New CIA Records Destroy Steele Dossier Narrative

TOP LINE

This week’s revelation that former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan are under FBI investigation was a turning point in terms of government accountability.  

Long time targets of President Trump, the two men face renewed scrutiny for using Clinton campaign funded research to underpin the Russia Collusion probes which began in 2016.

Rather than seek the facts to inform policy makers, senior law enforcement and intelligence officials are accused of identifying their preferred political outcome, and then cherry-picking intelligence to back it up. 

As a result, the public and congress were apparently misled. Lying to congress is a federal crime under the statute 18 USC 1001.  It has taken eight years for Comey and Brennan to answer for their actions.

DEEP DIVE

The new scrutiny of Comey and Brennan is a direct result of a CIA report or “Note” released by the Agency’s new director John Ratcliffe.  

As a member of congress, Ratcliffe has deep knowledge of the scandal surrounding the Steele Dossier.  The unverified opposition research funded by the Clinton campaign was a significant factor in the 2017 intelligence assessment about Russia’s election interference activities.

At its core, the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment or ICA planted the seeds for the years-long investigation into President Trump during his first term. It culminated in the Special Counsel Robert Mueller probe (2017-2019) that did not “establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.”

It was an expensive, and painful exercise that deeply affected public opinion and further divided the country.   

BRENNAN AND THE STEELE DOSSIER

In his 2017 congressional testimony, Brennan said the CIA did not rely on the Dossier for the Intelligence Community Assessment. 

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In this video, Brennan makes his claim under oath.  In the upper left corner, Kash Patel, then a senior House staffer is visible.  Patel is now FBI Director.

Approx: 1:05

This newly released CIA report undermines Brennan’s congressional testimony and flags a potential violation of 18 USC 1001 which can include lying to congress.

The new CIA report concluded Brennan was urged not to include the Dossier by seasoned CIA officials, because “ it did not meet even the most basic tradecraft standards” and it would undermine “credibility of the entire paper.”

The CIA report revealed Brennan liked the ”narrative,” and its “general conformity with existing theories.”  It stated that “Brennan ultimately formalized his position in writing, stating that ‘my bottomline is that I believe that the information warrants inclusion in the report.’”

The criminal referral of Brennan to the Justice Department was apparently made by CIA Director Ratcliffe.  It is not clear how the Comey referral was made.

A Justice Department spokesperson told media outlets they would “not comment on ongoing investigations,” which in Washington D.C. amounts to a confirmation of the probes.

In an interview on MSNBC, Brennan said, “I think this is unfortunately a very sad and tragic example of the continued politicization of the intelligence community, of the national security process.” 

INFORMATION OPERATIONS OR (IO)

Information Operations or (IO) are associated with the military and typically conducted outside the United States on foreign nationals.

My military contacts describe what happened before and after the 2016 presidential election as a kind of “Information Operation” targeting the American public.

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