“I told you so.” My devoted readers know that those are my favorite words. This post is a look backwards to 2019 (and earlier) to assess how well I did as the political analyst on the issue of FISA — the warrants and the courts.
I first hinted at Intelligence Agency abuse in December 2016, before President-elect Trump was even inaugurated. I wrote a post entitled “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming.” In it I asked: “Can we trust Obama’s FBI and CIA? Maybe some day, after Obama is out of office, we’ll get a trustworthy investigation into the leaks, the emails the servers and the bleaching.”
I have been fascinated by the whole FISA system for some time.
I first wrote about our FISA courts and its related concept of “unmasking” in April 2017. That’s not a typo. I wrote about the FISA warrants and courts more than two-and-one-half years ago. Who knew? I did.
I wrote about a Richard Gere movie, “Red Corner,” (1997) which showcases the legal system in China. I wrote, “It’s surreal; secret courts, simultaneous trials, unknown judges…” “Red Corner” is now the law of the land in the good old US of A. Download the movie to see where our government has taken us.” I wrote that President Obama has turned us into a Banana Republic, where all its officials and agencies work for the (Democratic) Party. Remember Lois Lerner turning the IRS into a political weapon?” I continued that “we’re at the very tip of the wiretap iceberg, but unbeknownst to most, on the right track. President Trump realized he had been wiretapped… He just blurted (tweeted) it out…Republican Congressman Nunes…saw the classified documents, told the President and drew an ethics complaint.”
I then introduced my readers to Carter Page, whom I referred to as “a third level Trump campaign staffer.” And who, I argued, “is about to be presented as Judas, Benedict Arnold, Mata Hari, Tokyo Rose, Alger Hiss and the Rosenberg’s, all rolled into one. Carter’s crime? He once spoke to a Russian. His bad fortune? He is all that the Dems have.” April 2017. Believe it.
And that brings us to May, 2019, and my post entitled “The Mueller Report;” where I made the following key point: “The Mueller Team…stopped the fourth 3-month renewal application for another Carter Page FISA warrant. (I wish they would have told everyone).” And then I identified the key failing of the FISA system, the Mueller Report and the current structure of our intelligence agencies; what I called my “Aha” moment garnered from the Mueller Report: It’s in a section entitled “The presumed innocence and independence of the uncompromised prosecutors.” Paragraph 3b of the section states: “There is also no reason to believe that investigations, let alone prosecutions, would occur except in highly unusual circumstances.” It continues nearby: “Absent clear evidence to the contrary, courts presume that [prosecutors] have properly discharged their official duties…Such matters will be subject to thorough and careful review at the most senior levels of the Department of Justice.” What could possibly go wrong?
And that brings us to the Horowitz Report. The Deep Staters thought they had another victory when the Obama-appointed FBI Inspector General indicated there was “No political bias” in launching the original Russian probe. But then IG Horowitz went on tour. And he called everyone out, in particular the smug former FBI Director Comey. Horowitz made it clear that no one involved in the Carter Page FISA warrants was “Vindicated.” The more Horowitz spoke the more the Deep Staters retreated. Comey and Brennan issued mea culpas. Lisa Page went on MSNBC to claim victim status. And, finally, the key question was being asked: What did Obama know and when did he know it?
Two huge FISA-related events will capture our attention in 2020: the Impeachment Trial and the Durham Report. The first might involve witness testimony from a broad swath of Deep State wannabees. The second may involve criminal indictments of Deep State used-to-be’s. The first is in January. The second is closer to Labor Day. Not to worry, I’m all over it.
Sid Dinerstein is a former chairman of the Palm Beach County Republican Party. He founded JBS Associates, a 600-person financial service company, and currently combines politics and business with Niger Innis in Inclusive Elections LLC, a firm that brings urban electorate voters to the GOP. He is the author of "Adults Only: For Those Who Love Their Country More Than Their Party." For more of his reports, Go Here Now.