TheLastRefuge Profile picture
Jul 23, 2018 30 tweets 11 min read Read on X
1. OK, Here's the story that will break in the news cycle, probably starting tomorrow. Senate Staffer James Wolfe sent Ali Watkins an unredacted copy of the @carterwpage FISA Application in 2017. (and a more explosive aspect)
2. On March 16th 2017 the Senate Intelligence Committee requested a copy of the FISA application used against Carter Page [@carterwpage ]
3. How do we know this? Because a part of the indictment against James Wolfe tells us what took place. Page #5 of the Wolfe indictment (unsealed in June 2018) describes Reporter #2 Ali Watkins. scribd.com/document/38438…
4. Page #6 describes one of the leaks; one of the very specific leaks by Wolfe to Watkins. Read carefully. scribd.com/document/38438…
5. That document is clearly the FISA application used against Carter Page that was disclosed yesterday. Note the description (previous) and the date of the FISC release disclosed yesterday: FISC CLERK COPY STAMP page 83 scribd.com/document/38438…
6. Note the FISA application (original first application) is 83 pages, with a blank page. That's 82 pages total. scribd.com/document/38438…
7. Note page #6 of the Wolfe indictment: scribd.com/document/38131…
8. "82 text messages" corresponds with James Wolfe texting 82 images of the FISA application to Ali Watkins. Wolfe likely took pictures of each application page and sent them to Ms. Watkins. scribd.com/document/38438…
9. Important to note: depending on how the FISA copy was processed by the DOJ, and considering this was to the Senate Intel Committee, it is likely the SSCI copy was not heavily redacted (if at all).
10. SSCI Chairman Richard Burr and SSCI Vice-Chair Mark Warner are "Gang-of-Eight" intelligence oversight members. They have top level clearances, so they could be permitted to see the FISC release w/out redactions. Here's the Gang of Eight:
11. However, in March 2017, at the time this application was sent to the SSCI, there was also an ongoing Intelligence Community leak investigation taking place. Actually, more like a "leak hunt".
12. This "leak hunt", in connection to the capture of James Wolfe, becomes a more important consideration when you think about the recent FISA application public release.
13. From the Wolfe indictment we discover: On December 15th, 2017 James Wolfe was busted; the FBI had him dead-to-rights. However, the grand jury proceedings didn’t start until May 3rd, 2018; and the indictment was sealed until June 7th, 2018.
14. That means six months passed between busting Wolfe on Dec. 15th, 2017, and indicting Wolfe on June 7th, 2018.
15. It is difficult to gain a search and seizure warrant on a journalist. However, it is noted Reporter #2, Ms. Ali Watkins, was identified and an appropriate search warrant was authorized by the court. Ms. Watkins notified February 13, 2018. documentcloud.org/documents/4498…
16. So to recap: Wolfe FBI interview 12/15/17; one search warrant executed Jan-Feb 2018; grand jury seated May 2018; indictment/arrest of Wolfe June 2018. scribd.com/document/38131…
17. Here is where it gets interesting. Back to the FISC application released. Remember, you must think of this release in four segments:

scribd.com/document/38438…

Original application - Oct '16
Renewal - Jan '17
Renewal - April '17
Renewal - June '17
18. However, when the FISA application was released publicly, *they* (unknown) released the March 17th, 2017 copy (the one sent to the SSCI) of the original.

scribd.com/document/38438…

Why release (segment #1) from the March 17th copy?
19. The answer to that question goes back to the leak hunting taking place on/around March 17th, 2017, when the FISA application was first released to the SSCI.
20. *They* (again, unknown) likely put a subtle leak tracer in the FISC application when it was released. A slight variation in the copy sent to the SSCI that would help the leak hunters identify the leak, if the tracer information was found in media reporting.
21. So there is something slightly different about the March 17th, 2017, version of the Carter Page FISA application.... than the unmodified original version held at the FISC.

[Presiding FISC Judge Rosemary Collyer pictured]
22. That is why the publicly released version has segment #1 dated as March 17th, 2017. They needed to publicly release the same version as was used to track leakers of that FISA application.
23. Obviously, given the recent arrest of James Wolfe, and the ongoing hunt for more leakers, we can see the justice value in maintaining this process. Indeed there were/are people within the intelligence apparatus that are leaking information. Those leakers are being hunted.
24. A few more issues to button up. Why was the Senate Intel Committee requesting the FISA application in the first place? (Back in March 2017) What was happening around the time the SSCI was making the requests? and why was the IC so willing to comply with the request?
25. Enter, former SSCI Chairman Dan Coats - now 2017 Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) in charge of the overall IC and stopping dangerous leaks. Who was confirmed two days before the March 2017 FISA application was released to the Senate Intel Committee.
26. In 2017 DNI Dan Coats is VERY closely connected to NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers. Both took/take their responsibilities *very* seriously. You could say, they partnered. Coats and Rogers worked together on *all* the FISA concerns.
27. Coats/Rogers collective endeavors led to, and included, the April 2017 release of a brutal 99-page FISC review of FISA abuses. Coats and Rogers made the FISC ruling a matter of public record

[Coincidentally authored by FISC judge Rosemary Collyer]

scribd.com/document/34954…
28. Their nemesis per se', are corrupt politicians like SSCI Vice-Chairman Mark Warner who, on the same date (March 17th, 2017), was having covert contact with Christopher Steele via lobbyist Adam Waldman and former SSCI staffer Daniel Jones. READ: scribd.com/document/37110…
29. Dan Coats and Admiral Rogers knew the SSCI was corrupt, dangerous and likely leaking just to damage President Trump and protect their deep state interests. That's why the March 17th, released FISA application was seeded to trace a leaker.
30. That March 17th, 2017, leak hunt eventually led to the capture of James Wolfe, who sent reporter Ali Watkins 82 picture text messages (on the day he took custody) distributing the @carterwpage FISA application to the media. /END

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More from @TheLastRefuge2

Nov 15
Interesting. 🤔 Keep in mind this is 2019, Epstein texting Rep, Democratic member of Congress, Del. Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands, shortly before Epstein 'killed himself'...

Also Interesting... in 2019: JPMorgan Chase notified the Treasury Department of more than $1 billion in transactions related to “human trafficking” by Jeffrey Epstein dating back 16 years after the notorious sex predator killed himself in 2019, a lawyer for the U.S. Virgin Islands told a federal judge at a hearing.

“Epstein’s entire business with JPMorgan and JPMorgan’s entire business with Epstein was human trafficking,” Mimi Liu, an attorney for the Virgin Islands, told Judge Jed Rakoff in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Thursday, according to a transcript reviewed by CNBC.

cnbc.com/2023/09/01/rep…
On April 18, 2023, Elon Musk meets Linda Yaccarino for the first time.

April 26, Elon Musk meets Chuck ‘six-ways-to-sunday’ Schumer. “We talked about the future,” Musk told reporters after exiting the meeting that lasted about an hour. {link 1}

April 28, Attorney General of USVI triggers subpoena to Musk about Epstein. {link 2}

First weeks of May, USVI investigators trying to serve Epstein subpoena on Musk.

May 12, Musk hires DEI advocate Linda Yaccarino as Twitter CEO.

1. reuters.com/world/us/elon-…

2. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Early December 2022, USVI Attorney General Denise George announced a $105 million settlement with the estate of Jeffrey Epstein [link 1]. 

The USVI case against Epstein was based on anti-criminal enterprise, sex trafficking, child exploitation and fraud laws of the Virgin Islands.  We can assume AG George gained a lot of information in the discovery phase deep inside the Epstein finances that ultimately led to the settlement.

Following the settlement with the estate of Epstein, Attorney General George now announces a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase for “knowingly” enabling the sex trafficking operation of Jeffrey Epstein. 

AG George is specifically saying JPMorgan Chase was fully aware of what Epstein was doing.

1. usvidoj.com/u-s-virgin-isl…

2. yahoo.com/news/us-virgin…
Read 5 tweets
Oct 30
Judge James Boasberg signed off on the search warrants against congress.

Boasberg issued blanket orders to the cell phone companies not to reveal the search warrants.

Boasberg is a FISA Court Judge.

Boasberg authorized one of the Carter Page title-1 surveillance warrants.

Boasberg hired Mary McCord as amicus to the court.

After appointing Mary McCord to take up a defensive position for herself and the FISA Court (cover), Judge Boasberg then becomes the presiding judge in the case against the FBI agent who falsified the FISA application, Kevin Clinesmith.  Boasberg gives Clinesmith a slap on the wrist and a few months’ probation (more cover).

Boasberg told John Durham (Bill Barr) allowing a target to escape prosecution is part of the penalty upon the DOJ for wrongful assembly of the FISA application; a nice way to cover the issue.

t.co/FXXV4c89kE

This is the same Judge Boasberg gave J6 FBI agent provocateur Ray Epps a sentence of probation.

This is the same Judge Boasberg who established a horrible precedent by forcing Vice-President Mike Pence to testify before a DC grand jury about his conversations with President Trump (breaking executive privilege).

While on vacation, Boasberg attended the criminal indictment hearing of President Trump.

Judge Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking DHS, Customs and Border Patrol and ICE from deporting illegal aliens and narcotrafficking gang members belonging to Tren de Aragua (TdA), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.

There were calls for Boasberg to be impeached.

Immediately, the same day President Trump noted Boasberg should be impeached, Chief Justice John Roberts jumped to his defense:

..."“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose,” Roberts said Tuesday in a rare and brief statement issued just hours after Trump publicly joined demands by his supporters to remove judges he called “crooked.”

politico.com/news/2025/03/1…

Fuck off with this nonsense telling me Roberts is NOT protecting Boasberg.

Keep in mind, Mary McCord operates in all three branches of government: Deputy AAG in charge of the DOJ-NSD (executive); on both impeachment committees by Schiff/Nadler and the J6 committee of Thompson (legislative); as amicus to the FISA court (judicial). That's why she is "untouchable."

Mary McCord's husband worked in the office of Justice Roberts. Mary McCord is partnered with Norm Eisen. Norm Eisen hosted John Roberts in Europe and travelled with Justice Roberts as friends.

There is no apple. It's all worms.
Read 7 tweets
Oct 24
1. Dear @jkenney, to understand President Trump’s position on Canada, you have to go back to the 2016 election and President Trump’s position on the NAFTA renegotiation. 

If you did not follow the subsequent USMCA process, this might be the ah-ha moment you need to understand Trump’s strategy.

🧵 begins....
2. During the 2016 election President Trump repeatedly said he wanted to renegotiate NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement.  Both Canada and Mexico were reluctant to open the trade agreement to revision, but ultimately President Trump had the authority and support from an election victory to do exactly that.

In order to understand the issue, you must remember President Trump, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer each agreed the NAFTA agreement was fraught with problems and was best addressed by scrapping it and creating two seperate bilateral trade agreements. One between the USA and Mexico, and one between the USA and Canada.

In the decades that preceded the 2017 push to redo the trade pact, Canada had restructured their economy to: (1) align with progressive climate change; and (2) take advantage of the NAFTA loophole.  The Canadian government did not want to reengage in a new trade agreement.

Canada has deindustrialized much of their manufacturing base to support the ‘environmental’ aspirations of their progressive politicians.  Instead, Canada became an importer of component goods where companies then assembled those imports into finished products to enter the U.S. market without tariffs.  Working with Chinese manufacturing companies, Canada exploited the NAFTA loophole.

Justin Trudeau was strongly against renegotiating NAFTA, and stated he and Chrystia Freeland would not support reopening the trade agreement. 

President Trump didn’t care about the position of Canada and was going forward.  Trudeau said he would not support it.  Trump focused on the first bilateral trade agreement with Mexico.Image
3. When the U.S. and Mexico had agreed to terms of the new trade deal and 80% of the agreement was finished, representatives from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce informed Trudeau that his position was weak and if the U.S. and Mexico inked their deal, Canada would be shut out.

The U.S Chamber of Commerce was upset because they were kept out of all the details of the agreement between the U.S. and Mexico.  In actuality the U.S CoC was effectively blocked from any participation.

When they went to talk to the Canadians the CoC was warning them about what was likely to happen.  NAFTA would end, the U.S. and Mexico would have a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), and then Trump was likely to turn to Trudeau and say NAFTA is dead, now we need to negotiate a separate deal for U.S-Canada.

Trudeau was told a direct bilateral trade agreement between the U.S and Canada was the worst possible scenario for the Canadian government.  Canada would lose access to the NAFTA loophole and Canada’s entire economy was no longer in a position to negotiate against the size of the USA.  Trump would win every demand.

Following the warning, Trudeau went to visit Nancy Pelosi to find out if congress was likely to ratify a new bilateral trade agreement between the U.S and Mexico.  Pelosi warned Trudeau there was enough political support for the NAFTA elimination from both parties.  Yes, the bilateral trade agreement was likely to find support.Image
Read 8 tweets
Oct 6
The CBS move was easy to see coming.

Larry Ellison previously said he "would never let Elon Musk fail." Ellison is Musk's financial backstop.

Musk will never stake a position against Oracle, Google or Thiel's interests.

Ellison then began moving toward TikTok. K-Street funded to assist with lobbying. Trump circle directly part of the assist (Sacks, Lutnick, Musk).

David Ellison simultaneously begins moving toward Paramount (CBS). There is no distance between father and son. Trump circle then assists (Hollywood tariffs).

Ideologically social media and boomer media target operations complete. Now watch what happens with CNN.
At the end of this construct, AI enmeshed with govt., and Social Media data, via national security and Palantir.

L Ellison wins. D Ellison wins. Musk wins. Thiel wins. Sacks wins. Ackman wins. Alex Karp wins. Bibi wins.
The Kentucky Derby is won by horses, but it’s the owners who get the prize money.
Read 4 tweets
Sep 30
Inside the released report by John Durham, the special counsel outlined how former FBI Director James Comey was intimately involved in the creation of the Carter Page FISA application.

Durham noted that Comey kept asking the DOJ National Security Division and FBI counterintelligence investigators, “Where’s the FISA, we need the FISA.”  However, John Durham never interviewed James Comey or Andrew McCabe. 

The former FBI Director and Deputy refused to cooperate or give testimony to John Durham.  So, how did John Durham have details about the demands of Comey?

The answer is found in the footnotes. 

Durham reviewed transcripts of interviews given by Andrew McCabe to the Office of the Inspector General, Michael Horowitz, who previously investigated FBI conduct in the origin of the Carter Page FISA.  Durham pulled quotes from that transcript. [Footnote #1207, page 199 – Durham Report]

justice.gov/storage/durham…

QUESTIONS: If Andrew McCabe gave testimony to the OIG about the motives and impetus of FBI Director James Comey in pushing for the Carter Page FISA application, why did the OIG report never outline those transcribed interviews?  Why was the interview transcript never included in the 2019 OIG report?

[ NOTE: A transcribed interview of Andrew McCabe exists in the OIG office. @DNIGabbard through @AGPamBondi can request the transcription and release it to the public.]

However, let me answer the questions without the customary pretending from the DC professional political class.  The short version is that OIG Michael Horowitz was protecting the DOJ and FBI. The longer version is a coverup that includes Rod Rosenstein, Bill Barr and ultimately yes, John Durham. 

“Where’s the FISA?  We need the FISA?” ~ James Comey

You see, the DOJ-NSD and FBI CoIntel needed to find a safe and legal justification for previous spying on the Trump campaign.

The Clinton operation and 2016 FISA Title 1 surveillance of former CIA operative Carter Page became the fraudulent justification for that intent.

Because “FISA Title I” surveillance authority against a U.S. citizen is so serious (the U.S. government is essentially calling the target a spy), only a few people are authorized to even apply for such surveillance warrants.  One of the four people authorized to make such a Search Warrant request is the Asst. Deputy Attorney General as head of the National Security Division of the DOJ.

In September and October of 2016 a few critical things were happening:

1. NSA Director Mike Rogers was about to inform the FISC of the FBI spying operation using the NSA database.

2. CIA Director John Brennan was informing President Trump of the risk factors associated with the Clinton/FBI operation (that included #1).

3. The DOJ-NSD was quickly assembling the FISA Court application, sans Woods File, to be used against Carter Page. The Clinton/Steele Dossier was going to be used in lieu of the mandatory Woods File.

While Comey was saying, "where’s the FISA?  We need the FISA?" Pressure was building on the office of the Asst. Deputy Attorney General in charge of the DOJ-NSD, that's John Carlin.

Subsequently, Asst. Attorney General John P Carlin resigned as head of the DOJ-NSD.

Did Carlin resign in fear? Seems likely.

washingtonpost.com/world/national…Image
Image
A few years later, while COVID was raging and few people were paying attention, OIG Horowitz released a COVID delayed letter and summary report about the FBI spying operation [technically, exploiting the NSA database].

On its face the OIG release outlines a review and finding, actually a warning, by Horowitz’s office about FBI contractor access to “a certain national security database.” 

The OIG report was titled: “Management Advisory: Notification of Concerns Identified in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Contract Administration of a Certain Classified National Security Program.”

The advisory part is particularly interesting when absorbed through the prism of prior information.

oig.justice.gov/reports/manage…

On the surface of the release, the OIG was noting concerns and a warning shared with the FBI about ongoing contractor access to the NSA database. Thus, a “classified national security program” becomes defined.

However, in the background of the release it appears the OIG was using this public notification as a CYA of sorts.

Meaning the OIG was saying publicly they have advised the FBI of “concerns” they carried with the FBI abusing access to the NSA database.

Within the report you will note the IG calls out the FBI because the FBI hid their response to the IG warning behind the cloud of “classification.”

This left the IG with no alternative except to say the classified response has to be accepted as the final FBI response to the IG warning. 

The IG goes on to say to the FBI you have 90 days to tell me what you did to address the contractor access abuses.

In reality OIG Michael Horowitz was covering his ass and telling us why. Perhaps that's why Horowitz was removed from his position recently and sent to the IRS office where Secretary Bessent could keep an eye on him.

Keep in mind this contractor access to the bulk NSA metadata is a big deal.  All of the FISA audits in the past eight+ years have pointed out how FBI contractors continue to abuse their access to the database and unlawfully extract information without minimization efforts required by fourth amendment protections. 

The scale of the abuse is actually stunning; and the OIG reviewed the process and found the same issues that existed in 2015 and 2016 remained uncorrected five years later.

/END
Image
Read 4 tweets
Sep 30
1/ During the period of Nov 2015 to April 2016, the Obama administration, through the FBI under James Comey and Andrew McCabe, was conducting a political spying operation against all republican presidential primary candidates using the power of their offices.

The intent was two-fold. (1) Tracking the candidates to identify activity; and (2) conducting opposition research to be fed to the campaign of Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton.

This surveillance activity was happening in concert with Comey, McCabe and a small group inside the FBI, running a defensive operation for the issues surrounding Hillary Clinton's prior use of private email servers -which included classified information transmission- during her tenure as Secretary of State.

SOURCE: DNI

dni.gov/files/document…
2/ Documentary evidence of the Obama spying operation surfaced as an outcome of the NSA compliance officer discovering the FBI activity.

The compliance officer reported the activity to National Security Agency Director, Admiral Mike Rogers.

The spying operation is not an issue of FISA-702, or any FISA system or process. However, the availability of FBI access to the NSA database is what triggered the discovery of the spy operation.

That FBI access is created under the auspices of FISA, but FISA-702 or any aspect therein was not the issue.

The issue was the spying operation. FISA and using the NSA database to conduct the electronic surveillance, was simply the tool to exploit the electronic communication (metadata) of the targets.

The Obama administration was spying on their political opposition and telling the Clinton team the results of their surveillance.

The United States government was spying on candidates for office in order to control the outcome of the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
3/ After Director Mike Rogers was made aware of the operation, the exploitation of the NSA database, the NSA Director blocked the FBI from access and begun an investigation.

That investigation culminated in Director Mike Rogers informing the regulatory body in charge of protecting the database from exploitation.

FISC:

With the NSA now collecting the private electronic communication of Americans, the FISA Court was assigned the responsibility of oversight; intended to protect the growing metadata library and ensure the 4th Amendment provisions to the constitution were maintained.

The FISC oversight was intended to stop the government from reviewing the private records of Americans, the NSA database, without a warrant.Image
Read 5 tweets

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