1. The wording of the directive for declassification is important: "At the request of a number of committees of Congress"....
publicpool.kinja.com/subject-statem…
publicpool.kinja.com/subject-statem…
2. This shifts the legal issues with executive declassification from the Office of the President (who might hold a legal conflict), to executive fulfillment of legislative branch oversight. [Similar to Nunes memo declassification process]
3. This is a very important distinction.
4. ..."President has directed the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Justice (including the FBI) to provide for the immediate declassification"... Also important wording. Directive flow is rightly to DNI Dan Coats.
5. DNI Dan Coats is technically in charge of all Intelligence Agencies, and internal IC oversight therein. Dan Coats was almost guaranteed to be the person who *surprisingly* released the original FISA application to NYT and Judicial Watch.
6. DNI Dan Coats, working with NSA Director Rogers, is also the person who release the 99-page FISC opinion in April 2016, that led to the public discoveries of the 2015/2016 FISA-702(16)(17) abuses by federal *contractors*.
7. In the period of tenure (so far) it appears Dan Coats is very amenable to supporting congressional oversight over the IC (writ large). As a former Senator that tendency is understandable.
9. "(1) pages 10-12 and 17-34 of the June 2017 application to the FISA court in the matter of Carter W. Page" - This will likely show more collusion/coordination between FBI investigators and the media.
10. Specifically the leaking of the FIRST application by James Wolfe, to Ali Watkins, March 17th, 2017, and how subsequent media reports (Buzzfeed, WaPo, NYT) from that Wolfe leak were used later the June 2017 renewal application.
11. Item "(2) all FBI reports of interviews with Bruce G. Ohr prepared in connection with the Russia investigation." These relate to the intelligence laundry apparatus, and how Bruce Ohr was facilitating information from the dossier. [See graphics]
12. Item "(3) all FBI reports of interviews prepared in connection with all Carter Page FISA applications." This pulls in the "international crew" including Steele, Harper, Downer, et al. This was the issues within what is generally called "Spy-Gate".
13. Keep in mind, even though the declassification request is for the removal of redactions, there will be some redactions that remain - JUST LIKE THE NUNES MEMO.
The IC will hide some information behind "Sources and Methods" etc. So we have to wait and see how far they go.
The IC will hide some information behind "Sources and Methods" etc. So we have to wait and see how far they go.
14. The more interesting (to me) aspect is the last part of the declassification request. This is where the political goldmine will be located.
15. "President Trump has directed the Department of Justice (including the FBI) to publicly release all text messages relating to the Russia investigation, without redaction, of James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, and Bruce Ohr." publicpool.kinja.com/subject-statem…
16. There were thousands of redactions in the original 2017 releases of text messages. Those redactions were done by hidden, unnamed, and unknown FBI officials within the institution. What is behind those redactions is even more explosive than the FISA app.
17. The question is: Will the DOJ (Rosenstein) and FBI (Wray) comply with the executive demand and deliver all of these text messages without redaction? They have already refused congressional oversight. Will they refuse POTUS? That is the institutional crisis question.
18. The institutions will fight like hell to avoid sunlight, and they will likely try and drag, stall, and try to avoid compliance for weeks.
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