| | The fake narrative is nothing new for Brennan; a decade earlier Brennan was responsible for fake narratives about US domestic spying under the Patriot Act to cover information that was gleaned from the Torture Program which Brennan oversaw.<ref>Brennan played a key role in the illegal wiretap program, overseeing the production of what personnel in the program called the “scary memos” intended to justify the domestic spying exposed by [''NYT'' reporter James] Risen. Brennan has since admitted that he relied on intelligence from the CIA’s interrogation programs to develop such memos, and his tenure in that role spanned the period when the CIA used its most extreme torture. https://www.thenation.com/article/government-war-against-reporter-james-risen/ </ref> | | The fake narrative is nothing new for Brennan; a decade earlier Brennan was responsible for fake narratives about US domestic spying under the Patriot Act to cover information that was gleaned from the Torture Program which Brennan oversaw.<ref>Brennan played a key role in the illegal wiretap program, overseeing the production of what personnel in the program called the “scary memos” intended to justify the domestic spying exposed by [''NYT'' reporter James] Risen. Brennan has since admitted that he relied on intelligence from the CIA’s interrogation programs to develop such memos, and his tenure in that role spanned the period when the CIA used its most extreme torture. https://www.thenation.com/article/government-war-against-reporter-james-risen/ </ref> |
| − | The Obama administration's wiretaps against the Trump campaign were first reported by the British news site ''Heat Street'' on November 7, 2016.<ref>"[https://heatst.com/world/exclusive-fbi-granted-fisa-warrant-covering-trump-camps-ties-to-russia/ EXCLUSIVE: FBI ‘Granted FISA Warrant’ Covering Trump Camp’s Ties To Russia]," ''Heat Street'', Nov. 7, 2016.</ref> On January 12, 2017 the BBC suggested that the investigation of the Trump campaign was orchestrated by CIA Director John Brennan.<ref>"[https://spectator.org/all-roads-lead-back-to-brennan/ All Roads Lead Back to Brennan]," ''American Spectator'', March 6, 2017.</ref><ref>"Their first application, in June, was rejected outright by the judge. They returned with a more narrowly drawn order in July and were rejected again. Finally, before a new judge, the order was granted, on 15 October, three weeks before election day," according to the BBC. "[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38589427 Trump 'compromising' claims: How and why did we get here?]", BBC, Jan. 12, 2017.</ref> | + | The fact that the early leaks appeared in the British press suggested that the source might have been British intelligence. The National Security Agency may share data with GCHQ, a British intelligence agency, to evade U.S. legal restrictions regarding the handling of such data.<ref>"[http://www.dailywire.com/news/14394/bombshell-fox-news-sources-say-obama-used-brits-john-nolte BOMBSHELL: Fox News Sources Say Obama Used Brits To Spy On Donald Trump].", ''DailyWire,'' March 14, 2017.</ref> The Obama administration's wiretaps against the Trump campaign were first reported by the British news site ''Heat Street'' on November 7, 2016.<ref>"[https://heatst.com/world/exclusive-fbi-granted-fisa-warrant-covering-trump-camps-ties-to-russia/ EXCLUSIVE: FBI ‘Granted FISA Warrant’ Covering Trump Camp’s Ties To Russia]," ''Heat Street'', Nov. 7, 2016.</ref> On January 12, 2017 the BBC suggested that the investigation of the Trump campaign was orchestrated by CIA Director John Brennan.<ref>"[https://spectator.org/all-roads-lead-back-to-brennan/ All Roads Lead Back to Brennan]," ''American Spectator'', March 6, 2017.</ref><ref>"Their first application, in June, was rejected outright by the judge. They returned with a more narrowly drawn order in July and were rejected again. Finally, before a new judge, the order was granted, on 15 October, three weeks before election day," according to the BBC. "[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38589427 Trump 'compromising' claims: How and why did we get here?]", BBC, Jan. 12, 2017.</ref> |
| | On January 5, 2017 the Office of National Intelligence issued a report written by Brennan entitled, "Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections.”<ref>The declassified version is "[https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ICA_2017_01.pdf Background to “Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections”: The Analytic Process and Cyber Incident Attribution]"</ref> The report renewed interest in allegations of Russian interference. In the last days of the Obama administration, procedures were revised to give more analysts access to the raw data.<ref>Saagar Enjeti, "[http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/09/how-are-all-these-intel-leaks-happening-look-at-one-of-the-last-things-obama-did-before-leaving-office/ How Are All These Intel Leaks Happening? Look At One Of The Last Things Obama Did Before Leaving Office]," ''Daily Caller,'' 03/09/2017.</ref> These developments were followed by a series of leaks that disregarded privacy rights. | | On January 5, 2017 the Office of National Intelligence issued a report written by Brennan entitled, "Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections.”<ref>The declassified version is "[https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ICA_2017_01.pdf Background to “Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections”: The Analytic Process and Cyber Incident Attribution]"</ref> The report renewed interest in allegations of Russian interference. In the last days of the Obama administration, procedures were revised to give more analysts access to the raw data.<ref>Saagar Enjeti, "[http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/09/how-are-all-these-intel-leaks-happening-look-at-one-of-the-last-things-obama-did-before-leaving-office/ How Are All These Intel Leaks Happening? Look At One Of The Last Things Obama Did Before Leaving Office]," ''Daily Caller,'' 03/09/2017.</ref> These developments were followed by a series of leaks that disregarded privacy rights. |