Thread by @ClimateAudit

1/ it's interesting to trace use of word "collusion" in connection with Trump and Russia by date-limited searches. While derision at wrongness of articles in media is warranted, we should take time to scrutinize the role of anonymous intel officials in originating the narrative

2/ search of "Trump collusion" limited to Jan 1-Feb 13, 2017 returns only one major contemporary hit: NYT op ed where editor half apologized for previous journalistic scruples against publishing unsubstantiated accusations that candidate Trump was traitor nytimes.com/2017/01/20/pub…

3/ Feb 14/2017 article by Schmidt, Mazzetti and Apuzzo nytimes.com/2017/02/14/us/… opened floodgates. It deserves careful parsing, particularly for its reliance on anonymous intel officials.

4/ as a measure of the impact of the Schmidt et al article, watch Michael Moore's response. "It's what we all suspected. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on: TRUMP COLLUDING WITH THE RUSSIANS TO THROW THE ELECTION TO HIM."
facebook.com/mmflint/posts/…

4/ "four current and former American officials" said that phone records and intercepts showed "repeated contacts" between members of Trump campaign and other Trump associates and "senior Russian intelligence officials" in year before the election

6/ officials said that communications were "intercepted" around time that "they were discovering evidence that Russia was trying to disrupt presidential election by hacking into" DNC. They then investigated whether Trump campaign was "colluding" with Russians.

7/ the officials conceded that "they had seen no evidence of such cooperation"

8/ Manafort was one of the targets.

9/ Other than Manafort's identity, officials disclosed little else.

10/ NYT said that NSA had captured calls "routine foreign surveillance" and "after that" FBI asked NSA to collect information on "the Russian operatives" and to search previous unanalyzed information. I wonder what specific legal rationale was?

11/ other mentioned FBI targets were Carter Page, Roger Stone and Flynn. No mention of Papadopoulos.

12/ next paragraph interesting: it says that Steele "briefed investigators last year about how he obtained information". Wonder when that happened? Don't recall seeing any documents about that event.

13/ "One American law enforcement official said that F.B.I. agents had made contact with some of Mr. Steele’s sources". I haven't seen any evidence of this. Looks like fabrication by US official.

14/ they said that Manafort investigation began "last spring as an outgrowth of a criminal investigation" into his work for Party of Regions in Ukraine -about which there is much disinformation &"why he was in such close contact with Russian and Ukrainian intelligence officials"

15/ officials said that they didn't have enough evidence for warrant for wiretap, so they had NSA unmask communications of Ukrainian officials that he had met. Seems like a back door evasion of failure to get warrant.