The most recent developments in the #Russiagate saga have the House Intelligence Committee (HIC) issuing subpoenas for records regarding the FBI relationship with a former British Intelligence officer regarding the January Buzzfeed bombshell commonly referred to as "the Russian dossier". Steele's Russian dossier may have been a milestone in the rekindling of our Cold War as, once again, we find ourselves teasing, taunting, tempting and testing the Bear.
Just weeks ago GPS Fusion's Glenn Simpson decided to voluntarily testify before the House in exchange for the withdrawal of their subpoena ruling him to appear before HIC. Fusion, if you don't recall, is one of the "opposition research firms" behind the notorious (and debunked) "Pissagate Dossier" that allowed Buzzfeed to play-act as 21st-century Woodwards & Bernsteins for a day.
As far back as April of this year Christopher Steele, British Intelligence, admitted that the charges of "kompromat" (compromising materials) gathered by the Kremlin, were unverified. These stories involved among other things claims of the President's involvement with prostitutes engaged in "golden showers" and other "water sports" activity were unverified. Buzzfeed and Steele are also currently facing defamation charges arising from some of the dossier's unverified claims.
The Russiagate hysteria of the past year has only grown in intensity despite more and more evidence that the whole thing is no more than a big ol' "nothing burger" as CNN's Van Jones put it in a Project Veritas hidden camera video. Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh, Salon, The Nation and others have been admitting the same as of late. Despite no real evidence beyond some circumstantial and conjectural points, the story has taken on a life of its own.
In addition to lack of evidence, there's the fact that, if evidence exists, the NSA surely possesses it.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The aversion to sharing <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NSA?src=hash">#NSA</a> evidence is fear of revealing "sources and methods" of intel collection, but <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/XKEYSCORE?src=hash">#XKEYSCORE</a> is now publicly known.</p>— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) <a href="https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/757577614873755648">July 25, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Evidence that could publicly attribute responsibility for the DNC hack certainly exists at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NSA?src=hash">#NSA</a>, but DNI traditionally objects to sharing.</p>— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) <a href="https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/757577131912208384">July 25, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/25/christopher-steele-admits-dossier-charge-unverifie/
<h2><strong>CUE ENNIO MORRICONE SCORE</h2></strong>
<div style="width:100%;text-align:center;margin:0 auto;"><iframe width="360" height="202" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nOr0na6mKJQ/" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<a href="
http://www.businessinsider.com/devin-nunes-jeff-sessions-fbi-chris-wray-trump-russia-dossier-2017-9">It seems that the HIC has had enough</a>. We can at least hope that something may come of the increasing politicization of intelligence analysis. It's been subpoena season and that includes the FBI and Department of Justice themselves. HIC want to know what British intel officer, Christopher Steele's possible relationship to the FBI is. FBI and DOJ were given a deadline of September 1st to witness before Congress and are now being offered an extension to the 14th of September. Another important subsequent question then that House Intelligence Chair Devin Nunes wants answered is whether the "intelligence" gathered was used to obtain Foreign Intelligance Surveillance (FISA) warrants. If you recall, several world leaders were a bit more than peeved when it was discovered that, in addition to its own civilians, the US security state was monitoring prominent foreign nationals.
In short, Nunes has called Sessions, FBI and DOJ's hand.
<blockquote>"If all responsive documents are not produced by the revised deadline, the Attorney General and Director of the FBI (Christopher Wray) shall appear before the committee at 9 a.m. on September 14, 2017 in room HVC-210 of the US Capitol during an open hearing, to explain under oath DOJ's and FBI's unwillingness or inability to comply in full with the subpoenas issued on August 24."</blockquote>
And the stakes are high, Nunes says if they don't show up he wants Sessions and Wray held in Contempt of Congress.
On the other hand, Democrat Adam Schiff holds the position that the Republicans are simply trying to "antagonize the FBI and the DOJ, and trying to provoke a conflict" and cite the fact that Republicans are equally reticent in regards release of documents related to President Trump's handling of FBI director James Comey. But why can't they <i>both</i> be right? Politicization of intelligence apparatus is not a new concern but with the increased powers granted by the Patriot Act and then NDAA I & II the danger is far greater.
Call me a cynic, I may be, but I foresee both sides coming to accord in some sort of backroom agreement that satisfies those immediately affected. That is the intelligence agents, the politicians and the money, interests, and agenda that they in turn represent. Or hey, maybe not, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the Pandora's box that Citizen's United, NSA's Big Brother complex and War Inc. represent aren't the juggernaut they seem. Maybe the ball of yarn hasn't become simultaneously too tangled and too unwound just yet. Or maybe not, Barrett Brown and Reality Winner are still in jail but then again aren't Julian Assange (or the robot or clone they have in his stead) and Chelsea Manning (if she wasn't killed in a cell and then replaced with a look-alike) are walking free on the streets today.
One thing is certain when going fishing it's often helpful to bring a can of worms. As far as the corrupt officials (to borrow the President's vernacular) "on both side" go, these big fish are only safe so long as no one opens that can. Cynical, sure, but a boy can dream.
