Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he plans to call former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos to testify as part of a “deep dive” into the early stages of the FBI probe into Russia's election interference.
“The committee will be looking at the counterintelligence investigation of the Trump campaign. We will call Papadopoulos and we will find out what happened,” Graham said at the start of a hearing Tuesday with FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Graham said that the panel would conduct a “deep dive into 2016 surveillance by the FBI,” reiterating plans he has long had to investigate the origins of the Russia probe.
...
Graham said he would wait to jump-start his investigation until after Justice Department inspector general concludes his own inquiry into the FBI’s actions in applying for the Page warrant.
This may actually be a bigger deal than it may at first appear to be. The reason I say that has to do with John Solomon's latest bombshell report. No, I don't mean his stunning report on Andrew Weissmann's shenanigans--Solomon has a new bombshell that I'll be writing up ASAP. Clearly Solomon is being fed leads.
Separately, the linked The Hill article also reports:
Wray has previously testified that he had no evidence personally that the FBI engaged in illegal surveillance during the 2016 campaign.
Wray was testifying Tuesday as part of a general oversight hearing focused on the FBI.
Under questioning from Graham, Wray said that Russia has not been deterred by sanctions and other measures and is still engaging in foreign influence campaigns against U.S. elections.
“The Russians are absolutely intent on trying to interfere with our elections through foreign influence,” Wray said.
I trust I'm not alone in regarding Wray as a complete waste of space.
I'm with you.
ReplyDeleteOn second thought, he's not a complete waste of space. He can serve as an example of how not to confront wrongdoing.
ReplyDeleteMaybe an awkward kinda paper weight.
DeleteYou've got your snark on tonight!
ReplyDeleteI have long thought that nailing down Mifsud's ties to western intelligence was the key to outing the fraud at the center of Crossfire Hurricane. If one can prove Mifsud was sent to Papadopoulos by someone in either the British or the American government, then the entire house of cards will collapse almost immediately.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, just about the most interesting part of the Mueller Report was the complete lack of curiosity shown about Mifsud's connections, and when you add in the fact that Mueller claimed Mifsud lied to the FBI in the one interview, but left him unindicted for it, it all just stinks to high Heaven.
"the most interesting part of the Mueller Report was the complete lack of curiosity shown about Mifsud's connections"
DeleteHeh. It seems Barr and Durham are VERY interested in Mueller's lack of curiosity. Just finished my post on Solomon's latest bombshell. Great article.
My sense is that you are exactly right about Wray, Mark.
ReplyDeleteIt very much pains me to say this, in light of Wray's background, education, training and experience. We would have once likened him to this country's 'best and brightest'. Here is a summary (from Wikipedia) of his background:
• Christopher A. Wray was born in New York City.
• His father, Cecil A. Wray Jr., was a graduate of Yale Law School and worked as a lawyer at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York.
• He attended the Buckley School, in New York City and Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.
• He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts cum laude from Yale College in 1989.
• He graduated from Yale Law School in 1992 where he was the Executive Editor of the Yale Law Journal.
• He clerked for Judge J. Michael Luttig of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
• In 1997 he was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.
• In 2001, he moved to the Justice Department as Associate Deputy Attorney General and Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General.
• In 2003 he was named Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division of the Justice Department. While heading the Criminal Division, Wray oversaw the Enron investigation.
• From 2003 to 2005 he was Assistant Attorney General, working under Deputy Attorney General James Comey.
• Wray, together with then FBI Director Robert Mueller and Deputy Attorney General James Comey, was among the senior Justice Dept officials that nearly resigned in 2004, due to concerns about illegal surveillance techniques the Bush administration had put in place under the Terrorist Surveillance Program.
• Wray left the Justice Department in May 2005.
• In 2005, Wray received the Edmund J. Randolph Award, the Justice Department's highest award for public service and leadership.
• Wray joined King & Spalding in 2005 as a litigation partner and chaired the firm’s Special Matters and Government Investigations Practice Group.
• Wray acted as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's personal attorney during the Bridgegate scandal.
• In June 2017 President Trump announced his intention to nominate Wray to be the next Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, replacing James Comey.
• At Wray's Senate confirmation hearing in July 2017, among other testimony, when asked if he believed that the investigation into Russian 2016 election interference and possible links to Trump's campaign is a "witch hunt," he stated that he did not.
• Wray was formally sworn in as FBI director on September 28, 2017, in a ceremony that was not attended by President Trump, marking the first time an FBI director has been sworn in without the President who nominated him present at the ceremony.
There is something very wrong with this picture.
Yes, Trump ALWAYS does right by his nominees. There's something "very wrong," alright. Trump must'v become aware of something. Tx--very interesting.
DeleteI dunno, 11 years out of law school and he's the assistant AG in charge of the criminal division. He'd have jumped over a lot of career attorneys to that post.
ReplyDeleteDid Chris Christy put Wray's name forward? A lot of Christy personnel suggestions have been duds. Two years working for Comey rather taints Wray...
My supposition is that Christie did recommend him, because Wray defended Christie in the bridge scandal--including withholding some evidence, as I recall.
Delete