Author: bill

by

Did The FBI Ask Google For Help Identifying #NikolausCruz?

It looks like the Nikolaus Cruz who left the Youtube comment last September has a Google ID. Since this person looks like they used their actual name, I cannot help but wonder if this person filled out their personal information, too. Maybe subconsciously this Nikolaus Cruz was hoping the FBI would find him before he succeeded in becoming a “professional school shooter”. Since we are second guessing the FBI actions, did the FBI ask Google for help identifying this user?

by

Oh, what a tangled web we weave…when first we practice to deceive. #CarterPage

I guess that Carter Page’s identity as an undercover FBI employee is the classified information that the Democrats are trying to hide from the #FisaMemo. Too bad that the NY Times revealed his secret identity in April of 2017.

by

Can we find out how many times the Trump dossier was used for a FISA warrant?

Jail CellAt about the same time the FISA warrant was authorized to surveil Carter Page, someone in the FBI or DOJ leaked information about a FISA warrant in connection with the investigation of Russian bank activity between the server in Trump Tower. Since the FBI reopened the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails just 11 days before the 2016 election, this leak looks like an “insurance policy” to protect the FBI’s reputation by making sure that Mr. Trump did not win the election.

by

Crispy Oven Baked Buffalo Wings

Crispy Oven Baked Buffalo WingsI was tempted to get Tyson’s pre-seasoned chicken wings for our Super Bowl meal but these crispy oven baked buffalo wings were so good and easy. Some times pre-seasoned wings have so much sauce that it makes it hard to enjoy the wings. I found a five pound bag of frozen, plain wings on sale this week. So I opted for a little bit more work. I used half of the bag, 13 wings, for two people. It took about an hour and a half to prepare using the recipe from RecipeTins Eats.

by

The Democrats Doth Protest Too Much, Methinks #NunesMemo

Democrats complained that the memo:

  1. Impacted national security
  2. Attacked the institutions of the Department of Justice and the FBI
  3. Destroyed the trust with intelligence agencies

I read the FISA memo and did not see where it impacted national security or attacked the Department of Justice and the FBI as institutions. Mr. Comey needs to look no farther than himself to find someone who leaked and destroyed trust with intelligence agencies. A broader condemnation can be made of the intelligence agencies for the numerous leaks made in October, November, and December of 2016. This is a period Mr. Comey was in charge of the FBI. Due to the information that was leaked, people in the DOJ and FBI involved with the investigation are the likely leakers. Although these leaks are serious issues, the abuses described in the memo are specific to certain individuals in the DOJ and FBI who intentionally misled the FISA court in October of 2016.

The Tyranny of Good Intentions

History reminds us that this is not the first time prosecutors have abused their postion for what they perceive is the common good. Here is a quote from a book published in 2000, The Tyranny of Good Intentions.

When a prosecutor is intent on a frame-up or the Justice Department on a cover-up, not even money and exposure can stop the process. In high-profile cases, clever prosecutors protect themselves by first convicting their victims in the media. With the public aroused against the victim, the prosecutor has a free hand.

by

Five Boneheaded Things I Hope The FBI Will Stop Doing #ReleaseTheMemo #NotGiveAWhitAboutPolitics #IfIOnlyKnew

Goddess Of Justice

I hope that releasing the memo will help the FBI and Department of Justice become the organizations that as Trey Gowdy said, “do not give a whit about politics“. To achieve that goal they have to stop doing boneheaded things. Borrowing from a Forbes article, 5 Boneheaded Ways Smart People Fail, here are some examples that might help them achieve that goal.

1. Several People In The FBI Thought They Were The Smartest Person In The Room.

Mr. Comey, Mr. McCabe, Mr. Stzrok, Mr. Ohr, and Ms. Page are all smart people but seem to be too self-absorbed to recognize how bad their actions look. As an example, Mr. Comey probably thinks he did the country a great favor by leaking information and forcing a special prosecutor to take over the investigation. While some people may approve of his actions, others will view his actions as those of a political hack using the FBI to crudely attack the President.  When you look at the actions of these four people, it is impossible to rationalize this investigation as one that does not give a whit about politics. As Travis Bradberry said in the Forbes article,

Your chance of failure is heightened when you don’t care to know what other people think.

2. The FBI Management Surrounded Themselves With Yes-men and Yes-women.

It is hard for me to imagine how Fusion GPS and the Trump dossier could have been so influential within the Department of Justice without Yes-men and Yes-women.

3. Several People In The FBI Viewed Themselves As Untouchable.

Mr. Comey and Mr. McCabe come across as people who thought they were untouchable. Mr. Comey must have thought he was pretty special after keeping his job despite antagonizing both political parties with his extra-legal actions. Then he was shocked when President Trump fired him. I am still amazed that Mr. McCabe did not recuse himself from the Clinton investigation. A lot of Clinton money went to his wife’s political campaign. As Travis said,

These unrealistic expectations made failure inevitable. Leaders must continually question their positions, especially when they’re on top.

4. Several People In The FBI couldn’t tell where they stopped and the FBI began.

The best example of this Mr. Strzok comments about an “insurance plan”. Just do your job!

5. Several People In The FBI drove past red flags and warning signs.

I think the Top Secret FISA Court Order document obtained by Judicial Watch on May 23, 2017, shows that the FISA Court was livid at the FBI. By April 18, 2016, the FBI they knew that their FISA-702 “Queries” irregularities had triggered a full Compliance Audit by the NSA. That should have been a warning sign not to mess with the FISA court. The idea that people were pushing the Trump dossier within the Department of Justice should have been a red flag. Did the FBI use it to get a FISA warrant despite its origin? As Travis said,

Some leaders are so enamored with their personal visions that they’re willing to drive the company off of a cliff in pursuit of them. Many of these leaders solicit input and suggestions, but they just can’t take their feet off the gas. Persistence is a great quality in a leader but not if it means ignoring the facts.

by

Was The DNC Hack Set Up By Crowdstrike?

I'm a security monitor, I only notify people if something bad happens

As an old IT guy, I keep wondering what Crowdstrike was doing during the DNC Hack? It looks like a Lifelock commercial. Here is the Crowdstrike timeline.

Crowdstrike Timeline

  1. In 2015 Crowdstrike knows that DNC information was transmitted to Russia.
  2. On April 29th, 2016, the DNC suspects they have been hacked.
  3. On May 4th, 2016, Crowdstrike installs “monitoring software”.
  4. On June 10th, 2016, Crowdstrike changes passwords at the DNC.

If Crowdstrike knew the DNC was hacked in 2015 and information was transmitted back to Russia, why did they install a security monitor in May 2016? Why did they wait until June to actually fix the problem? It looks like Crowdstrike set up the DNC network as a “bad” honeypot. Traditionally a honeypot consists of a network site that appears to be legitimate but is actually isolated, monitored, and contains non-vital data.  Crowdstrike used the real DNC network as the lure. If Fusion GPS and Crowdstrike are the private contractors who had unsupervised access to raw FISA information on FBI systems, they had to know what the Russians were doing. Were their actions negligent, stupid, or an attempt to divert the attention from the damaging Podesta emails that the Russians were boasting about? Since the Podesta emails were far more damaging to the Clinton campaign, it looks like Crowdstrike felt it was more important to attribute the hack on the Russians than to protect the DNC data.

DNC Hack Timeline

Date Incident
6/1/2015 CrowdStrike had stated in its reports that the DNC server was penetrated sometime in the summer of 2015
11/1/2015 The FBI alerted the DNC information was being transmitted back to Russia
12/15/2015 NGP VAN released a code update to their Votebuilder application that allowed Sanders team looks at Clinton data
3/1/2016 Super Tuesday
3/9/2016 DOJ finds private contractor has access to raw FISA information on FBI systems
3/19/2016 Podesta email hacked, emails released by Wikileaks in October 2016
4/18/2016 FBI discontinued allowing their sub-contracted agent access to the raw FISA information effective April 18th, 2016
4/19/2016 Large Increase in DNC emails appearing in Wikileaks
4/24/2016 Sanders: Democratic Party hasn’t been fair to me(id:5477)
4/26/2016 Clinton and Trump Have Commanding Delegate Leads
4/29/2016 DNC Suspects Hack
4/30/2016 Mr. Papadopoulos says that he had just learned from high-level Russian officials in Moscow that the Russians had “dirt” on Mrs. Clinton in the form of “thousands of emails,”
5/4/2016 Crowdstrike Installs Monitoring Software(Falcon)
5/5/2016 Marshall No Shit email(id:7643)
5/17/2016 Wasserman Schultz Damn Liar email(id:7643)
5/21/2016 Re: Sanders: If I’m elected, DNC leader would be out(id:9999)
5/21/2016 Last email on Seth Rich’s laptop
5/22/2016 Bernie Narrative(id:11056)
5/25/2016 Last DNC Hack email in Wikileaks
6/10/2016 Crowdstrike changes passwords at DNC
6/12/2016 Julian Assange announces on June 12, 2016, that he had DNC documents
6/14/2016 DNC HACK MADE PUBLIC(Washington Post)
6/15/2016 Crowdstrike Report
6/15/2016 GUCCIFER 2.0 DNC’S SERVERS HACKED BY A LONE HACKER
6/18/2016 NEW DOCS FROM DNC NETWORK: LOTS OF FINANCIAL REPORTS AND DONORS’ PERSONAL DATA
6/21/2016 DOSSIER ON HILLARY CLINTON FROM DNC
7/5/2016 Second Guccifer 2.0 Hack
7/5/2016 First Copy of NGP VAN file
7/6/2016 TRUMPOCALYPSE AND OTHER DNC PLANS FOR JULY
7/10/2016 Seth Rich Death
10/7/2016 Wikileaks posts Podesta emails
10/26/2016 Admiral Rogers informs the FISA Court of numerous unauthorized FISA-702(17) “About Query” violations.”)