This kind of thing really does not look good.
Newly discovered text messages obtained by The Federalist reveal two key federal law enforcement officials conspired to meet with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) judge who presided over the federal case against Michael Flynn. The judge, Rudolph Contreras, was recused from handling the case just days after accepting the guilty plea of President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser who was charged with making false statements to federal investigators.
The text messages about Contreras between controversial Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) lawyer Lisa Page and Peter Strzok, the senior FBI counterintelligence official who was kicked off Robert Mueller’s special counsel team, were deliberately hidden from Congress, multiple congressional investigators told The Federalist. In the messages, Page and Strzok, who are rumored to have been engaged in an illicit romantic affair, discussed Strzok’s personal friendship with Contreras and how to leverage that relationship in ongoing counterintelligence matters.
“Rudy is on the [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court]!” Page excitedly texted Strzok on July 25, 2016. “Did you know that? Just appointed two months ago.”
“I did,” Strzok responded. “I need to get together with him.”
“[He] said he’d gotten on a month or two ago at a graduation party we were both at.”
Contreras was appointed to the top surveillance court on May 19, 2016, federal records show.
The pair even schemed about how to set up a cocktail or dinner party just so Contreras, Strzok, and Page could speak without arousing suspicion that they were colluding. Strzok expressed concern that a one-on-one meeting between the two men might require Contreras’ recusal from matters in which Strzok was involved.
“[REDACTED] suggested a social setting with others would probably be better than a one on one meeting,” Strzok told Page. “I’m sorry, I’m just going to have to invite you to that cocktail party.”
“Have to come up with some other work people cover for action,” Strzok added.
Why that sounds like collusion -- even a conspiracy!
ReplyDeleteI think we have been waterboarding the wrong people.
ReplyDeleteUntil Trump, that was perfectly acceptable behavior for ANY Fed.
ReplyDeleteWaterboarding is too good for these cretins. I prefer the rusty butter-knife application to the....ahhhh.....procreative system.
If messages like this (and previous examples) were discovered among Marine officers, speaking about a candidate or sitting President, the USMC would be gone within six months as an entity. Why is the FBI still standing?
ReplyDeleteFBI did the same COINTELPRO job on Nixon. No reason for them to think it will fail to work a second time.
ReplyDeleteUS Presidents don't tend to last long against an entity like the Deep State: Lincoln and JFK, with failed assassinations against Reagan and others.