Sharyl Atkisson On Comey's Testimony

I Don't Have A Clue

Comey confirmed that controversial FBI lovers Peter Strzok and Lisa Page served both on the team investigating Hillary Clinton’s email practices and the team investigating Trump-Russia connections (p. 18). ... 

Comey says he would not have allowed Strzok and Page to serve on the Hillary email investigation if he had known about their private communications (p. 18). 

Analysis: This appears to be an acknowledgment that the FBI investigation was tainted, or has the appearance of being tainted, by bias. ... 

Comey said he doesn't remember if the FBI asked State Department employee Bryan Pagliano who instructed him to set up Clinton's unusual private server. Comey says he doesn’t remember who Paul Combetta is (pp. 199-201). 

Note: Combetta was involved in maintaining at least one of Clinton’s private servers. He destroyed subpoenaed email evidence, then is said to have lied to the FBI about doing so.   

Context: The FBI granted Pagliano, Combetta and other Clinton associates immunity from prosecution. Typically, immunity is granted in return for information to prosecute others, but no such information was obtained from the immunized officials in the Clinton email probe. 

Comey says he doesn't remember why the FBI granted Pagliano immunity (pp. 199-201). Comey says he doesn't know if the FBI interviewed State Department official Patrick Kennedy (p. 204). 

Comey acknowledged that FBI general counsel James Baker originally believed it was appropriate to charge Hillary Clinton with violating various laws regarding the mishandling of classified information (p. 230). 

Note: Baker later changed his mind. Comey says he sees no further reason to investigate Hillary Clinton's handling of classified email and claims "There's no serious person who thinks there's a prosecutable case there"(p. 84). 

It is a tic of the liberal establishment and their controlled-opposition "conservative" enablers to deride anyone holding opinions in conflict with their own as not "serious." 

Only the liberal establishment -- the left-liberal establishment and the center-liberal controlled opposition/fake conservative establishment -- is "serious" about any issue of consequence. ... 

Comey says he doesn't know who drafted the FBI document initiating the Russia probe (p. 24). Note: It was Peter Strzok who drafted the document. Comey says he doesn't think he ever read the FBI document launching the probe and doesn't remember the FBI’s stated "predicate" for it (pp. 24, 26-27, 30). 

Note: A "predicate" is the justification or basis. The FBI is prohibited from starting up investigation on hunches or suspicions and must follow strict procedures. 

Analysis: As FBI Director, Comey is saying he didn't read the documents that opened what arguably became one of the FBI's most important investigations ever, and he didn't what the justification for opening it was. 

It's all damning, but in this section, James Comey agrees he didn't follow the Woods Protocols for obtaining a FISA -- but it's not really even an admission, because he doesn't even seem aware that there are protocols that the DOJ and FBI are required to follow in the first place. 

Comey says he's not sure how Steele’s dossier got to the FBI. Comey says he doesn’t know what steps the FBI took to verify Steele's information before or after the FBI presented it to the FISA court. He says the FBI was still "evaluating" the information months after using it in court. 

Comey says the FBI made efforts to identify Steele’s sources, but he doesn’t remember if they were able to (p. 115, 118). 

Comey says he reviewed and signed the Oct. 21, 2016, FBI wiretap application against Carter Page. 

Comey says he didn't know details, he simply signed off procedurally. He doesn't remember if the paperwork was entitled "verified application." 

Comey remembers the FBI alleged Page was working for or with the Russian government, but Comey doesn't recall if the application mentioned "probable cause" (pp. 113, 121, 123). 

Analysis: The issue of "verification" of the dossier is crucial. Intel sources say presenting a single unverified fact to the FISA court violates the FBI's strict Woods Procedures installed to prevent the FBI from obtaining wiretaps based on false or questionable information. 

There seems to be no recognition by Comey or anyone else of these important FBI rules or how the FBI apparently violated them. Comey appears to have taken a surprisingly hands-off approach in terms of oversight when it came to the controversial wiretapping of a political campaign associate in an election year. 

When Comey signed off the wiretap, he says the FBI’s corroboration of Steele's information was "in its infancy" or only "minimally corroborated.” 

"Comey acknowledges he signed off on the wiretap as "verified" even though the information was unverified. He said he did so because the information came from "a reliable source" with "a good track record" (p. 126). Note: Steele is a former British intelligence agent.

GO READ THE WHOLE THING.