A Leaked Democratic Response to Nunes Memo (But Not “the Memo”)

[luckyshot]

EDIT: Per @Fawlty

So the author of this is Jerrold Nadler, and it was published 2 days ago. This is not "the" memo response that we're all interested in. For whatever that's worth. May want to update OP w/info. @luckyshot

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/456093/jerrold-nadler-memo-rebuttal-weak-unpersuasive

• Carter Page was suspected as an agent of a foreign power before his role on the Trump campaign began.
• The Steele dossier was not the only, or necessarily the most important, piece of evidence that led to the FISA warrant on Carter Page.
• Steele is a retired British intelligence officer and one of the world's leading experts on Russian organized crime. Nothing in the Nunes report actually disputes any of the information in the Steele dossier.
• Christopher Steele worked no differently when GPS was funded by the conservative Washington Free Beacon (during the Republican primary) than when it was funded by the Clinton campaign (during the general). There is no evidence in the Nunes report that the change in funding to GPS affected Steele at all.
• The majority of the activity outlined in the Nunes memo took place before Rob Rosenstein was in office as Deputy Attorney General, so using the memo as a pretext to call for his resignation or firing is ridiculous.

Basically, the Nunes Memo is a nothing-burger... except it shows that House Republicans have now joined in a deliberate effort to mislead the American public by attempting to discredit aspects of the Russia investigation.

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/TODAY/z_Creative/inline-headers/FINAL DRAFT -- Dear Colleague on Nunes Memo.pdf

 

[Rob Battisti]

The battle of memos shorter than high school essays

 

[FacePunch]

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/TODAY/z_Creative/inline-headers/FINAL DRAFT -- Dear Colleague on Nunes Memo.pdf

Ummm. Post the text? I don't want to download random shit.

 

[TheComebackKid]

Dems are just down right slimey. They unanimously voted to keep the reps memo silent and lied about the security the concerns. Then when the reps unanimously vote to release the dems memo they go ahead and leak it without putting it through the proper security process. Oh well, it's a nothing burger anyway.

 

[Fawlty]

My problem with this response is that, unlike the Nunes memo, it does not take liberties with classified information. So because the Democrats want to follow good national security practices, we end up with something that just looks like an op-ed. I don't think it will be effective at swaying undecided people or preventing the cultists from repeating false claims. There isn't anything in there that we didn't already know.

It needed to be dense and factual, with information from the FISA warrant application. This is another example of why it is bad practice to write classified memos about classified information with the intent of releasing them to the public. It's better to redact and release the source, or to not do it at all. It's always bad to talk around national security information. But Nunes made that ship sail already, in his infinite recklessness, so this was the best option for a public statement.

 

[waiguoren]

This is a decent response to the group of partisan right-wingers who say the Nunes memo discredits the Mueller investigation. However, it does not address many of the troubling claims raised by the Nunes memo. For example:

1. Did Deputy Director Andrew McCabe state that the Page warrant would not have been approved without the inclusion of the Steele dossier in the application?

2. Was the source of the funding for the Steele dossier noted in the warrant application? (the answer seems to be no)

3. What was Nellie Ohr's involvement in the creation of the Steele dossier?

 

[waiguoren]

Dems are just down right slimey. They unanimously voted to keep the reps memo silent and lied about the security the concerns. Then when the reps unanimously vote to release the dems memo they go ahead and leak it without putting it through the proper security process. Oh well, it's a nothing burger anyway.

That's a good point. They look pretty dishonest here.

EDIT: Actually I think I might agree with @Fawlty here. The Democrats didn't seem to include any new classified info in the memo, so leaking it wouldn't seem to violate their stated principle of protecting sensitive info.

 

[Seaside]

Americans are so partisan it is a joke. I just learned that word it everyday I check this suforum it same shit. So sad your great country is reduce to this. Nothing either side say will change other mind unless there some 100% proof evidence of Trump being frame/set up or Trump on phone with Putin recording scheming.

 

[HereticBD]

Leaking it isn't a good look.

 

[waiguoren]

Americans are so partisan it is a joke. I just learned that word it everyday I check this suforum it same shit. So sad your great country is reduced to this. Nothig either side say will change other mind unless there some 100% proof like evidence of Trump being framed/set up or Trump on phone with Putin recording scheming.

Where are you from?

 

[curryjunkie]

They should have gone with " go fuck yourself"

 

[luckyshot]

Leaking it isn't a good look.

Yeah, I don't really get that. Nothing "leak worthy" here anyways. It's just a narrative clarification that anyone with any inclination to objectivity could have arrived at independently.

But it wasn't necessarily a party decision to leak this; it might have just been... a leak.

 

[Rockapotomuss]

First the dems say the house memo should not be released because it will hurt national security by revealing sources and methods. Now they say the house memo isn’t important. Which is it?

Dems seem so concerned that the FBI is being undermined, yet have no concern whatsoever that a political campaign was spied on? Hatred for trump outweighs concern for democracy it seems.

 

[HereticBD]

Yeah, I don't really get that. Nothing "leak worthy" here anyways. It wasn't necessarily a party decision to leak this; it might have just been... a leak.

They're gonna take the heat.

It's so dumb, too. Wouldn't you want that shit to hit Trump's desk, and have him decide? It's a win/win. It gets released, or Trump looks like he's trying to bury it. If the leaker was a Dem(which is rather likely), they're fucking retarded.

 

[Fawlty]

First the dems say the house memo should not be released because it will hurt national security by revealing sources and methods. Now they say the house memo isn’t important. Which is it?

That doesn't make sense. The memo is very important, hence the response. And notice the difference in care for national security between the two documents. This memo reveals no classified sources and methods. The Nunes memo mischaracterizes sources and methods.

 

[kpt018]

Dems are just down right slimey. They unanimously voted to keep the reps memo silent and lied about the security the concerns. Then when the reps unanimously vote to release the dems memo they go ahead and leak it without putting it through the proper security process. Oh well, it's a nothing burger anyway.

That's a good point. They look pretty dishonest here.

EDIT: Actually I think I might agree with @Fawlty here. The Democrats didn't seem to include any new classified info in the memo, so leaking it wouldn't seem to violate their stated principle of protecting sensitive info.

Leaking it isn't a good look.

Yeah, I don't really get that. Nothing "leak worthy" here anyways. It's just a narrative clarification that anyone with any inclination to objectivity could have arrived at independently.

But it wasn't necessarily a party decision to leak this; it might have just been... a leak.

Do we know who leaked it and how it was leaked?

 

[Fawlty]

EDIT: Actually I think I might agree with @Fawlty here.

It happens. My apologies.

 

[waiguoren]

First the dems say the house memo should not be released because it will hurt national security by revealing sources and methods. Now they say the house memo isn’t important. Which is it?

I think those positions aren't really contradictory. The Nunes memo could have hurt national security while at the same time being a nothingburger from the standpoint of the Mueller investigation.

As far as I can tell, the first condition is not met. I can't see far enough to know if the second one is.

 

[HereticBD]

That doesn't make sense. The memo is very important, hence the response. And notice the difference in care for national security between the two documents. This memo reveals no classified sources and methods. The Nunes memo mischaracterizes sources and methods.

This memo was leaked.

Much care
Huge security
Wow

 

[HereticBD]

Do we know who leaked it and how it was leaked?

Yeah, they've reached out to the media to identify themselves. Stay tuned...

LOL.