{"id":28357,"date":"2017-03-06T18:03:57","date_gmt":"2017-03-07T02:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/?p=28357"},"modified":"2017-03-06T23:16:42","modified_gmt":"2017-03-07T07:16:42","slug":"who-tapped-the-trump-tower-phones-and-other-matters-short-shrift-as-i-linger-in-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/who-tapped-the-trump-tower-phones-and-other-matters-short-shrift-as-i-linger-in-recovery\/","title":{"rendered":"Who tapped the Trump Tower phones; and other matters. Short shrift as I linger in recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p align=\"center\">Monday, March 6, 2017<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><b><\/b><b>We are a nation of assimilated immigrants.<\/b><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><b>Immigration without assimilation is invasion. <\/b><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><b><\/b><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><em>Those<\/em><i> <\/i>who cannot remember the past are <em>condemned to repeat<\/em><i> <\/i>it.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">George Santayana<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26270 noborder\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/bubbles.gif\" alt=\"bubbles\" width=\"240\" height=\"8\" style:\"border='0';box-shadow:none;\"  \/><\/p> <\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26270 noborder\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/bubbles.gif\" alt=\"bubbles\" width=\"240\" height=\"8\" style:\"border='0';box-shadow:none;\"  \/><\/p> <\/p>\n<p>The cold I thought I was well on the way to recovery from has continued. No drastic symptoms, but a dread of getting up and not much incentive to work. I managed Friday with story conferences and lunch with Larry and St eve \u2013 the hard science novel about interstellar colonization under slower that light conditions continues nicely, beautifully in fact \u2013 and Saturday we got to the barber shop for me and hair dresser for Roberta. Exhausting, and Sunday more so, with getting to church and then lunch out afterwards; but again rather exhausting. But we managed it, again with not enough energy left to do any real work. But I am coming up for air, and I\u2019m in that stage where I know I\u2019m recovering and surprised at how long it takes.<\/p>\n<p>I learned from friends at church that this isn\u2019t rare, and I\u2019m doing better than they did. The average recovery time for people younger than me has been five weeks; I\u2019m in the third week, and I\u2019ll be over it soon if not soon enough. It does linger. On the plus side, it rained yesterday \u2013 we can use the water \u2013 and it\u2019s a beautiful day today. And I did have enough energy yesterday to get most of the bills paid, and do other chores.<\/p>\n <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26270 noborder\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/bubbles.gif\" alt=\"bubbles\" width=\"240\" height=\"8\" style:\"border='0';box-shadow:none;\"  \/><\/p> \n<p>I have been reluctant to get to work because the \u201ctelephone tapping\u201d imbroglio is so thoroughly complex; worse, there\u2019s damned little solid data. Most of what we know comes from leaks whose source is pretty carefully \u2013 often legally \u2013 hidden, and the only confirmation has to be inferences.<\/p>\n<p>Let me start with an assumption: Mr. Trump may be crazy, but he\u2019s crazy like a fox. He seldom does stupid things, and very little without reason. I didn\u2019t always assume this, but the campaign convinced me: yes, he had luck, but he was always a step ahead of most of the analysts including his own advisors. My assumption is supported because I know for a fact that it is shared by a number of people I know quite well and have for a long time; even when they don\u2019t know what Mr. Trump is doing, they assume he actually has a purpose, and they are usually correct, and have been many times. To assume that President Trump is an emotionally driven maniac unable to control himself has been the unmaking of more than one of his opponents, and is often precisely what he wants them to believe at various stages of an operation; and if one pays close attention it is demonstrably untrue. His address to the Congress with all its emotional appeals and side shows was masterful; it is likely that it will be studied for years by students of political science.<\/p>\n<p>A second assumption is that Mr. Trump employs his own means of testing leaked information. He has said as much, and there is no reason not to believe it.<\/p>\n<p>That said, let us look at the telephoning tapping story.<\/p>\n <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26270 noborder\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/bubbles.gif\" alt=\"bubbles\" width=\"240\" height=\"8\" style:\"border='0';box-shadow:none;\"  \/><\/p> \n<p>It all really rests on this claim: that in June, 2016 and possibly earlier, a FISA court received and denied a request to tap Trump Tower phone, in particular that of Donald Trump himself. This was said to be in regard to an investigation of Russian interference in American affairs. The denial was unusual: it was one of about a dozen requests denied out of tens of thousands of such requests granted in its 33 years of existence.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h5>[<a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjultD5icPSAhUB42MKHckYCr0QFggcMAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.motherjones.com%2Fmojo%2F2013%2F06%2Ffisa-court-nsa-spying-opinion-reject-request&amp;usg=AFQjCNH86H8N0o0b756IWjY-iClkyphvng\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">FISA Court Has Rejected .03 Percent Of All Government Surveillance &#8230;<\/a><\/h5>\n<p><cite><a href=\"http:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/mojo\/2013\/06\/fisa-court-nsa-spying-opinion-reject-request\" rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"external\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/mojo\/2013\/06\/fisa-court-nsa-spying-opinion-reject-request<\/a><\/cite><\/p>\n<p>Jun 10, 2013 &#8211; <em>FISA<\/em> Court <em>Has<\/em> Rejected .03 Percent Of All Government &#8230; But the FISC <em>has<\/em> declined just 11 of the more than 33,900 surveillance <em>requests<\/em> made by the &#8230; about just <em>how much<\/em> judicial oversight is actually being provided.]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>There is no way to confirm or deny much of this, because FISA is, by law, not only very secret, but has to be very careful in allowing intelligence agencies access to American citizen affairs. For one open source on this incident, see the BBC reportage: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-38589427\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-38589427<\/a> . It\u2019s long, very complicated, and doesn\u2019t tell the full story; and has no confirming sources. It can\u2019t, really, and whatever evidence the warrant request gave would itself be both classified and also protected from publication by law.<\/p>\n<p>Then came the Convention and Mr. Trump became the nominee.<\/p>\n<p>In October, another warrant request was brought to FISA; it is not at all clear who made the application; there are reports that Sally Yates, the Obama holdover who became Acting Attorney General until she was fired for non-cooperation by President Trump, was involved. This warrant application did not name Mr. \u2013 then Nominated Candidate \u2013 Trump, but it did name some of his immediate associates; this warrant was granted. Once again there is little public evidence to confirm this, and by law there can\u2019t be.<\/p>\n<p>These two warrant applications were leaked, and reported in some news media, but generally were ignored.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/01\/12\/us\/politics\/nsa-gets-more-latitude-to-share-intercepted-communications.html\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">On 12 January, 2017, President Obama ordered the NSA to share mush electronically gathered data among the 17 (or more) intelligence agencies<\/a>; this to include data hitherto denied circulation because it released personal data of American citizens who may have been involved in communications with foreign nationals; such information; by law, is supposed to be destroyed upon. realization that it is not relevant to the purposes stated in the warrant. [The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. 4<sup>th<\/sup> Amendment; for more, look up Writs of Assistance]<\/p>\n<p>This will inevitably increase the probability of leaks, and particularly applies to telephone taps. It was not at the time much noticed, but we may assume it is well known in the White House now.<\/p>\n<p>Then came the Flynn affair, in which Sally Yates warned then President Obama that General Flynn might be blackmailed because he had said that the sanctions on Russia had not been discussed with the Russian Ambassador in their December telephone conversation, and gave the President evidence from a phone tap showing that the sanctions had been discussed. Of course it would be astonishing if the Russian Ambassador had not brought up the sanctions when talking to the National Security Advisor designate. The full transcript was not released \u2013 I do not know whether President Trump has seen it to this day \u2013 but the subject was, he was told, talked about. This was considered serious; by some, very serious: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/the-flynn-affair-could-bring-down-trumps-presidency_us_58a33429e4b0cd37efcfed84\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/the-flynn-affair-could-bring-down-trumps-presidency_us_58a33429e4b0cd37efcfed84\" rel=\"nofollow\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/the-flynn-affair\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/the-flynn-affair<\/a><b>-could-bring-down-trumps-presidency<\/b>_us_58a33429e4b0cd37efcfed84<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Details of Flynn\u2019s conversation with the Russian Ambassador were later leaked to the Washington Post. It is not clear what agency leaked them, but it is a rock solid fact that they were leaked, and that a private citizen\u2019s conversation was recorded by an American agency and those details were leaked to the press.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It was thus very clear that phones were tapped. President Trump then presumably ordered his staff to find out who tapped whom, and who ordered it done; but this is presumption, since I have no evidence, nor do I know what, if anything, they found out.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, Director of Intelligence Clapper has testified that he should be aware of all FISA warrants \u2013 he did not say of rejected applications, but of warrants issued \u2013 and he is not aware of any concerning Trump Tower, where, according to Newt Gingrich, General Flynn made the intercepted (tapped) telephone calls to the Russian Ambassador.&nbsp; It is possible but, given the efficiency of the Russian security services, it may be unlikely that the tap was on the Russian Embassy telephone; but that, of course, is possible.&nbsp; The assumption seems to be that the tap was on a Trump Tower telephone.<\/p>\n <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26270 noborder\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/bubbles.gif\" alt=\"bubbles\" width=\"240\" height=\"8\" style:\"border='0';box-shadow:none;\"  \/><\/p> \n<p>Another summary:<\/p>\n<p>One is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-38589427\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">a report in the BBC<\/a> from January, which the White House cited as a source. The BBC reported:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Lawyers from the National Security Division in the Department of Justice then drew up an application. They took it to the secret US court that deals with intelligence, the FISA court, named after the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. They wanted permission to intercept the electronic records from two Russian banks.<\/p>\n<p>Their first application, in June, was rejected outright by the judge. They returned with a more narrowly drawn order in July and were rejected again. Finally, before a new judge, the order was granted, on 15 October, three weeks before election day.<\/p>\n<p>Neither Mr. Trump nor his associates are named in the FISA order, which would only cover foreign citizens or foreign entities \u2014 in this case the Russian banks. But ultimately, the investigation is looking for transfers of money from Russia to the United States, each one, if proved, a felony offense.<\/p>\n<p>A lawyer \u2014 outside the Department of Justice but familiar with the case \u2014 told me that three of Mr. Trump\u2019s associates were the subject of the inquiry. \u201cBut it\u2019s clear this is about Trump,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Finally, there was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2017\/jan\/10\/fbi-chief-given-dossier-by-john-mccain-alleging-secret-trump-russia-contacts\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">a report in the Guardian<\/a>, which reported on the supposed June FISA request but could not confirm the October one. (The White House did not cite the Guardian.)<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The Guardian has learned that the FBI applied for a warrant from the foreign intelligence surveillance (FISA) court over the summer in order to monitor four members of the Trump team suspected of irregular contacts with Russian officials. The FISA court turned down the application asking FBI counter-intelligence investigators to narrow its focus. According to one report, the FBI was finally granted a warrant in October, but that has not been confirmed, and it is not clear whether any warrant led to a full investigation.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26270 noborder\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/bubbles.gif\" alt=\"bubbles\" width=\"240\" height=\"8\" style:\"border='0';box-shadow:none;\"  \/><\/p> \n<p>The Breitbart summary, which president Trump almost certainly read, said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/big-government\/2017\/03\/03\/mark-levin-obama-used-police-state-tactics-undermine-trump\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"external\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/big-government\/2017\/03\/03\/mark-levin-obama-used-police-state-tactics-undermine-trump\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>[snip] 1. June 2016: FISA request.<\/strong> The Obama administration <a href=\"https:\/\/heatst.com\/world\/exclusive-fbi-granted-fisa-warrant-covering-trump-camps-ties-to-russia\/\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">files a request<\/a> with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) to monitor communications involving Donald Trump and several advisers. The request, uncharacteristically, is denied.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. July: Russia joke<\/strong>. Wikileaks releases emails from the Democratic National Committee that show an effort to prevent Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) from winning the presidential nomination. In a press conference, Donald Trump refers to Hillary Clinton\u2019s own missing emails, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/video\/2016\/07\/27\/trump-russia-if-youre-listening-i-hope-youre-able-to-find-the-30000-emails-that-are-missing\/\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">joking<\/a>: \u201cRussia, if you\u2019re listening, I hope you\u2019re able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing.\u201d That remark becomes the basis for accusations by Clinton and the media that Trump invited further hacking.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. October: Podesta emails.<\/strong> In October, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/wikileaks\/\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Wikileaks releases<\/a> the emails of Clinton campaign chair John Podesta, rolling out batches every day until the election, creating new mini-scandals. The Clinton campaign blames Trump and the Russians.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. October: FISA request. <\/strong>The Obama administration <a href=\"https:\/\/heatst.com\/world\/exclusive-fbi-granted-fisa-warrant-covering-trump-camps-ties-to-russia\/\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">submits a new, narrow request<\/a> to the FISA court, now focused on a computer server in Trump Tower suspected of links to Russian banks. No evidence is found \u2014 but the wiretaps continue, ostensibly for national security reasons, Andrew McCarthy at <em>National Review<\/em> later <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/article\/443768\/obama-fisa-trump-wiretap\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">notes<\/a>. The Obama administration is now monitoring an opposing presidential campaign using the high-tech surveillance powers of the federal intelligence services.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. January 2017: Buzzfeed\/CNN dossier.<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/2016-presidential-race\/2017\/01\/11\/cnn-distances-itself-from-buzzfeed-russia-claims\/\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Buzzfeed releases, and CNN report<\/a>s, a supposed intelligence \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/wp-admin\/\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">dossier<\/a>\u201d compiled by a foreign former spy. It purports to show continuous contact between Russia and the Trump campaign, and says that the Russians have compromising information about Trump. None of the allegations can be verified and some are proven false. Several media outlets claim that they had been aware of the dossier for months and that it had been circulating in Washington.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6. January: Obama expands NSA sharing. <\/strong>As Michael Walsh later <a href=\"https:\/\/pjmedia.com\/trending\/2017\/02\/15\/surprise-at-the-end-obama-administration-gave-nsa-broad-new-powers\/\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">notes<\/a>, and as the <em>New York Times<\/em> reports, the outgoing Obama administration \u201cexpanded the power of the National Security Agency to share globally intercepted personal communications with the government\u2019s 16 other intelligence agencies before applying privacy protections.\u201d The new powers, and reduced protections, could make it easier for intelligence on private citizens to be circulated improperly or leaked.<\/p>\n<p><strong>7. January: <\/strong><em><b>Times<\/b><\/em><strong> report.<\/strong> The <em>New York Times<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/01\/19\/us\/politics\/trump-russia-associates-investigation.html?_r=0\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">reports<\/a>, on the eve of Inauguration Day, that several agencies \u2014 the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Treasury Department are monitoring several associates of the Trump campaign suspected of Russian ties. Other news outlets also report the existence of \u201ca multiagency working group to coordinate investigations across the government,\u201d though it is unclear how they found out, since the investigations would have been secret and involved classified information.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8. February: Mike Flynn scandal.<\/strong> Reports <a href=\"http:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/big-government\/2017\/02\/15\/timeline-mike-flynn-controversy\/\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">emerge<\/a> that the FBI intercepted a conversation in 2016 between future National Security Adviser Michael Flynn \u2014 then a private citizen \u2014 and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. The intercept supposedly was part of routine spying on the ambassador, not monitoring of the Trump campaign. The FBI transcripts reportedly show the two discussing Obama\u2019s newly-imposed sanctions on Russia, though Flynn earlier denied discussing them. Sally Yates, whom Trump would <a href=\"http:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/big-government\/2017\/01\/30\/youre-fired-trump-fires-ag-for-betrayal\/\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">later fire<\/a> as acting Attorney General for insubordination, is involved in the investigation. In the end, Flynn <a href=\"http:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/big-government\/2017\/02\/13\/michael-flynn-resigns-national-security-adviser\/\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">resigns<\/a> over having misled Vice President Mike Pence (perhaps inadvertently) about the content of the conversation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9. February: <\/strong><em><b>Times<\/b><\/em><strong> claims extensive Russian contacts. <\/strong>The <em>New York Times<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/02\/14\/us\/politics\/russia-intelligence-communications-trump.html?_r=0\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">cites<\/a> \u201cfour current and former American officials\u201d in reporting that the Trump campaign had \u201crepeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials. The Trump campaign denies the claims \u2014 and the <em>Times<\/em> admits that there is \u201cno evidence\u201d of coordination between the campaign and the Russians. The White House and some congressional Republicans begin to raise questions about illegal intelligence leaks.<\/p>\n<p><strong>10. March: the <\/strong><em><b>Washington Post<\/b><\/em><strong> targets Jeff Sessions.<\/strong> The <em>Washington Post<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/national-security\/sessions-spoke-twice-with-russian-ambassador-during-trumps-presidential-campaign-justice-officials-say\/2017\/03\/01\/77205eda-feac-11e6-99b4-9e613afeb09f_story.html?utm_term=.aeb0609c8196\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">reports<\/a> that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had contact twice with the Russian ambassador during the campaign \u2014 once at a Heritage Foundation event and once at a meeting in Sessions\u2019s Senate office. The <em>Post<\/em> suggests that the two meetings contradict Sessions\u2019s testimony at his confirmation hearings that he had no contacts with the Russians, though in context (not presented by the <em>Post<\/em>) it was clear he meant in his capacity as a campaign surrogate, and that he was responding to claims in the \u201cdossier\u201d of ongoing contacts. The <em>New York Times<\/em>, in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/03\/01\/us\/politics\/obama-trump-russia-election-hacking.html\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">covering<\/a> the story, adds that the Obama White House \u201crushed to preserve\u201d intelligence related to alleged Russian links with the Trump campaign. By \u201cpreserve\u201d it really means \u201cdisseminate\u201d: officials spread evidence throughout other government agencies \u201cto leave a clear trail of intelligence for government investigators\u201d and perhaps the media as well.<\/p>\n<p>In summary: the Obama administration sought, and eventually obtained, authorization to eavesdrop on the Trump campaign; continued monitoring the Trump team even when no evidence of wrongdoing was found; then relaxed the NSA rules to allow evidence to be shared widely within the government, virtually ensuring that the information, including the conversations of private citizens, would be leaked to the media. [snip]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26270 noborder\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/bubbles.gif\" alt=\"bubbles\" width=\"240\" height=\"8\" style:\"border='0';box-shadow:none;\"  \/><\/p> \n<p>Most of the new media and \u201cfact checking\u201d sites conclude that one or more agencies tapped some phones, but \u201cthere is no evidence\u201d that President Obama ordered it done. Perhaps so: given the secrecy we will probably never know. But it is hard to believe that President Obama did not know of a an application to FISA for a warrant to tap Trump Tower phones, even in June when it was not certain that Mr. Trump would be candidate Trump, and it is even more certain that the White House would be informed of FISA applications concerning a major party candidate.<\/p>\n<p>Whether President Trump had more evidence not available to us when he made his ungracious tweets I can\u2019t say. It does appear possible to likely that the Obama Administration might have been using intelligence agencies and leaks as a campaign tool. The community organizer recruited demonstrations have been infuriating and frustrating, but if that is the worst stress President Trump experiences in his Presidency he \u2013&nbsp; and we \u2013 should all thank God Almighty.<\/p>\n<p>And see<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/big-government\/2017\/03\/05\/trump-ends-innuendo-game-dealing\/\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/big-government\/2017\/03\/05\/trump-ends-innuendo-game-dealing\/<\/a><\/p>\n <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26270 noborder\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/bubbles.gif\" alt=\"bubbles\" width=\"240\" height=\"8\" style:\"border='0';box-shadow:none;\"  \/><\/p> \n<blockquote>\n<p>cognitive dissonance, persuasion,<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Pournelle,<br \/>According to the NR, the Trump+Russians=illegitimate election argument has collapsed: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/article\/445522\/russian-election-hacking-fbi-not-investigating-trump-campaign\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/article\/445522\/russian-election-hacking-fbi-not-investigating-trump-campaign<\/a>, but I believe the author may have missed the point: The &#8220;fact&#8221; that a foreign power has intruded into U.S. politics and influenced the system is firmly established in the minds of Democrat party voters. It will come up again in public discussion and in the press, even if the allegations are withdrawn. Scott Adams references the use of what used to be called yellow journalism&#8217;s &#8220;addiction&#8221; to rage in <br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.dilbert.com\/post\/157904840851\/dopamine-puppets\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/blog.dilbert.com\/post\/157904840851\/dopamine-puppets<\/a> , which will continue to fuel the fire long after the question has died.<br \/>Strange how the comparisons to nazism on the part of either political party fail to notice any apparent reference to Goebbels? IMO, both sides (as well as the Trump side, which is apparently not the official Republican position) have learned quite a lot from the propaganda ministry, as well as Stalin&#8217;s Pravda. <br \/>With hope for you and Roberta&#8217;s continuing recovery,<br \/>-d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t much of an argument to begin with.<\/p>\n <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26270 noborder\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/bubbles.gif\" alt=\"bubbles\" width=\"240\" height=\"8\" style:\"border='0';box-shadow:none;\"  \/><\/p> \n<blockquote>\n<p>Sweden<\/p>\n<p>Do you remember the outrage over Trump&#8217;s comments about Islamic Radicalism causing problems &#8220;just like in Sweden?&#8221; Remember how the Swedish government screamed foul? Their &#8220;Integration Minister&#8221; claimed there were no problems.<\/p>\n<p>She comes clean: Sweden\u2019s Integration Minister admits lying when she claimed rape rate was \u201cgoing down\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jihadwatch.org\/2017\/03\/swedens-integration-minister-admits-lying-when-she-claimed-rape-rate-was-going-down\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.jihadwatch.org\/2017\/03\/swedens-integration-minister-admits-lying-when-she-claimed-rape-rate-was-going-down<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Sweden is in deep deep denial while it is in the middle of an existential crisis.<\/p>\n<p>This is why we MUST judicially throttle all immigration, particularly illegal immigration.<\/p>\n<p>{^_^}<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26270 noborder\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/bubbles.gif\" alt=\"bubbles\" width=\"240\" height=\"8\" style:\"border='0';box-shadow:none;\"  \/><\/p> \n<blockquote>\n<p>The cyber war against NK missiles<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/03\/04\/world\/asia\/north-korea-missile-program-sabotage.html?_r=0\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/03\/04\/world\/asia\/north-korea-missile-program-sabotage.html?_r=0<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26270 noborder\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/bubbles.gif\" alt=\"bubbles\" width=\"240\" height=\"8\" style:\"border='0';box-shadow:none;\"  \/><\/p> \n<blockquote>\n<p>The Russian ambassador is *not* the rezident.<\/p>\n<p>Anyone who knows anything about espionage &#8211; obviously the l\u00fcgenpresse don&#8217;t fall into that category &#8211; knows that the idea that the Russian ambassador is the rezident is utter nonsense.<\/p>\n<p>Something else that has gone unmentioned is the obvious contradiction between the proposition that Trump is somehow in thrall to Putin, while at the same time Trump is pushing for a massive remediation and expansion of our military capabilities and hardware, including new nuclear weapons &#8211; which have the property of increasing the Russian strategic threat evaluation of the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, were Trump in thrall to Putin, he would more likely be aping the rhetoric of the Union of Confused Scientists and the (Soviet-inspired, -funded, and -controlled) Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and World Council of Churches.<\/p>\n<p>One may safely assume that retired Podpolkovnik Putin, Pervoye Glavnoye Upravleniye of the Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti is familiar with the activities of those front organizations, and how his former employer directed same.<\/p>\n<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;<\/p>\n<p>Roland Dobbins<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Giraldi: Did Sessions Do Anything Wrong?<\/p>\n<p>&lt;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.theamericanconservative.com\/articles\/did-sessions-do-anything-wrong\/\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.theamericanconservative.com\/articles\/did-sessions-do-anything-wrong\/<\/a>&gt;<\/p>\n<p>&#8212;&#8211;<\/p>\n<p>As I believe the entire narrative seeking to portray the Trump victory as some kind of Manchurian-candidate scheme concocted by the Kremlin is complete nonsense, I tend to believe Sessions was answering honestly, after interpreting the question in a certain fashion. His spokesman has described the exchange as: \u201cHe was asked during the hearing about communications between Russia and the Trump campaign\u2014not about meetings he took as a senator and a member of the Armed Services Committee.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>. . .<\/p>\n<p>What is particularly disturbing about the attack on Sessions is the hypocrisy evidenced by congressmen like Charles Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, who are demanding that the attorney general resign because they claim he committed perjury. Answering questions in such a way as to avoid saying too much is a fine art in Washington \u2014 a skill that both Schumer and Pelosi have themselves also developed \u2014 but it does not amount to perjury. Sessions\u2019s answer to Franken is not completely clear, but it is not an out-and-out lie. In that respect the attack on Sessions is like the attack on Flynn, basically a way of getting at and weakening President Donald Trump by opportunistically discrediting his high-level appointments.<\/p>\n<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;<\/p>\n<p>Roland Dobbins<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>I fear the media doesn\u2019t know the territory.<\/p>\n <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26270 noborder\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/bubbles.gif\" alt=\"bubbles\" width=\"240\" height=\"8\" style:\"border='0';box-shadow:none;\"  \/><\/p> \n<blockquote>\n<p>California Releases Cellphone Radiation Exposure Fact Sheet Draft &lt; CBS San Francisco<\/p>\n<p>Jerry<\/p>\n<p>Thought you might find this interesting:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com\/2017\/03\/02\/cellphone-radiation-exposure-fact-sheet-draft-released-by-california-health-officials\/\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com\/2017\/03\/02\/cellphone-radiation-exposure-fact-sheet-draft-released-by-california-health-officials\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Ed<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>And your conclusion, Doctor, is?<\/p>\n <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26270 noborder\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/bubbles.gif\" alt=\"bubbles\" width=\"240\" height=\"8\" style:\"border='0';box-shadow:none;\"  \/><\/p> \n<blockquote>\n<p>I can&#8217;t stop laughing<\/p>\n<p>I went through my Twitter feed this morning and I saw a tweet that still makes me laugh. I didn&#8217;t click on the article yet because I want to savor it. The headline says, &#8220;Vietnam Veteran Given Cease and Desist Letter by Senators Office and Ordered not to Contact&#8221;!<\/p>\n<p>HAHAHHAHAHAHA<\/p>\n<p>Only a motivated veteran and his mouth could strike such fear into the heart of a coward! Never in my life have I see a US citizen issued a cease and desist letter, ordering him to stand down from exercising his &#8212; if I&#8217;m not mistaken &#8212; Constitutionally protected right to petition his government for redress of grievances through the system of representative democracy by contacting his elected representatives in the bicameral legislature we call &#8220;Congress&#8221;, which so far as I can tell is meant to be an antonym of &#8220;progress&#8221;. And with the way our &#8220;Congress&#8221; operates, perhaps we can be grateful the Forefathers did not bless us with a &#8220;Progress&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>In any case,I just can&#8217;t bring myself to click this article yet because I want to spend the rest of the day imagining the horrible and vicious things this man must have said to get a cease and desist letter from a Senator&#8217;s office. I just can&#8217;t stop laughing.<\/p>\n<p>\u25ca \u25ca \u25ca \u25ca \u25ca<\/p>\n<p>Most Respectfully,<\/p>\n<p>Joshua Jordan, KSC<\/p>\n<p>Percussa Resurgo<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>I haven\u2019t looked either. Let me know.<\/p>\n <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26270 noborder\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/bubbles.gif\" alt=\"bubbles\" width=\"240\" height=\"8\" style:\"border='0';box-shadow:none;\"  \/><\/p> \n<blockquote>\n<p>NEW in Q-MAG.org: huge spike in earth magnetic field recorded in 8th cent. B.C.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.q-mag.org\/\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.q-mag.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>More than 2,500 years ago in the ancient Near East, the Earth&#8217;s geomagnetic field was going gangbusters. During the late eighth century B.C., a new study finds, the magnetic field that surrounds the planet was temporarily 2.5 times stronger than it is today&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.q-mag.org\/\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.q-mag.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Albert de Grazia<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>I\u2019d appreciate comment on this; I\u2019m low on time.<\/p>\n <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26270 noborder\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/bubbles.gif\" alt=\"bubbles\" width=\"240\" height=\"8\" style:\"border='0';box-shadow:none;\"  \/><\/p> \n<blockquote>\n<p>The Rise of the Machines<\/p>\n<p>Jerry,<\/p>\n<p>Harvesting coconuts is a dangerous and labor intensive process.&nbsp; Now there is a robot to do this job:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.atlasobscura.com\/articles\/students-have-built-a-coconutharvesting-robot\" class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.atlasobscura.com\/articles\/students-have-built-a-coconutharvesting-robot<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Best,<\/p>\n<p>Rodger<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>But think of all the jobs lost!<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26270 noborder\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/bubbles.gif\" alt=\"bubbles\" width=\"240\" height=\"8\" style:\"border='0';box-shadow:none;\"  \/><\/p> <\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26270 noborder\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/bubbles.gif\" alt=\"bubbles\" width=\"240\" height=\"8\" style:\"border='0';box-shadow:none;\"  \/><\/p> <\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">Freedom is not free. Free men are not equal. Equal men are not free.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26270 noborder\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/bubbles.gif\" alt=\"bubbles\" width=\"240\" height=\"8\" style:\"border='0';box-shadow:none;\"  \/><\/p> <\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26270 noborder\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/bubbles.gif\" alt=\"bubbles\" width=\"240\" height=\"8\" style:\"border='0';box-shadow:none;\"  \/><\/p> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Monday, March 6, 2017 We are a nation of assimilated immigrants. Immigration without assimilation is invasion. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. George Santayana The cold I thought I was well on the way to recovery from has continued. No drastic symptoms, but a dread \u2026 <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/who-tapped-the-trump-tower-phones-and-other-matters-short-shrift-as-i-linger-in-recovery\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-view"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28357\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jerrypournelle.com\/chaosmanor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}