Tipsheet

James Comey on Obamagate: I Know Nothing

Well, one thing is clear again: ex-FBI Director James Comey has no idea what was going on in his department during the entirety of the counterintelligence probe into Russian collusion during the 2016 election. He knew it was going on but can’t remember anything about it. his testimony thus far can be summed up in three words. I. Know. Nothing.

Former investigative reporter for CBS News Sharyl Attkisson aptly noted that there can only be two conclusions to this circus act, which is that our intelligence community has undergone a horrific transformation in which the most incompetent members have risen to the top, true Keystone Cops stuff, or that Comey and the FBI oversaw a politically motivated witch hunt. It’s one or the other. 

James Comey had no opening statement. He wanted to get to the committee members questions, but not before Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) entered a letter from the DOJ Office of Intelligence attorney who compiled the FISA warrant against Carter Page, a former Trump campaign official, which said that knowing what they know now this person would not have signed off on this fiasco, repeating what former acting Attorney General Sally Yates said.

Page was targeted based on the shoddy and unverified Steele Dossier (aka Trump Dossier), which started this whole investigation. Comey denies this, though he noted that the dossier was an important, small part of this whole investigation. 

Michael Flynn and Carter Page are two victims of this sham investigation. Flynn is still in legal purgatory. Page was never charged with any of the bogus Russia allegations that led to the Obama DOJ issuing a spy warrant against him. And here we have James Comey sitting here today pretty much saying he had no clue what was going on

“What astounds me the most, is that the director of the FBI is completely clueless about any of the information obtained by his agency,” Graham said.

Yeah, sort of an understatement as this hearing continues.

To make things more embarrassing, when asked 'when and if' the Trump dossier was verified, Comey prevaricated again. Again, it seems like this document was probably never verified, despite being cited as credible evidence in the Carter FISA warrant. The errors in it are glaring, so bad that a simple Google search can fact-check them.  And now, the sub-source for the dossier is now exposed as a Russian spy and a national security threat at the time this document was compiled by Christopher Steele, the ex-MI6 spook who the Clinton campaign and the Democrats hired to get dirt on Trump.

This was a piece of political opposition research that was weaponized by the FBI to spy on the Trump campaign and to go after its members. So, I can see why Comey took the 'aloof in the clouds' approach.