So now the word circulating in Washington is that the Obama
administration did indeed request a wiretap warrant for Trump’s phones from the
secret FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance) Court, and was refused the
first time, but reapplied to another FISA judge and it was approved. It is not
clear if Obama knew about this, but his attorney general, Loretta Lynch
certainly knew because she signed off on all such applications.
Both Obama and General Clapper have issued “non-denial
denials”, meaning they have issued very carefully worded statements that leave
open the possibility that someone else in the administration ordered the
wiretaps, while at the same time claiming they knew nothing about it. If such
wiretaps were approved it is almost inconceivable that both Clapper and Obama
would have not known about it, but they were probably insulated enough from it
that they can plausibly deny knowing and no one can prove otherwise.
It is still too early to know if these claims are accurate
or just more “fake news”, but I notice the more liberal journalists are giving
this story as low-key exposure as they can, which suggests they are worried
that the Democrats may have a big scandal waiting to burst on them.
Meanwhile the House Intelligence Committee has asked the
Justice Department for FISA records on wiretap requests. It will be interesting
to see how this plays out.
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