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| | Once Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination, Obama campaigned for her and also attended fundraisers. Obama publicly criticized the Republican candidate, [[Donald Trump]] who had previously spent years claiming that Obama was not born in the United States. | | Once Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination, Obama campaigned for her and also attended fundraisers. Obama publicly criticized the Republican candidate, [[Donald Trump]] who had previously spent years claiming that Obama was not born in the United States. |
| | + | ====Crossfire Hurricane==== |
| | + | :''See also:'' [[Crossfire Hurricane]] |
| | + | On July 31, 2016 FBI deputy head of the [[counterintellgence]] division [[Peter Strzok]] began an unpredicated investigation without [[probable cause]] into [[Donald Trump]]. Two days later Strzok had this exchange with [[Lisa Page]], an attorney in FBI deputy director [[Andy McCabe]]'s office: {{Quotebox|'''Lisa Page – He’s not ever going to become president, right? Right?!<br><br>Strzok - No. No he’s not. We’ll stop it.''' |
| | + | <!--Strzok – OMG did you hear what Trump just said?-->}} |
| | + | On September 2, 2016 Lisa Page wrote about preparing talking points for Dir. [[Jimmy Comey]] because “[[POTUS|potus]] [Obama] wants to know everything we’re doing.”<ref>https://theblacksphere.net/2018/02/fbi-text-message-potus-wants-know-everything/</ref> The text raised questions about the extent of Obama’s personal involvement in on ongoing the FBI investigation.<ref>https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/fbi-texts-obama-wants-know-everything-we-re-doing-n845531</ref> |
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| | + | [[Susan Rice]] sent an email to herself about a secret [[Oval Office]] meeting where the ''[[Clinton-Steele dossier]]'' was discussed;<ref>https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/10/politics/donald-trump-intelligence-report-russia/index.html</ref><ref>https://apnews.com/152579d488a740b2a8d39fbe2f34506d</ref><ref>https://apnews.com/a82309544e9e465fa2ad4f83e5a48540</ref> (the email was written and sent to herself 15 minutes after Trump was sworn in on Jan. 20):<ref>https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-graham-uncover-unusual-email-sent-susan-rice-herself-president-trump-s </ref> {{Quotebox|"On January 5, following a briefing by [[IC]] leadership on Russian hacking during the 2016 Presidential election, [[President Obama]] had a brief follow-on conversation with FBI Director [[Jim Comey]] and Deputy Attorney General [[Sally Yates]] in the Oval Office. [[Vice President Biden]] and I were also present.<br><br>President Obama began the conversation by stressing his continued commitment to ensuring that every aspect of this issue is handled by the Intelligence and law enforcement communities "by the book". The President stressed that he is not asking about, initiating or instructing anything from a law enforcement perspective. He reiterated that our law enforcement team needs to proceed as it normally would by the book.<br>From a national security perspective, however, President Obama said he wants to be sure that, as we engage with the incoming team, we are mindful to ascertain if there is any reason that we cannot share information fully as it relates to Russia.<br><br>[Redacted section]<br><br>The President asked Comey to inform him if anything changes in the next few weeks that should affect how we share classified information with the incoming team. Comey said he would."<ref>https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2018-02-08%20CEG%20LG%20to%20Rice%20(Russia%20Investigation%20Email).pdf</ref>}}At the conclusion of the briefing, Obama asked Sally Yates and James Comey to remain. Together with Susan Rice, is where the “by the book” CYA comment comes into play. The 90-day surveillance period under the FISA warrant had just a bit over two weeks left to run — it was set to expire just as Trump was to take office. (Reporting suggests that there may also have been a [[FISA]] warrant on [Paul Manafort]] around this time.) The Obama administration was confronting a deadline if the FISA warrant was to be renewed while Obama was still in power. The officials in the meeting needed to figure out how the investigation could continue despite the fact that its central focus, Trump, was about to be sworn in as president. Rice’s “by the book” bunkum is transparent: Obama officials claimed to adhere to a book that forbade consultations between political leaders and investigators. But here they were consulting. So Rice tried to cover their tracks in her email: She revises history such that the consultation morphs into a mere friendly reminder that Obama wanted everything done by the book.<ref>https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/02/susan-rice-email-president-obama-russia-investigation/</ref> |
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| | + | The [[Russia collusion hoax]] was predicated on the unverified premise that [[Wikileaks]] was a front for [[KGB]] activity. Nonetheless, Obama commuted the sentence of [[Chelsea Manning]] who passed [[national security]] secrets to WikiLeaks two days before Obama left office. |
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| | On March 4, 2017, after becoming President, Trump tweeted: | | On March 4, 2017, after becoming President, Trump tweeted: |
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| | <blockquote>Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my "wires tapped" in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!</blockquote> | | <blockquote>Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my "wires tapped" in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!</blockquote> |
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| − | Members of the mainstream media called this wiretapping claim an "astonishing and reckless accusation".<ref name=wiretap>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-trump-experiment-may-come-to-an-early-tipping-point/2017/03/05/87d38b3a-0055-11e7-99b4-9e613afeb09f_story.html?utm_term=.edb071c61986|title=The Trump Experiment may come to an early tipping point|first=EJ|last=Dionne Jr.|work=Washington Post|date=March 5, 2017|accessdate=March 5, 2017}}</ref> Obama and his director of national intelligence [[James R. Clapper Jr.]] as well as the head of the FBI have denied that this happened.<ref name=wiretap/> In turn, Trump has called for a Congressional investigation of the alleged wiretapping.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/03/05/statement-press-secretary|title=Statement from the Press Secretary|date=March 5, 2017|accessdate=March 7, 2017}}</ref> | + | Members of the mainstream media called this wiretapping claim an "astonishing and reckless accusation".<ref name=wiretap>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-trump-experiment-may-come-to-an-early-tipping-point/2017/03/05/87d38b3a-0055-11e7-99b4-9e613afeb09f_story.html?utm_term=.edb071c61986|title=The Trump Experiment may come to an early tipping point|first=EJ|last=Dionne Jr.|work=Washington Post|date=March 5, 2017|accessdate=March 5, 2017}}</ref> |
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| | ===Last days and transition=== | | ===Last days and transition=== |