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Splitting Hairs: Comey Says Electronic Surveillance Isn’t the Same as Spying
Comey declares that electronic surveillance is not the same as spying, gives no proof.
During an appearance on CNN, the disgraced former FBI director claimed that “electronic surveillance” is not the same as “spying” in response to Attorney General Bill Barr’s Congressional testimony earlier this week.
James Comey appeared on CNN yesterday to split hairs regarding the spying accusation raised by Barr during his second day of Congressional testimony. Barr made clear that he believes “spying did occur,” and that he has started an investigation into the matter, though questions remain as to whether it was done legally or as part of an extralegal fishing expedition to find dirt on or sabotage President Donald J. Trump’s campaign.
Comey seemingly admitted that “electronic surveillance” did occur, but objected to use of the term “spying” during the interview.
“With respect to Barr’s comments, I really don’t know what he’s talking about when he talks about spying on the campaign,” said Comey. “It’s concerning, because the FBI and the department of justice conduct court ordered electronic surveillance.”
“I have never thought of that as spying.”
While Big League Politics will leave these definitions to the legal experts, in Cornell Law School’s definition of “electronic surveillance,” they offer several examples consider what most Americans would consider spying.
According to the school, “wiretapping, bugging, videotaping; geolocation tracking such as via RFID, GPS, or cell-site data; data mining, social media mapping, and the monitoring of data and traffic on the Internet” are all examples of “electronic surveillance.”
Ironically, President Trump was derided for declaring that President Obama had his “wires tapped” on Twitter in 2017. Comey seems to admit this type of “electronic surveillance” occurred, though stops short of clarifying what types were used.
At this point, regardless of the nomenclature, it only remains to be seen whether the FISA warrant used to gather “electronic surveillance” or to “spy” on President Trump’s campaign was legal, or simply an effort to gain intelligence on failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s competition.
Defiant Assange shows thumbs up as he’s delivered to Westminster Magistrates Court (PHOTO)
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been taken to Westminster Magistrates Court after his arrest at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Photos of the whistleblower defiantly gesturing in a police van have emerged in the media.
UPDATE: Assange pleads not guilty to failing to surrender to bail
Journalist flocked to the white police van carrying the whistleblower into the courthouse. With his hair tied back and sporting a full-length white beard, Assange offered cameras a hardy thumbs up with a wink.
Assange stepped into the courtroom wearing a dark polo shirt and quietly read his Gore Vidal book while he waited for his lawyers to arrive.
READ MORE: Assange arrest final step in character assassination campaign – Slavoj Zizek
Earlier, Metropolitan Police said in a statement that they arrested Assange on a warrant issued by the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in June 2012, for failing to surrender to the court. The police were “invited into the embassy by the Ambassador,” it said.
Exposing ‘collateral murder’ and mass surveillance: Why the world should be grateful to Assange
Julian Assange is a pioneering whistleblower in the digital-age, speaking truth to power like no one before him managed on such a significant scale. As he sits in a London jail cell, here’s why we should be grateful for his work.
By setting up the international non-profit organization WikiLeaks in Iceland in 2006, Assange irrevocably shifted the balance of power in the online era.
From humble beginnings as a master coder and hacker, caught by Australian authorities in 1995 but escaping a prison term, to the foremost publisher of sensitive, embarrassing and potentially dangerous material for the world to see, Assange’s storied career as a publisher and whistleblower has captured headlines, and the global public’s attention for years.
RT takes a look back at the key moments in Assange’s career that remind us why the world owes him such a debt of gratitude.
ALSO ON RT.COMJulian Assange arrested after Ecuador tears up asylum deal
The early years
In 2007, WikiLeaks published emails exposing the manuals for Camp Delta, a controversial US detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba which was the focal point for the US war on terror and the final destination for those captured as part of its extraordinary rendition campaign.
The following year the whistleblowing site posted emails from vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s private Yahoo email account, again exposing the newfound weakness of the political class in the digital age.
‘Collateral murder’
In a move that would reverberate online and across the world for years, in April 2010 WikiLeaks published footage of US forces summarily executing 18 civilians from an Apache attack helicopter in Iraq. It was an almost unheard of revelation of the brutality of war and the low price of human life in modern conflict.
Diplomatic cables
2010 was a very busy year for Assange as in July WikiLeaks published more than 90,000 classified documents and diplomatic cables relating to the Afghanistan war.
Later, in October 2010, the organization published a raft of classified documents from the Iraq War. The logs were referred to as “the largest leak of classified documents in its history” by the US Department of Defense, according to the BBC. WikiLeaks followed that up in November by publishing diplomatic cables from US embassies around the world.
The Guantánamo Files and Spy Files
In April 2011, WikiLeaks published classified US military documents detailing the behavior and treatment of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. This leak would be followed, once again, by a vast trove (250 million) of US diplomatic cables.
Throughout this sequence of widely-praised leaks, Assange invited a global audience behind the curtain of international diplomacy and warfare to expose the hidden truths of global power dynamics in a way which would forever change the power structure and landscape, affording a platform to analysts like Chelsea Manning to expose potential war crimes and misdeeds by the US military at large.
Assange and WikiLeaks would also help fellow whistleblowers like Edward Snowden to seek refuge from predatory US authorities, providing aid and comfort to those who risked everything in the pursuit of truth, exposing some of the most egregious mass surveillance programs the world has ever known.
DNC leak
As the 2016 US presidential election loomed, WikiLeaks published nearly 20,000 emails from the Democratic National Committee, which exposed the preferential treatment shown to then-candidate for president Hillary Clinton over her competitor Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary. Assange boldly informed CNN’s Anderson Cooper that the release was indeed timed to coincide with the Democratic National Convention.
ALSO ON RT.COMAssange is a scapegoat, distraction for scandal-ridden Ecuadorian government
In October that same year, WikiLeaks began publishing emails from Clinton’s campaign manager John Podesta, which shed light on the inner workings of the Democratic nominee’s political machine.
These included excerpts from Clinton’s speeches to Wall Street, politically-motivated payments made to the Clinton Foundation, her consideration of choosing Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates or his wife as a potential running mate, her desire to covertly intervene in Syria, her intention to ring-fence China with missile defense batteries if it did not curtail North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
Legacy
Following his arrest on the morning of April 11, 2019, Assange’s future remains unclear. He likely faces extradition to the US where it was inadvertently revealed that he has been charged under seal in a US federal court. Former Assange collaborator Chelsea Manning has been imprisoned for refusing to cooperate with the court in relation to the case.
Assange’s legal battle is only just beginning, it seems, but the international following he has forged will undoubtedly grant him a place in the pantheon of history’s champions of truth.
He remains a true digital pioneer, paving the way for so many to follow in his footsteps and expose the untold misdeeds of the powerful, be they political figures or entire militaries. Assange has defiantly shown what a powerful tool digital technology can be and how easily the dynamics of power can be shifted in the 21st century by those brave enough. Unfortunately, he also showed the consequences of wielding such power in the face of such overwhelming international and political opposition.
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Former Obama White House Counsel to be Indicted for Ukrainian Collusion
The Democratic lawyer failed to register as a foreign agent of Ukraine.
By Richard Moorhead
Attorneys for former Obama White House Counsel Greg Craig revealed Wednesday that the longtime Democratic lawyer expects to be indicted by federal prosecutors on charges related to his work with the Ukrainian government in 2012.
Findings discovered in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into supposed Russian meddling in American politics may have contributed towards the upcoming charges against Craig. Craig performed work for Ukraine’s Ministry of Justice, and was apparently connected with the Ukrainians through Paul Manafort, the Republican operative indicted by Mueller for overseas political activity.
Craig was originally investigated by the Justice Department for failing to register as a foreign agent while working for the Ukrainian government. However, it seems statues of limitation have since expired for that crime, and his attorneys expect him to be indicted for making false statements to DOJ investigators instead.
Craig was President Obama’s White House Counsel from 2009 to 2010. He also has been a political advisor to liberal bigwigs Ted Kennedy and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
An associate of Hillary and Bill Clinton for decades, the high-society lawyer even rented an apartment to the Clintons as a Yale Law Student in the 1970’s. He would go on to lead the legal team representing President Bill Clinton in impeachment proceedings in the 1990’s.
Craig possibly represents the most high-profile elite Democrat to be indicted for foreign political activities in the past few years. Democratic kingpin Tony Podesta was investigated by Robert Mueller’s team for similarly suspect political activities in Ukraine, which may have involved lavish compensation that went unreported to the American government from pro-Russia political parties. After being investigated, Podesta ultimately wasn’t charged by the government, although the political consulting firm known as the Podesta Group he led with his brother John shut down.
AG Barr: “I Don’t Understand Why The Campaign Was Not Advised” On FISA Warrant
Attorney General William Barr tells Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) that “I don’t understand why the campaign was not advised” on the FISA warrant when asked about the intelligence activity in 2016 during a hearing before a Senate appropriations subcommittee on 4/10/19. Be sure to like, subscribe, and comment below to share your thoughts on the video.
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