The Russia Hoax
Page 29
40. Brooke Singman, “Uranium One Informant Says Moscow Paid Millions in Bid to Influence Clinton,” Fox News, February 8, 2018.
41. Ibid.
42. Ibid.
43. United States Code, 18 U.S.C. 201(b), “Bribery of Public Officials and Witnesses.”
44. United States Code, 18 U.S.C. 201(c), “Bribery of Public Officials and Witnesses.”
45. United States Code, 18 U.S.C. 1341, “Frauds and Swindles.”
46. United States Code, 18 U.S.C. 1343, “Elements of Wire Fraud.”
47. United States Code, 18 U.S.C. 1346, “Definition of Scheme or Artifice to Defraud.”
48. United States Code, 18 U.S.C. 1952, “Interstate and Foreign Travel or Transportation in Aid of Racketeering Enterprises.”
49. United States Code, 18 U.S.C. 1956, “Laundering of Monetary Instruments.”
50. United States Code, 18 U.S.C. 1961–1968, “Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations.”
51. United States Department of Justice, Offices of the United States Attorneys, 109 (RICO Charges), available at https://www.justice.gov/usam/criminal-resource-manual-109-rico-charges.
52. Tim Winter, Pete Williams, and Ken Dilanian, “Prosecutors Ask FBI Agents for Information on Uranium One Deal,” NBC News, December 21, 2017.
53. Letter from Jeff Sessions, Office of the Attorney General to Senator Charles Grassley, Representatives Robert Goodlatte and Trey Gowdy, March 29, 2018; Brooke Singman, “Sessions: Federal Prosecutor Evaluating Alleged FBI, DOJ Wrongdoing, No Second Special Counsel for Now,” Fox News, March 29, 2018.
54. Stephen Braun and Eileen Sullivan, “Many Donors to Clinton Foundation Met with Her at State,” Associated Press, August 24, 2016.
55. Rosalind S. Helderman and Tom Hamburger, “Inside ‘Bill Clinton Inc’: Hacked Memorandum Reveals Intersection of Charity and Personal Income,” Washington Post, October 26, 2016; Rosalind S. Helderman, Spencer S. Hsu, and Tom Hamburger, “Emails Reveal How Foundation Donors Got Access to Clinton and Her Close Aides at State Department,” Washington Post, August 22, 2016.
56. Memorandum by Douglas Band, p. 2, November 16, 2011, available at https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000158-048f-da25-a55e-efaf30b60000.
57. Ibid., p. 10.
58. Ibid.
59. James V. Grimaldi and Rebecca Ballhaus, “UBS Deal Shows Clinton’s Complicated Ties,” Wall Street Journal, July 30, 2015; Conor Friedersdorf, “Hillary Helps a Bank—and Then It Funnels Millions to the Clintons,” Atlantic, July 31, 2015.
60. United States Code, 18 U.S.C. 201, “Bribery of Public Officials and Witnesses.”
61. Fox News (Cody Derespina contributed), “ ‘Bill Clinton Inc.’: Email Details How Top Aides Helped Make Ex-President Rich,” Fox News, October 26, 2016.
62. Rebecca Ballhaus, “Newly Released Emails Highlight Clinton Foundation’s Ties to State Department,” Wall Street Journal, August 10, 2016.
63. Katie Bo Williams and Jonathan Easley, “Memo Reveals Interplay Between Clinton Foundation, Personal Business,” The Hill, October 26, 2016.
64. Fox News, “Clinton Aide Says Foundation Paid for Chelsea’s Wedding, WikiLeaks Emails Show,” Fox News, November 6, 2016.
65. Editorial, “The Clinton Foundation Is Dead—but the Case Against Hillary Isn’t,” Investor’s Business Daily, January 19, 2017.
66. Isabel Vincent and Melissa Klein, “Donations to Clinton Foundation Fell by 37 Percent,” New York Post, November 20, 2016; Khaleda Rahman, “Donations to the Clinton Foundation Plummeted Amid Hillary’s Failed Run for the Presidency,” Daily Mail, November 20, 2016.
67. Isabel Vincent, “Donations to Clinton Foundation Plunged Along with Hillary’s Election Defeat,” New York Post, November 18, 2017.
68. Michael Sainato, “The Clinton Foundation Shuts Down Clinton Global Initiative,” Observer, January 15, 2017.
Chapter 5: The Fraudulent Case Against Donald Trump
1. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, “Background to ‘Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent U.S. Elections’: The Analytic Process and Cyber Incident Attributions,” January 6, 2017, available at https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ICA_2017_01.pdf.
2. Ibid., p. 2.
3. Ibid., p. 5.
4. Ibid., p. 1.
5. Ibid.
6. Laura Jarrett and Evan Perez, “FBI Agent Dismissed from Mueller Probe Changed Comey’s Description of Clinton to ‘Extremely Careless,’ ” CNN, December 4, 2017.
7. Sonam Sheth, “The FBI Agent Mueller Ousted Was Behind 2 Critical Turning Points in the Clinton and Trump-Russia Investigations,” December 4, 2017.
8. Byron York, “After Mysterious ‘Insurance Policy’ Test, Will Justice Department Reveal More on FBI Agent Bounced from Mueller Probe?,” The Hill, January 13, 2017.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.
11. Tim Hains, “Rep. Jim Jordan Grills FBI Director Wray About Peter Strzok: Did He Use Steele Dossier to Obtain FISA Warrant?,” RealClearPolitics, December 7, 2017.
12. Jake Gibson, “ ‘Over 10,000 Texts’ Between Ex-Muller Team Officials Found, After Discovery of Anti-Trump Messages,” December 6, 2017.
13. Interview with Steve Rogers, former Senior Naval Intelligence Officer for the FBI National Joint Terrorism Task Force in Washington, D.C., February 7, 2018.
14. “The Attorney General’s Guidelines for Domestic FBI Operations”; also found at United States Code, 28 U.S.C. 509, 510, 533, and 534; and Executive Order 12333, available at https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/docs/guidelines.pdf.
15. Federal Bureau of Investigation, “FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide” (DIOG), available at https://vault.fbi.gov/FBI%20Domestic%20Investigations%20and%20Operations%20Guide%20%28DIOG%29/fbi-domestic-investigations-and-operations-guide-diog-2013-version.
16. “The Attorney General’s Guidelines for Domestic FBI Operations,” page 12; also found at United States Code, 28 U.S.C. 509, 510, 533, and 534; and Executive Order 12333, available at https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/docs/guidelines.pdf.
17. Ibid., p. 16.
18. Ibid., p. 18.
19. Ibid., p. 22.
20. Matthew Kazin, “No Official Intel Used to Start FBI Probe into Trump Campaign-Russia Collusion: Rep. Nunes,” Fox Business Network, April 22, 2018.
21. Andrew McCarthy, “No, the FBI Was Not a Trump Partisan,” National Review, May 6, 2017.
22. Ibid., p. 13.
23. Andrew McCarthy, “Fighting the Politicized, Evidence-Free ‘Collusion with Russia’ Narrative,” National Review, May 24, 2017.
24. Washington Post Staff, “Full Transcript: FBI Director James Comey Testifies on Russian Interference in 2016 Election,” Washington Post, March 20, 2017.
25. Interview with Fred Tecce, former assistant director U.S. attorney in Philadelphia and special assistant U.S. attorney at the Department of Justice, March 28, 2018.
26. Letter from Senator Harry Reid to FBI Director James Comey, August 27, 2016, available at https://archive.org/details/ReidLetterToComey08272016.
27. Paul Sperry, “Exclusive: CIA Ex-Director Brennan’s Perjury Peril,” RealClearInvestigations, February 11, 2018.
28. Sara A. Carter, “Collusion Delusion: New Documents Show Obama Officials, FBI Coordinated in Anti-Trump Probe,” p. 2, March 29, 2018, available at https://saraacarter.com/new-documents-suggest-coordination-by-obama-white-house-cia-and-fbi-in-trump-investigation/.
29. Ibid., p. 2.
30. Ibid., p. 5.
31. Brooke Singman, “Grassley Rips Strzok-Page Redactions Amid Mystery Text: Obama ‘White House Is Running This,’ ” Fox News, May 23, 2018.
32. Josh Rogin, “Democrats Ask the DBI to Investigate Trump Advisers’ Russia Ties,” Washington Post, August 30, 2016.
33. Letter from Senator Harry Reid to FBI Director James Comey, October 30, 2016, available at https://web.archive.org/web/20161031183809/http://www.reid.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Letter-to-Director-C
omey-10_30_2016.pdf.
34. Aaron Blake, “Harry Reid’s Incendiary Claim About ‘Coordination’ Between Donald Trump and Russia,” Washington Post, October 31, 2016.
35. John Brandt, “Reid Repeats Rumor on Senate Floor That Romey Paid No Taxes, Campaign Denies,” Fox News, August 2, 2012.
36. Louis Jacobson, “Harry Reid Says Anonymous Source Told Him Mitt Romney Didn’t Pay Taxes for 10 Years,” PolitiFact, August 6, 2012; Glenn Kessler, “4 Pinocchios for Harry Reid’s Claim About Mitt Romney’s Taxes,” Washington Post Fact Checker, August 7, 2012.
37. Ashley Condianni, “Harry Reid Doesn’t Regret Accusing Mitt Romney of Not Paying Taxes,” CNN, March 31, 2015.
38. James B. Comey, “Statement for the Record, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence,” p. 2, June 8, 2017, available at https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/os-jcomey-060817.pdf.
39. Transcript: FBI Director James Comey Testimony Before House Intelligence Committee, March 20, 2017, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/03/20/full-transcript-fbi-director-james-comey-testifies-on-russian-interference-in-2016-election/?utm_term=.0db15bbfea4f.
40. James B. Comey, “Statement for the Record, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence,” p. 6, June 8, 2017, available at https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/os-jcomey-060817.pdf.
41. Sherman Antitrust Act (1890), United States Code, 15 U.S.C. 1–7, “Trusts, Etc., in Restrain of Trade Illegal; Penalty.”
42. Gregg Jarrett, “What Is Robert Mueller Investigating (Since Collusion Is Not a Crime)?,” Fox News, May 23, 2017.
43. Jon Greenberg, “Fox News Host Wrong That No Law Forbids Russia-Trump Collusion,” PolitiFact, May 31, 2017.
44. United States Code, 18 U.S.C. 1346, “Definition of ‘Scheme or Artifice to Defraud’.”
45. Skilling v. United States, 561 U.S. 358 (2010).
46. Jon Greenberg, “Fox News Host Wrong That No Law Forbids Russia-Trump Collusion,” PolitiFact, May 31, 2017.
47. Ibid.
48. United States Code, 18 U.S.C. 610, “Coercion of Political Activity.”
49. United States Code, 18 U.S.C. 1030, “Fraud and Related Activity in Connection With Computers.”
50. Elana Schor, “Burr: Russia Probe Will Expose Erroneous Reporting,” Politico, October 5, 2017.
51. Associated Press, “Burr: No evidence So Far of Trump Campaign-Russia Collusion,” Associated Press, May 12, 2017.
52. Interview by Jake Tapper of Senator Mark Warner, CNN, State of the Union, June 4, 2017, available at http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1706/04/sotu.01.html.
53. Associated Press, “The Latest: Nunes Says There’s ‘No Evidence of Collusion,’ ” Washington Post, February 2, 2018.
54. Nicolas Fandos, “Despite Mueller’s Push, House Republicans Declare No Evidence of Collusion,” New York Times, March 12, 2018.
55. Rowan Scarborough, “Democrats’ Case for Trump-Russia Grand Conspiracy Crumbles with Lack of Evidence,” Washington Times, December 27, 2017.
56. Marisa Schultz, “Schiff: Evidence in Russia Probe Is ‘Damning,’ ” New York Post, December 10, 2017; Rebecca Savransky, “Schiff: Evidence of Coordination Between Trump Campaign and Russia ‘Pretty Damning,’ ” The Hill, December 10, 2017; Erin Kelly, “Adam Schiff: There Is ‘Ample Evidence’ of Collusion Between Trump Campaign, Russians,” USA Today, February 14, 2018.
57. Rachel Stotzfoos, “Watch: Schiff Concedes There Is Still No Proof of Trump-Russia Collusion,” Federalist, March 1, 2018.
58. Ian Schwartz, “No Evidence of Collusion, So Democrats Have Pivoted to Obstruction of Justice,” RealClearPolitics, December 5, 2017.
59. Sam Stein and Ryan Grim, “Harry Reid: The Trump Campaign ‘Was In On’ Russia’s Election Hacking,” Huffington Post, December 12, 2016.
60. Eli Watkins, “Wasserman Schultz: Trump Aides’ Russian Contact ‘Reeks of Collusion,’ ” CNN, February 15, 2017.
61. Chuck Ross, “Maxine Waters ‘Guarantees’ That Trump Colluded with Russia,” Daily Caller, September 21, 2017.
62. Jay Yarow, “Hillary Clinton Says ‘Americans’ Guided Russia’s Attack on Her Campaign, Suggesting Trump’s Campaign ‘Colluded’ with Russia,” CNBC, June 1, 2017.
63. Peter Hasson, “Still No Evidence of Trump-Russia Collusion as 2017 Draws to a Close,” Daily Caller, December 29, 2017.
64. Meet the Press, “Full Clapper: ‘No Evidence’ of Collusion Between Trump and Russia,” NBC News, March 5, 2017; Ian Schwartz, “Clapper: ‘No Direct Evidence of Political Collusion Between the Trump Campaign and the Russians,” RealClearPolitics, May 30, 2017.
65. Washington Post Staff, “Full Transcript: FBI Director James Comey Testimony on Russian Interference in 2016 Election,” Washington Post, March 20, 2017.
66. Testimony of Former CIA Director John Brennan Before Congress, CNN Transcripts, May 23, 2017, available at http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1705/23/cnr.04.html; Tim Hains, “Gowdy Grills Brennan: Do you Have Evidence of Trump-Russia Collusion or Not? Brennan: ‘I Don’t Do Evidence,’ ” RealClearPolitics, May 23, 2017.
67. Ken Dilanian, “Clinton Ally Says Smoke, But No Fire: No Russia-Trump Collusion,” NBC News, March 16, 2017.
68. National Travel & Tourism Office, “U.S. Resident Travel Abroad Historical Visitation—Outbound,” available at https://travel.trade.gov/outreachpages/download_data_table/US-Outbound-Travel-Country-Region-Historical-2008-2016.pdf; Russian Federation Federal State Statistics Service, “2017 Russian Statistical Yearbook—Inbound Tourist Visits of Foreign Citizens to Russia,” available at www.gks.ru/free_doc/doc_2017/year/year17.pdf.
69. Kenneth Rapoza, “American Companies Thriving in Russia: Is There Something to Be Ashamed About?,” Forbes, August 3, 2016; Alanna Petroff, U.S.-Russia Business Ties: 5 Things You Need to Know,” CNN Money, July 7, 2017; Ilya Khrennikov, “Big Western Companies Are Pumping Cash into Russia,” Bloomberg, November 22, 2016.
70. Bre Payton, “If Mere ‘Contact’ With Foreigners Is a Crime, Obama Should’ve Been Locked Up in 2008,” Federalist, December 1, 2017.
71. Bill Kovach, “Salinger Talked to Foe on P.O.W.’s as McGovern Aide,” New York Times, August 17, 1972.
72. Sean Davis, “Ted Kennedy Secretly Asked the Soviets to Intervene in 1984 Elections,” Federalist, March 10, 2015.
73. Ned Parker, Jonathan Landay, aqnd Warren Strobel, “Exclusive: Trump Campaign Had at Least 18 Undisclosed Contacts with Russians: Sources,” Reuters, May 18, 2017.
74. Ibid.
75. Olivia Beavers, “Kremlin Spokesman: Russian Ambassador Met with Advisers to Clinton Campaign Too,” The Hill, March 12, 2017.
76. Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, and Nicholas Fandos, “Code Name Crossfire Hurricane: The Secret Origins of The Trump Investigation,” New York Times, May 16, 2018.
77. Adam Edelman, “DOJ Seeks Probe of FBI Conduct in 2016 Campaign after Trump ‘Spy’ Claim,” NBC News, May 21, 2018.
78. Michael Crowley, “Trump’s Foreign Policy Team Baffles GOP Experts,” Politico, March 21, 2016; Philip Rucker and Robert Costa, “Donald Trump Names Foreign Policy Advisers,” Washington Post, March 21, 2016.
79. Kaitlyn Schallhorn, “George Papadopoulos, ex-Trump Aide, Pleads Guilty in Connection to Russia Probe: Who Is He?,” Fox News, January 2, 2018.
80. Sharon LaFraniere, Mark Mazzetti, and Matt Apuzzo, “How the Russia Inquiry Began: A Campaign Aide, Drinks and Talk of Political Dirt,” New York Times, December 30, 2017.
81. Ibid.
82. Ibid.
83. Christopher Brennan, “Mysterious Professor in Papadopoulos Docs Says He Did Not Discuss Clinton Emails,” New York Daily News, October 31, 2017.
84. Cristiano Lima, “6 Key Findings From Papadopoulos’ Guilty Plea in Russia Probe,” Politico, October 30, 2017; Rosalind S. Helderman and Tom Hamburger, “Top Campaign Officials Knew of Trump Adviser’s Outreach to Russia,” Washington Post, October 30, 2017.
> Chapter 6: The Fabricated “Dossier” Used Against Trump
1. Paul Sperry, “Exclusive: CIA Ex-Director Brennan’s Perjury Peril,” RealClear Investigations, February 11, 2018.
2. Ibid.
3. Greg Miller, “CIA Director Alerted FBI to Pattern of Contacts Between Russian Officials and Trump Campaign Associates,” Washington Post, May 23, 2017; CNN Newsroom, “Transcript: Former CIA Director John Brennan’s Testimony Before Congress,” CNN, May 23, 2017, available at http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1705/23/cnr.04.html.
4. Eric Lichtblau, “CIA Had Evidence of Russia Effort to Help Trump Earlier Than Believed,” New York Times, April 6, 2017.
5. Amy Entous, Devlin Barrett, and Rosalind S. Helderman, “Clinton Campaign, DNC Paid for Research That Led to Russia Dossier,” Washington Post, October 24, 2017.
6. Kevin Dilanian, “Mueller’s Team Traveled to Interview Ex-Spy Involved in Dossier,” NBC News, October 5, 2017.
7. Stephen F. Cohen, “Russiagate or Intelgate?,” Nation, February 7, 2018, available at https://www.thenation.com/article/russiagate-or-intelgate/.
8. Interview of James Kallstrom with Maria Bartiromo, “Sunday Morning Futures,” March 18, 2018; Tim Hains, “Kallstrom: Brennan and Obama Are the People Who Committed Felonies, Not General Flynn,” RealClearPolitics, March 18, 2018.
9. Paul Sperry, “Exclusive: CIA Ex-Director Brennan’s Perjury Peril,” RealClear Investigations, February 11, 2018.
10. Ibid.
11. CNN Staff, “Testimony of CIA Director John Brennan before the House Intelligence Committee,” CNN, Mary 23, 2017, available at http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1705/23/cnr.04.html.
12. Lee Smith, “How CIA Director John Brennan Targeted James Comey,” Tablet, February 9, 2018.
13. Sophie Tatum, “Former CIA Chief to Trump on McCabe Firing: ‘America Will Triumph Over You,’ ” CNN, March 17, 2018.
14. Kimberly Leonard, “Samantha Power Delivers Ominous Message to Trump: Not A Good Idea to Piss Off John Brennan,” Washington Examiner, March 17, 2018.