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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsKremlinGate and the Limits of Classified Evidence
The FBIs been investigating possible links between the Kremlin and President Trump for nearly a yearheres why its moving so slowly - By John R. Schindler 04/12/17 9:30amhttp://observer.com/2017/04/kremlingate-and-the-limits-of-classified-evidence/
snip . . .
But none of this means the FBIs counterintelligence investigation of KremlinGate is going away. In fact, we now know that its been underway for almost a year. According to a new report in The New York Times, John Brennan, the CIA director during President Obamas second term, knew last summer that Kremlin interference in our election was a serious and fast-growing problem. He was so worried that, in late August, Brennan personally briefed eight senior members of Congress on new evidence of Russias meddlingin some cases, the CIA director interrupted their summer vacations to share the bad news.
The Times doesnt indicate what that urgent new intelligence was, but members of the Intelligence Community with access to that evidence have told me there are several top-secret reportsmainly, but not exclusively, signals intelligence from NSAdemonstrating links between Team Trump and top Kremlin officials, hinting at collusion with Moscow during last years election. Although none of these reports individually is conclusivethere is no smoking gun as Beltway wonks like to saytaken together they lead to the disturbing finding that Trumps campaign was in cahoots with Moscow to hurt Hillary Clinton. That the IC knew much of this last summer invites disturbing questions about the Obama administrations puzzling inaction last fall, in the weeks leading to the election.
FBI director James Comey has tamped down expectations of any quick resolution of his Bureaus investigation of KremlinGate. He is surely correct that this weighty matter is best addressed thoroughly and judiciously, not rashly. We need the factsnot assertions or unprovable claims from dodgy dossiers. The existence of top-secret evidence pointing to collusion between Team Trump and Team Putin means that investigators and prosecutors have red meat to work with, but that does not necessarily mean that indictments are coming soon.
Comey faces a particular problem, little understood by the public or even by most journalists covering KremlinGate. Thats the fact that classified evidence is inadmissible in court, and top-secret information will never be shown to a jury. FBI agents therefore face the uncomfortable difficulty of knowing (from highly classified reports) what was going onand finding unclassified corroboration if they want to prosecute anybody.
Hence the pressing need to get co-conspirators to flip on each other and, even better, coercing confessions from those facing possible prison time. This is the usual FBI modus operandi, and its most effective against smaller fish who arent eager to take the rap for bigger ones. We can safely assume that the Bureau will lean on former members of Team Trump to get confessions; here the recent ham-handed effort by Michael Flynn, Trumps disgraced former national security guru, a man with plenty of odd ties to the Kremlin himself, to get immunity in exchange for telling what he knows seems relevant.
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