Comey never briefed Clapper.

[pnwmom]

Let the implications of that sink in.

https://twitter.com/SethAbramson


Seth Abramson?Verified account @SethAbramson 1h1 hour ago
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It's amazing that for all its pundits @CNN couldn't get _one_ person on-air who caught what social media did: _Comey never briefed Clapper_.

[SunSeeker]

1. Wow, thanks for pointing that out.

Well that explains Clapper's cluelessness. I got in an argument with someone here who insisted there was no way Capper didn't know what the FBI was doing, that there is no way he wouldn't know about a FISA warrant being issued in any investigation of the Trump campaign.

When Clapper had denied a FISA warrant was issued because he said he would have known about, I surmised that he was overstating things. I knew he was not the FBI's boss. The FBI had no obligation to tell him. And now we know the FBI in fact didn't tell him.

It is now clear Clapper, or anyone else, wouldn't even know if Trump himself was being investigated. Comey isn't talking.

[MelissaB]

2. Can somebody help me here?

OK. I'm having trouble keeping up. I know that Clapper was Director of National Intelligence, and I've reviewed his Wiki page for a refresher.

Why would he not have been briefed? Was it just obvious he couldn't be trusted? He would have told Trump of ongoing investigations? What other reasons could there be? Has anyone read an article about this or did I miss it completely?

[randome]

3. Well, the NSA is forbidden by law from spying on American citizens. Maybe Clapper was limited, too?

If Comey had a purely domestic law enforcement issue, I'm not sure Clapper would be apprised of that.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[MelissaB]

5. That would make sense.

Thanks!

[pnwmom]

6. Comey says he didn't brief anyone outside of the FBI, or in the quarterly reports,

because he thought the information was too sensitive to share.

He has only recently told Congress, saying that it is normal practice to share both with Congress and the executive branch at the same time, and he wanted to hold the information "tight" from the executive branch.

[MelissaB]

8. That's right!

I remember him saying that now. I guess I was worried there was something more sinister going on.

Thanks!

[pnwmom]

9. Still, it is telling that he didn't even trust other agency heads on this.

And with Clapper I don't blame him. Clapper seemed too eager to go to the media and be dismissive of this.

[Demsrule86]

4. Comey is a complete jerk and influenced our elections as much as Putin by not reporting that there

was an investigation...and trashing Hillary with bullshit emails...and he didn't even tell Clapper...What a shitshow.

[L. Coyote]

7. And Clappers words were carefully parsed, not blanket statements at all.

So, where does the buck stop? Comey couldn't risk word of the FISA warrant going up channel, indicating Trump is a target and the court therefore so ordered!!! Of course the boss of the gang is a suspect, d'oh.


Is Trump the Swiftboat Admiral?

Link to tweet

[Justice]

10. Wow.

I kept thinking Comey briefed gang of 12 in September on both the fact that Russia was interfering and fact FBI was investigating Trump/Russia ties.

But Comey said didn't tell anyone - not even WH, Congress or Clapper. Wow.

Then here is what makes no sense. Some surmised that Comey blurted out Weiner computer/possible new emails because he was afraid it would leak from FBI.

Yet, had no worries that Trump/Russia investigation would leak.

Why is that?

[denbot]

11. "Why is that?"..

I'm not trying to cover for Comey, but it's likely the cadre of FBI agents leaking info to Giuliani would have caught wind of anything that wasn't tightly compartmentalized.

[pnwmom]

12. The Washington DC FBI is a separate unit and doesn't work closely with the NY FBI that Giuliani

is tied up with.

He probably wasn't telling the NY FBI more than he had to, either.

And I wouldn't say he had "no worries that Trump/Russia infestation would leak." I'd say the opposite -- that his worries are why he has been playing this so close to the vest.