Merry Christmas. The intercept is reporting that former NSA Director, Admiral Mike Rogers, has been working with U.S. Attorney John Durham for several months during his investigation into the origin of the 2016 intelligence operation against candidate Trump.
This is particularly important because NSA Director Mike Rogers’ knowledge is at the epicenter of the origination of almost everything related to the FBI data-surveillance that was happening in 2015 and 2016.
(Via Intercept) Retired Adm. Michael Rogers, former director of the National Security Agency, has been cooperating with the Justice Department’s probe into the origins of the counterintelligence investigation of the Trump presidential campaign’s alleged ties to Russia, according to four people familiar with Rogers’s participation.
Rogers has met the prosecutor leading the probe, Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham, on multiple occasions, according to two people familiar with Rogers’s cooperation.
While the substance of those meetings is not clear, Rogers has cooperated voluntarily, several people with knowledge of the matter said.
Rogers, who retired in May 2018, did not respond to requests for comment.
[…] Rogers’s voluntary participation, which has not been previously reported, makes him the first former intelligence director known to have been interviewed for the probe.
“He’s been very cooperative,” one former intelligence officer who has knowledge of Rogers’s meetings with the Justice Department said. (read more)
BACKSTORY: When Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes explained his concerns in March 2017 -about what he saw from a review of 2016 intelligence gathering, reporting and subsequent unmasking- the issue behind his concern was clouded in mystery. Indeed the larger headlines at the time were about demanding a special prosecutor and driving the Russia conspiracy narrative.
1.) …”On numerous occasions the [Obama] intelligence community incidentally collected information about U.S. citizens involved in the Trump transition.”
2.) “Details about U.S. persons associated with the incoming administration; details with little or no apparent foreign intelligence value were widely disseminated in intelligence community reporting.”
3.) “Third, I have confirmed that additional names of Trump transition members were unmasked.”
4.) “Fourth and finally, I want to be clear; none of this surveillance was related to Russia, or the investigation of Russian activities.
“The House Intelligence Committee will thoroughly investigate surveillance and its subsequent dissemination, to determine a few things here that I want to read off:”
•“Who was aware of it?”
•“Why it was not disclosed to congress?”
•“Who requested and authorized the additional unmasking?”
•“Whether anyone directed the intelligence community to focus on Trump associates?”
•“And whether any laws, regulations or procedures were violated?”
“I have asked the Directors of the FBI, NSA and CIA to expeditiously comply with my March 15th (2017) letter -that you all received a couple of weeks ago- and to provide a full account of these surveillance activities.”
~ Devin Nunes, 2017
Immediately after Nunes expressed those concerns during a press conference the media went bananas and Nunes became target #1.
In hindsight, and with information from our assembled timelines of 2016 though today, we can now revisit those March 2017 concerns expressed by Chairman Nunes with a great deal more perspective and information. Understanding the information helps us all understand the totality of Nunes original frame of reference.
Admiral Mike Rogers became NSA director in April 2014.
Sometime in early 2016 Admiral Rogers became aware of “ongoing” and “intentional” violations of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), Section 702(17) surveillance. Specifically item #17 which includes the unauthorized upstream data collection of U.S. individuals within NSA surveillance through the use of “About Query”.
Section 702 – Item #17 “About Queries” are specifically the collection of electronic messaging, emails and upstream phone call surveillance data of U.S. persons.
The public doesn’t discover this issue, and Director Rogers action, until May 2017 when we learn that Rogers told the FISA court he became aware of unlawful surveillance and collection of U.S. persons.
Put into context, with the full back-story, it appears that 2016 surveillance was the political surveillance, the stuff Chairman Nunes was questioning. The dates here are important as they tell a story.
When Rodgers gets through explaining what happened and then briefing the FISA court which didn’t do much of everything and then the effort by Clapper to get rid of Rodgers, there is quite a clear line of a cover-up of several crimes. Things are starting to unwind. Soon, the rank and file in the intel services will start coming forward to provide their testimony. Barr may not be currently punishing bad doing, but he is sure working to expose it to the public. The crimes that the House accused Trump of committing likely will be bleached white lies compared to what is likely to be exposed. Maybe all these criminals can be imprisoned in an estate in Martha’s Vinyard.
@Randy:
Just build a wall around it with lots of electricity running through it. Maybe that’s why he bought it- so him and his merry band of Bolsheviks can spend some quality time together.
@another vet: I just heard from a friend in Iraq and his sons. They are doing well.
Admiral Roger is one of the unsung heros We did not need this article to assume he would cooperate with the investigation into high treason.
Trump announced the spying as wires tapped, perhaps thinking they would stop, they never have it goes on to this day.
@Randy: Awesome. I was worried for them when Obama let the JV Team waltz in there. I consider them to be more American than a good number of the Party and their leftist sheep.
@kitt:
Kind of like one of the characters in Seven Days In May since that is essentially what happened. It’s just that it wasn’t the military in real life like it was in the movie.
It’s pretty clear by the treatment Nunes got after he began exposing this what was intended to happen to all the evidence of the illegal spying once Hillary won; all covered up and eradicated. This is a massive illegal operation and the Democrats are behind it fully (probably some Republicans involved as well). Their desperation is driving the phony impeachment of Trump because if he is reelected the exposure (and possibly, finally, punishment) will continue.
Actual real Americans don’t support such activity.
@Deplorable Me: Nunes/ Flynn 2024?
Rogers/Nunes?
Any other combos you can think of Having Lee or Cruz head of the Senate would rock. Johnson of Wisc wouldnt be bad.
@kitt: Numerous Republicans have shown themselves more dedicated to the Constitution than any of the Democrats that supported impeachment for political purposes .
Nunes is one of Trump’s lackeys. He should be under investigation himself.
Admiral Rogers was heading the NSA at the time the agency determined the Russians were behind the hacking and election meddling. If you think he’s telling John Durham “the Ukrainians did it”, you’re dreaming.
Feb. 27, 2018 – White House Has Given No Orders to Counter Russian Meddling, N.S.A. Chief Says
@Greg:
No one has said these capabilities have not already been deployed so hackers have the challenge of overcoming them.
Classified brother you do not tell the enemy what you are doing or not doing. You ASSUME nothing is being or going to be done.
But as always you skirt the subject of the article, Rogers was fired for telling Trump he was being spied on, he shut down those capabilities so they after that went for a warrant. He knows who was spying without warrant thats what he is telling Durham and Barr.
Just a piece of the puzzle something to toss into indictments.
NSA gathers metadata they are not National Cyber security.
Maybe they should ask NCSD and have loose lips.
@Greg:
For what… telling the absolute truth and being RIGHT all along? True, that is how Democrats deal with the truth: they suppress it. But, explain how it is that Nunes was telling the truth and Schiff was LYING? Think you can tackle that one? I have my doubts.
If you will recall, Nunes raised the warning about Russia’s intent to interfere and OBAMA put a stop to efforts to prevent it. Think you can explain THAT one?
@Greg:
Yeah, Soviet-style.
I have friends from former soviet countries, and they are all Trump supporters. They say what the media and Dems are doing is in lockstep with their memories of how the Soviets smeared, arrested, and killed any dissenters or rivals.