In a Tuesday night appearance on “Hannity,” The Hill’s John Solomon said “the President is going to add to the problems of the deep state when he declassifies these first documents in the next several days.”
Hannity, who apparently had heard the same news from his own sources, interrupted Solomon to say “So, we have similar sources, I’m getting.”
Solomon continued:
Yes. Absolutely. I’ve confirmed that sometime within the next seven to eight days, the President will declassify the first of many documents. This first one, we used to call Bucket Five, the exculpatory statements that the FBI possessed about its targets before it went to the FISA Court.
But let me tell you about one important dynamic that’s changed. Today at the Hill, [we have] a new poll out. For the first time, a majority of Americans support investigating the FBI’s conduct at the start of the Russia investigation. That is a sea change in public sentiment and I think the American public is on to the scam that was going on.
It’s impossible to determine exactly what material is included in Bucket Five, but “Sundance” over at the Conservative Treehouse put together a document list last September along with the names of the agencies involved in the declassification process for each.
Bucket Five – Intelligence documents that were presented to the Gang of Eight in 2016 that pertain to the FISA application used against U.S. person Carter Page; including all exculpatory intelligence documents that may not have been presented to the FISA Court.
- All versions of the Carter Page FISA applications (DOJ) (DoS) (FBI) (ODNI).
- All of the Bruce Ohr 302’s filled out by the FBI. (FBI) (ODNI)
- All of Bruce Ohr’s emails (FBI) (DOJ) (CIA) (ODNI), and supportive documents and material provided by Bruce Ohr to the FBI. (FBI)
- All relevant documents pertaining to the supportive material within the FISA application. (FBI) (DOJ-NSD) (DoS) (CIA) (DNI) (NSA) (ODNI);
- All intelligence documents that were presented to the Gang of Eight in 2016 that pertain to the FISA application used against U.S. person Carter Page; including all exculpatory intelligence documents that may not have been presented to the FISA Court. (CIA) (FBI) (DOJ) (ODNI) (DoS) (NSA)
- All unredacted text messages and email content between Lisa Page and Peter Strzok on all devices. (FBI) (DOJ) (DOJ-NSD) (ODNI)
- The originating CIA “EC” or two-page electronic communication from former CIA Director John Brennan to FBI Director James Comey that started Operation Crossfire Hurricane in July 2016. (CIA) (FBI) (ODNI)
Last September, Trump announced plans to release the documents. There were two theories as to why he failed to follow through. It was rumored that foreign governments (specifically England and Australia) appealed to him to keep the material classified. The other possibility was, as Trump himself said, that his attorneys were concerned that Mueller’s team of angry Democrats might see that as obstruction.
Now that Mueller’s report has been submitted, that’s no longer a factor, although he does have a state visit with the Queen scheduled for early June.
So, we will continue to read the tea leaves and wait.
One indication that seems to support that Solomon’s and Hannity’s sources are correct is that the main subjects appear to be turning on each other. Former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan have publicly argued over whose idea it was to put the Steele dossier into the January 2017 Intelligence Assessment. James Comey and Loretta Lynch are at odds over how to characterize the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s mishandling over classified material. Was it a matter? Or was it an investigation?
It’s likely that similar disputes will arise between members of the deep state in the coming months.
In a Wednesday op-ed, scholar and conservative commentator Victor Davis Hanson asks, “So, how can we tell that the former accusers are now terrified of becoming the accused? Because suddenly the usual band of former Obama officials and Trump accusers have largely given up on their allegations that Trump was or is a Russian asset. The end of the Mueller melodrama has marked the beginning of real fear in Washington.”
Hanson writes:
Comey, the former FBI director, has hit the lecture and television circuit with his now-tired moralistic shtick that he alone had a “soul” while others allowed theirs to be eaten away by Trump. Translated, that means Comey is terrified that former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, whom Comey attacked as a Trump enabler, knows that Comey himself may have broken the law—and may direct prosecutors on how to prove it.
Comey is also in a tiff with his former deputy, Andrew McCabe. Both know that the FBI under Comey illegally leaked classified information to the media. But Comey says McCabe went rogue and did it. Of course, McCabe’s attorney shot back that Comey had authorized it. Comey also claims the Steele dossier was not the chief evidence for a FISA warrant. McCabe insists that it was. It’s possible that one might work with prosecutors against the other to finagle a lesser charge.
Former CIA Director John Brennan has on two occasions lied under oath to Congress and gotten away with it. He may not get away with lying again if it’s determined that he distorted the truth about his efforts to spread the Steele dossier smears.
In sum, the old leaky vessel of collusion is sinking.
The rats are scampering from their once safe refuge—biting and piling on each other in vain efforts to avoid drowning.
Fingers crossed.
(Note: Solomon’s comments about declassification begin at 10:20 in the video.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDPWl0T-uLo
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