attracting attention from an interesting cast of characters associated with the agency long before the FBI counterintelligence investigation was launched that July.<\/p>\n<p>The CIA has its own set of restrictions about the use of assets against Americans, and this deserves Durham\u2019s focus as well. Former CIA Director\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/john-brennan\" data-nid=\"366037\">John Brennan<\/a>\u00a0has commented on his belief in the sufficiency of FBI predication to investigate the Trump campaign but has said little about the CIA\u2019s role in all of this. Durham will want to make sure that CIA asset activity didn\u2019t somehow help create that predication.<\/p>\n<p>IC leaders aren\u2019t used to being held to account by the Justice Department, and their oversight by Congress generally is mild. Theirs is a comfortable world, obfuscated and kept mysterious by the liberal use of their classified-information shield. The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/barr-under-fire-says-hes-fighting-for-the-presidency-not-trump-11558389922\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">demonization<\/a>\u00a0of the Attorney General Barr has begun \u2014 a sign that he is probably on the right track. And the IC leaders are on notice.<\/p>\n<p><em>Kevin R. Brock, former assistant director of intelligence for the FBI, was an FBI special agent for 24 years and principal deputy director of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dni.gov\/index.php\/nctc-home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">National Counterterrorism Center<\/a>\u00a0(NCTC). He is a founder and principal of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.newstreetgs.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NewStreet Global Solutions, LLC<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/judiciary\/444802-ag-barr-puts-former-intel-bosses-on-notice\">https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/judiciary\/444802-ag-barr-puts-former-intel-bosses-on-notice<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Attorney General Barr puts former intel bosses on notice<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=122989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122989\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=122989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=122989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=122989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}