| | 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 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> | + | The fact that the early leaks appeared in the British press suggested that the source might have been British intelligence. Under Executive Orders dating back to 1938, the US can ask UK intelligence to monitor an American citizen to circumvent the [[Fourth Amendment]], and vice versa. The National Security Agency may share data with the UK's GCHQ 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 4, 2017 the Office of National Intelligence issued a report written by Brennan entitled, ''Joint Analysis Report: 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> Two pages of the DNC and Clinton campaign's ''[[Steele dossier]]'' were included in the report. The following day in an [[Oval Office]] meeting with Brennan. Clapper, Comey, Susan Rice, and Biden, President Obama approved the attempt to [[blackmail]] President-elect [[Donald Trump]] with "salacious and unverified" sexual innuendo from the report. | | On January 4, 2017 the Office of National Intelligence issued a report written by Brennan entitled, ''Joint Analysis Report: 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> Two pages of the DNC and Clinton campaign's ''[[Steele dossier]]'' were included in the report. The following day in an [[Oval Office]] meeting with Brennan. Clapper, Comey, Susan Rice, and Biden, President Obama approved the attempt to [[blackmail]] President-elect [[Donald Trump]] with "salacious and unverified" sexual innuendo from the report. |