A Curious Case of Counterintelligence – Bill Priestap…
In the past few weeks, thanks to some revealing information amid the various investigators of the DC swamp, we have been introduced to some previously unknown people.
Names like FBI Agent Peter Strzok; his mistress FBI Attorney Lisa Page; their ideological comrade Asst FBI Director Andrew McCabe; along with DOJ Deputy Bruce Ohr; and his wife, Fusion-GPS contract employee Nellie Ohr. These are a few of the recent names that have hit the headlines as a result of ongoing investigations into the politicization of the FBI and DOJ.
But there’s one name conspicuously absent, FBI Director of Counterintelligence, Bill Priestap.
When you understand how central Bill Priestap is to the entire 2016/2017 ‘Russian Conspiracy Operation‘, the absence of his name, amid all others, creates a curiosity. I wrote a twitter thread about him recently because it seems rather unfathomable his name has not been a part of any of the recent story-lines.
Bill Priestap is the head of the FBI Counterintelligence operation. He was FBI Agent Peter Strozk’s direct boss. If anyone in congress really wanted to know if the FBI paid for the Christopher Steele Dossier, Bill Priestap is the guy who would know.
Helpful IG Releases:
♦Release #1 was the Agent Strzok and Attorney Lisa Page story; and the repercussions from discovering their politically motivated bias in the 2015/2016 Clinton email investigation and 2016/2017 Russian Election investigation.
♦Release #2 outlined the depth of FBI Agent Strzok and FBI Attorney Page’s specific history in the 2016 investigation into Hillary Clinton to include the changing of the wording [“grossly negligent” to “extremely careless”] of the probe outcome delivered by FBI Director James Comey.
♦Release #3 was the information about DOJ Deputy Bruce Ohr being in contact with Fusion GPS at the same time as the FISA application was submitted and granted by the FISA court; which authorized surveillance and wiretapping of candidate Donald Trump; that release also attached Bruce Ohr and Agent Strzok directly to the Steele Dossier.
♦Release #4 was information that Deputy Bruce Ohr’s wife, Nellie Ohr, was an actual contract employee of Fusion GPS, and was hired by F-GPS specifically to work on opposition research against candidate Donald Trump. Both Bruce Ohr and Nellie Ohr are attached to the origin of the Christopher Steele Russian Dossier.
♦Release #5 was the specific communication between FBI Agent Strzok and FBI Attorney Page. The 10,000 text messages that included evidence of them both meeting with Asst. FBI Director Andrew McCabe to discuss the “insurance policy”against candidate Donald Trump in August of 2016.
In April 2016 Hillary Clinton paid Glenn Simpson with Fusion-GPS to dig up dirt on Donald Trump.
In May 2016 Fusion GPS hired Nellie Ohr, wife of DOJ Deputy Bruce Ohr, to lead the opposition research effort. That same month, Fusion GPS contracted with retired British MI6 Agent Christopher Steele to write the ‘Trump Russia Dossier’.
In late June 2016 the first draft of the Steele Dossier was shared back with Fusion GPS and presumably Nellie Ohr was one of the recipients. According to Robby Mook, the partial dossier information was also given to the DNC and Clinton Campaign.
In July 2016 candidate Donald Trump won the GOP nomination. That same month the FBI Counterintelligence Division began an investigation they later described as a counterintelligence operation looking at Russian interference in the U.S. election. However, from 10 months of researched documentation, much of it in the MSM, we now know it was an FBI counterintelligence operation against candidate Donald Trump.
Also in July 2016, immediately following candidate Donald Trump’s successful bid to win the GOP nomination, a FISA application was denied. The timing here is far too coincidental (the later narrower version clearly evidences), the FISA application was to wiretap, monitor and conduct surveillance on candidate Trump and his campaign.
In August 2016, the lead FBI Agent in charge of that counterintelligence operation, Peter Strzok told his FBI Attorney and mistress: “I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office that there’s no way he gets elected – but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk. It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.”
The “insurance policy” appears to be the ongoing counterintelligence operation that later utilized the Steele Dossier to get the FISA warrant and actually begin the wiretaps and surveillance. The conversation referenced between Strzok and Page took place in FBI Assistant Director Andrew “Andy” McCabe’s office.
All of this information is really just a recap. Everyone now sees this construct clearly. The Timelines are brutally obvious. Congress and DC investigators, including the years-long OIG investigation, are currently in the phase of nailing down the players and putting the final touches on the evidence. The outline is clear as day.
However, within this brutally obvious outline there’s a name missing. That name is the FBI Director of Counterintelligence Bill Priestap:
FBI Asst. Director in charge of Counterintelligence Bill Priestap was the immediate supervisor of FBI Counterintelligence Deputy Peter Strzok.
Bill Priestap is #1. Before getting demoted Peter Strzok was #2.
The investigation into candidate Donald Trump was a counterintelligence operation. That operation began in July 2016. Bill Priestap would have been in charge of that, along with all other, FBI counterintelligence operations.
FBI Deputy Peter Strzok was specifically in charge of the Trump counterintel op. However, Strzok would be reporting to Bill Priestap on every detail and couldn’t (according to structure anyway) make a move without Priestap approval.
On March 20th 2017 congressional testimony, James Comey was asked why the FBI Director did not inform congressional oversight about the counterintelligence operation that began in July 2016.
FBI Director Comey said he did not tell congressional oversight he was investigating presidential candidate Donald Trump because the Director of Counterintelligence suggested he not do so. *Very important detail.*
I cannot emphasize this enough. *VERY* important detail. Again, notice how Comey doesn’t use Priestap’s actual name, but refers to his position and title. Again, watch [Prompted]
FBI Director James Comey was caught entirely off guard by that first three minutes of that questioning. He simply didn’t anticipate it.
Oversight protocol requires the FBI Director to tell the congressional intelligence “Gang of Eight” of any counterintelligence operations. The Go8 has oversight into these ops at the highest level of classification. In July 2016 the time the operation began, oversight was the responsibility of this group, the Gang of Eight:
Obviously, based on what we have learned since March 2017, and what has surfaced recently, we can all see why the FBI would want to keep it hidden that they were running a counterintelligence operation against a presidential candidate. After all, as FBI Agent Peter Strzok said it in his text messages, it was an “insurance policy”.
REMINDER – FBI Agent Strzok to FBI Attorney Page:
“I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office that there’s no way he gets elected – but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk. It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.”
So there we have FBI Director James Comey telling congress on March 20th that the reason he didn’t inform the statutory oversight “Gang of Eight” was because Bill Priestap (Director of Counterintelligence) recommended he didn’t do it.
Apparently, according to Comey, Bill Priestap carries a great deal of influence if he could get his boss to NOT perform a statutory obligation simply by recommending he doesn’t do it.
Than again, Comey’s blame-casting there is really called creating a “fall guy”. FBI Director James Comey is ducking responsibility in March 2017 by blaming FBI Director of Counterintelligence Bill Priestap for not informing congress of the operation that began in July 2016. (9 months prior).
At that moment, that very specific moment during that March 20th hearing, anyone who watches these hearings closely could see Comey was creating his own exit from getting ensnared in the consequences from the wiretapping and surveillance operation of President Donald Trump. In essence, Bill Priestap is James Comey’s shield from liability.
But more curiously for current discussion, there has been NO MENTION of Bill Priestap in any of the recent revelations, despite his centrality to all of it.
Bill Priestap would have needed to authorize Peter Strzok to engage with Christopher Steele over the “Russian Dosssier”.
Bill Priestap would have needed to approve of the underlying documents that were used for both FISA applications (June/July and Sept/Oct).
Bill Priestap would be the person to approve of paying, or reimbursing, Christopher Steele for the Russian Dossier used in their counterintelligence operation and subsequent FISA application.
Without Bill Priestap involved, approvals, etc. the entire Russian/Trump Counterintelligence operation just doesn’t happen. Heck, James Comey’s March testimony in that regard is also evidence of Priestap’s importance.
In addition, when Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates testified (with James Clapper), she too spoke of the importance of Bill Priestap as her liaison and contact within the FBI on the counterintelligence operation. [Yates never mentioned Peter Strzok – not once.] Even though it was FBI agent Peter Strzok who interviewed Michael Flynn on January 24th, [link] Sally Yates never mentioned him. EVER.
However Deputy AG Sally Yates did talk about Bill Priestap during her testimony.
Yates testified she and Bill Priestap traveled together, Jan 26th, to the White House to inform Don McGhan (WH Counsel) of Michael Flynn “misleading statements” (based on Pence media reports and Flynn prior ambush interview Jan 24th).
According to Sally Yates testimony, she and Bill Priestap reportedly presented all the information to White House General Counsel Don McGahn “so the White House could take action that they deemed appropriate.”
So we all can see that Bill Priestap is a central figure. FBI Director James Comey defers to him; Acting Attorney General Sally Yates relied on him; FBI Special Agent in Counterintelligence Peter Strzok reports to him; Yet there’s absolutely no mention of Bill Priestap in any of the explosive investigative story-lines in the past two weeks.
Why?
Bill Priestap is the FBI Director of Counterintelligence. There’s no way he hasn’t been caught inside the investigative net.
Bill Priestap’s boss, Andrew McCabe has been caught. Bill Priestap’s subordinate, Peter Strzok, has most certainly been caught. And in March 20th 2017 FBI Director Comey pushed Priestap directly in front of the congressional oversight bus.
My hunch is either Bill Priestap is going to be the attempted fall-guy for the entire scheme. -OR- Bill Priestap saw the bus coming and is assisting the swamp-draining DC investigators:
On the home-front: FBI Director of Counterintelligence Bill Priestap is married to Sabina Menshell a self-employed “consultant” with a history of donations to Democrat candidates, specifically to Hillary Clinton.
Bill’s wife Sabina comes from a Goldman Sach’s connected family, which must be why Bill and Sabina can afford to live in a $3.2 million home in Washington DC.
Would be a little difficult to afford a $3,000,000.00 mortgage on a G-Man’s payroll.
Just sayin’…
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