'Russiagate'

Hot on the heels of the publication of the GOP memorandum (discussed by me here) has come another potentially even more extraordinary development in the Russiagate scandal.
This is the publication of a massively redacted version of the referral sent by Senators Grassley and Lindsey Graham to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein requesting that the Justice Department consider whether a criminal prosecution of Christopher Steele, the compiler of the Trump Dossier, should be brought.

When I read the GOP memorandum late yesterday a few hours after it was published it became immediately obvious to me why the Democrats, the Justice Department and the FBI had so strenuously resisted publishing it.

Mr. Kortunov’s Case For Russia’s “Deep State” / Democrat Partnership

Mr. Andrey Kortunov is one of the most brilliant minds in Russia and earned his place as the Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), and his words accordingly carry much weight for the fact that they set the tone for countless other analysts in the country and even an untold number of policymakers who look to him for guidance.

As President Trump signals his intention to authorise publication of the GOP memorandum into alleged abuses by the FBI and the Justice Department, the atmosphere in Washington is turning hysterical.
As I predicted yesterday, the Justice Department and the FBI have been heavily lobbying President Trump to block publication of the GOP memorandum.  The FBI has even gone so far as to publish a statement saying that the GOP memorandum omits information and therefore contains material inaccuracies.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the point of crisis in the Russiagate scandal has now been reached, and that it centres on the four page memorandum prepared by Republican Congressional investigators after their examination of the Justice Department’s documents on the evidence provided during the 2016 election by Obama’s Justice Department to the FBI to undertake surveillance of members of Donald Trump’s campaign.
Publication of this memorandum has just been agreed by the House Intelligence Committee.

As the false narrative about the “Russia-gate” debacle winds down, the American president is coming to life about repairing the relationship with the Russian Federation.
President Trump was asked by a TASS reporter about whether or not he intends to build a dialogue with Russia. Trump’s response was simple and direct: “We hope so.”

Republicans in the U.S.

(Paul Craig Roberts) – In the 1970s neoconservative Irving Kristol aptly described the Republicans as “the stupid party.” We are seeing this today in the hesitation of the House Intelligence Committee to release to the American public the results of its investigation of Russiagate.

On Thursday a four-page memo detailing extensive FISA court abuse was made available to the entire House of Representatives Thursday.
The contents of the memo are so explosive, says Journalist Sara Carter, that it could lead to the removal of senior officials in the FBI and the Department of Justice and the end of Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation.

Axios reports, that former White House Chief strategist Steve Bannon made a conspicuous slip up during a closed-door testimony to Congress.