Hero: Mike Rogers
Heroes and Knaves
It's appropriate this Memorial Day weekend to salute the retiring NSA director, Admiral Mike Rogers, for courageously standing up against the Obama Administration and the intelligence apparatus, risking all to blow the whistle on the illegal sharing of FISA information on the part of those working to aid Hillary and defeat Trump. A full timeline of his actions is detailed here:
November 2015-April 2016 -; The FBI and DOJ's National Security Division (NSD) uses private contractors to access raw FISA information using "To" and "From" FISA- 702(16) & "About" FISA-702(17) queries.
March 2016 - NSA Director Rogers becomes aware of improper access to raw FISA data.
April 2016 - Rogers orders the NSA compliance officer to run a full audit on 702 NSA compliance.
April 18 2016 - Rogers shuts down FBI/NSD contractor access to the FISA Search System.
April-September 2016 - Rogers continues his investigation.
September 26 2016 - DOJ's NSD Head John Carlin files the Government's proposed 2016 Section 702 certifications. The filing does not disclose the FISA Abuses. Carlin is aware of Rogers' compliance review. The 2016 certifications are scheduled for Court approval on October 26, 2016.
September 27 2016 - Carlin announces he is resigning. Mary McCord will later assume his position.
October 15, 2016 - Carlin formally leaves the NSD.
Mid-October 2016 - DNI Clapper submits a recommendation to the White House that Director Rogers be removed from the NSA. Clapper's effort fails.
October 20 2016 - Rogers is briefed by the NSA compliance officer on the Section 702 NSA compliance audit and "About" query violations.
October 21 2016 - Rogers shuts down all "About Query" activity. Rogers reports the activity to DOJ and prepares to go before the FISA Court.
October 21 2016 - DOJ & FBI seek and receive a Title I FISA probable cause order authorizing electronic surveillance on Carter Page from the FISC. At this point, the FISA Court is unaware of the Section 702 violations.
October 24 2016 - Rogers verbally informs the FISA Court of Section 702(17) violations.
October 26 2016 - Rogers formally informs the FISA Court of 702(17) violations in writing.
October 26, 2016 - The FISA Court refuses to formalize the 2016 Section 702 certifications. A complete overhaul of Section 702 processes ensues.
November 17 2016 (morning) - Rogers travels to meet President-Elect Trump and his Transition Team in Trump Tower. Rogers does not inform DNI James Clapper.
November 17 2016 (evening) - Trump Transition Team announces they are moving all transition activity to Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey.
The author, Jeff Carlson, is quite obviously correct in his conclusions: "we will never understand what Rogers did for our country," and we would never have known of the spying and FISA violations without him as the intelligence community was caught unaware by the upset presidential race and was working hard to cover up its illegal conduct. |