Thread by @EpochTimes

News Analysis🔎by Jeff Carlson @themarketswork

While President Trump’s #Acquittal dominated the news this week, there were 3 other significant developments that received little attention. (Thread👇) theepochtimes.com/wrays-testimon…

1. On the morning of Feb. 5, @FBI Director #Wray made several significant and noteworthy comments and admissions pertaining to #FISAabuse and the ongoing investigation by US Attorney #JohnDurham during testimony before the House Judiciary Committee. c-span.org/video/?468923-…

2. That afternoon, a letter jointly sent by Sen. @ChuckGrassley and Sen. @RonJohnsonWI requested the dates and locations of any travel that #HunterBiden had made while receiving a protective detail from the @SecretService. grassley.senate.gov/sites/default/…

3. On Feb. 3, a quiet release from the #FISACourt provided additional details regarding incremental steps the #DOJ and @FBI intended to take in order to ensure future accuracy of any #FISA applications presented to the Court. fisc.uscourts.gov/public-filings

@FBI During @FBI Director #Wray’s lengthy testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 5, a few notable comments were put forth by the director. c-span.org/video/?468923-…

At the 1:47:05 mark, @RepRatcliffe asked about the recent notification to the #FISACourt by the #DOJ that the final two FISA warrants @CarterWPage were deemed to be “not valid.”

The #DOJ also informed the #FISACourt that with regard to the 2 final applications, “there was insufficient predication to establish probable cause to believe that [Carter] Page was acting as an agent of a foreign power.”

.@RepRatcliffe continued, noting that “illegal surveillance and changing evidence to conduct illegal surveillance is the very definition of fraud on the court, is it not?”

#Wray responded, stating, “Well, I certainly think it describes conduct that’s utterly unacceptable.”

The #FBI Director added “we have accepted every finding in the Inspector General’s report, including some that are extremely painful to us as an institution.”

This is a significant admission, affirming that the @FBI engaged in illegal #Surveillance on an American citizen.

@FBI The most interesting, and likely the most important moment occurred at the 2:25:45 mark in #Wray’s testimony.

Being questioned by @RepMcClintock, Wray noted that “where there are people who need to be held accountable, we have a disciplinary process for that. For the…

…current employees. The vast majority of people involved in the conduct you’re describing are no longer with the FBI and not subject to the disciplinary project in the first place.”

#Wray’s answers to @RepMcClintock are perhaps best read as a single thought. The employees that have left the FBI are outside of @FBI’s oversight, but they are not outside the purview of the investigation being conducted by #Durham and overseen by #AGBarr.

@RepMcClintock @FBI While it is not known when #Durham will complete his investigation, there are reports that he expanded his investigation toward interviews with some senior Obama admin officials, including former @CIA Director @JohnBrennan and former DNI #JamesClapper. theepochtimes.com/focus-of-durha…

The number of interviews conducted as well as the widening scope suggests that #Durham has been gathering all available facts, evidence, and data prior to approaching the central figures in his inquiry.

Changes in the @FBI’s #FISA Process

The #FISACourt release contained a response by the Government to the Amicus’s Letter Brief that was filed on Jan. 15 by David Kris. fisc.uscourts.gov/sites/default/…

Kris had been appointed by the #FISACourt on Jan. 10 in order to help the court assess the government’s response to an earlier order with regard to actions @FBI intended to take following the findings of the @JusticeOIG #HorowitzReport. justice.gov/storage/120919…

@FBI @JusticeOIG 2 footnotes within the release stand out based on the strength of the language used.

The first noted that #Wray has implemented “more than 40 corrective actions, making changes beyond those recommended by the OIG.”

The second footnote noted that @FBI would implement “further actions deemed appropriate” and stated that the FBI is “committed to learning from the failures of the Crossfire Hurricane Investigation.”

The filing also identified a number of corrective actions to be taken with regard to #FISA standards and procedures—all of which stemmed from noted failures of the FBI’s process in the applications on former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.

Many of these actions appear designed to greatly enhance the information provided to the Office of Intelligence (OI) which provides oversight of the #FISA process.

Previously, we explored the @CarterWPage #FISA process and were surprised to find the process was not only arbitrary regarding who might review the actual application, but also that senior officials were generally not involved in the verification. theepochtimes.com/fbi-testimonie…

Many of the newly enacted or proposed rules appear to address many of these historical deficiencies in the #FISA process.

Senate Committee Inquiry for #HunterBiden Documents

Senators @ChuckGrassley and @RonJohnsonWI sent a letter to James Murray, the Director of the @SecretService. grassley.senate.gov/sites/default/…

The letter noted that 2 Senate Committees are “reviewing potential conflicts of interest posed by the business activities of Hunter Biden and his associates during the Obama administration, particularly with respect to his business activities in Ukraine and China.”

The letter detailed a transaction that took place in #China after #HunterBiden had traveled there aboard #AirForceTwo with his father, then-VP @JoeBiden:

The letter asked for any information regarding #HunterBiden’s use of “government-sponsored travel to help conduct private business, to include his work for Rosemont Seneca and related entities in China and Ukraine.”

The letter stated in order “to help the committees better understand Hunter Biden’s travel arrangements to conduct business related to his dealings in Ukraine and China…please provide the following information no later than February 19, 2020:

This is not the first request made by @RonJohnsonWI and @ChuckGrassley. In November 2019, the Senators sent two separate letters regarding the activities of #HunterBiden.

Nov. 6 letter: grassley.senate.gov/sites/default/…

Nov. 15 letter: graphics.reuters.com/UKRAINE-BURISM…

As previously noted, the committees led by Sen. @ChuckGrassley and Sen. @RonJohnsonWI have “jurisdiction over the taxpayer-funded operations of the State Department and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).”

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