This week’s revelations point to a disturbing expansion of the efforts to undermine Donald Trump’s presidency, extending beyond the FBI’s use of the Clinton-funded Steele Dossier to obtain FISA warrants. Now, it appears that the CIA, under Barack Obama, engaged foreign allies’ intelligence services to illegally spy on 26 Trump associates before the FBI initiated its counterintelligence probe in the summer of 2016.
The narrative gains context with the disappearance of a binder containing highly classified information related to Russian election interference at the end of Trump’s presidency. Originally perceived as a cause for alarm, it was later reported by Michael Shellenberger, Matt Taibbi, and Alex Gutentag that this binder contains evidence of the CIA’s involvement in spying on Trump and interfering in the 2016 election.
Termed by CNN and its intelligence sources as a potential “exposure” of closely guarded national security secrets, insiders claim that what they fear being “exposed” are actions implicating them in widespread intelligence authority abuses during the 2015-2016 election season. The binder, described as “Trump’s insurance policy,” encompasses various transgressions, from Justice Department surveillance without probable cause to improper unmasking and manipulation of intelligence for reports on alleged Russian influence.
CNN’s concern about “sources and methods” being exposed aligns with a three-part series planned by Shellenberger, Taibbi, and Gutentag, delving into how a team chosen by CIA Director John Brennan utilized “cooked intelligence” for the January 6th, 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment.
The FBI’s raid on Mar-a-Lago is now seen in a different light, with speculation that Trump’s possession of the binder prompted the Biden administration’s actions. Sources suggest the FBI’s concern was centered on the potential existence of a copy of the binder at Mar-a-Lago. The motive behind retrieving the binder appears tied to a broader context, encompassing years of FISA abuse, taxpayer-funded activities related to the Steele memo, and the uncovering of a mountain of corruption. This perspective sheds light on the motivations behind the prosecution of Donald Trump by the Biden administration.
