03/22/2017 / By JD Heyes
During FBI Director James Comey’s testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence earlier this week, Democrats and Republicans on the panel asked questions that were primarily aimed at forwarding each party’s agenda.
For Democrats, their priority was establishing that President Donald J. Trump’s March 4 tweets accusing his predecessor of ordering his “wires tapped” at Trump Tower were factually wrong and wholly inappropriate — Comey said he has “no information” substantiating Trump’s tweeted allegations. And of course, whatever Democrats’ priorities are, those are the same priorities of the wholly discredited liberal Washington media.
For Republicans, they wanted to know if there was any evidence to the Democrat narrative that “Russia hacked the election” and was able to actually influence (as in change) votes on behalf of Trump. Comey said there was no evidence of that either. And of course, whatever Republicans’ priorities are, those are what the wholly discredited liberal Washington media ignores.
But the real story that emerged from the hearings and Comey’s testimony was his admission that, since July 2016, Team Trump — that is, members of the Trump presidential campaign — actually has been under investigation by the Obama FBI and intelligence apparatus for months before the November election. (RELATED: Comey confirmed the essence of Trump’s claim that the Obama administration was investigating him)
That means President Obama had to know that his administration was actively investigating the presidential campaign of a rival political figure.
The real question then becomes: Who ordered the probe? The FBI works for the Justice Department; was it former Attorney General Loretta Lynch? Was Obama himself involved in the process? Because in order for it to happen, someone with ‘rank’ within the Obama White House had to order the probe into Team Trump.
But that question seemed to escape members of both parties on the House Intelligence Committee on Monday. And yet, it is the most relevant one of all, because answering it would also go to motive.
As noted by The National Sentinel:
…[T]hat clearly is the next piece of the puzzle, because it would go a long way towards explaining whether or not the probe is politically motivated, as many suspect that it is given the dearth of evidence thus far that anyone on Team Trump, up to and including the president, had any nefarious relationships with Russia, Russian banks, or Russian intelligence.
This question needs to be asked and answered, publicly, for other reasons, including giving members of the previous administration and its holdovers (I’m looking at you, Mr. Comey) the opportunity to explain what led them to suspect that Team Trump was in cahoots with the Russian government in the first place. Because based on prior reporting, nothing – no evidence whatsoever – has been found to support such suspicions.
And there would have to have been just those suspicions in order to trigger any FBI counterterrorism probe on national security grounds, in order to legally conduct the probe.
It is easy to understand why Democrats on the Intelligence Committee wouldn’t want answers to the question of who ordered the surveillance – any answer implicates a Democratic administration. But it is puzzling why no Republican asked, especially given Comey’s admission that an investigation not only exists but that it had begun under the prior administration. (RELATED: Who’s Lying About ‘Wiretapping’ Trump Tower – The Media, Congress Or The Intelligence Community?)
Comey, who is most certainly in a position to know the answer, may have chosen not to reveal it in a public forum, but certainly, the question could be put to him behind closed doors. That said, Comey isn’t the only one who knows.
There are additional questions that need to be answered as well, such as, what probable cause existed for the previous administration to suspect that a major-party presidential candidate and/or his inner circle had nefarious ties to the Russian government? Also, how did information regarding former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, a private American citizen obviously caught up in U.S. intelligence surveillance of a foreign diplomat, become “unmasked” (identified then leaked to the media)? Which agency was conducting that surveillance, and under whose authority? And under what authority — FISA court, action ordered by the president or the attorney general, etc.?
The American people deserve to know.
J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel.
Sources:
Tagged Under:
FBI investigation, House Intelligence Committee, James Comey, Obama Administration, Russia, Team Trump
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