Does the FBI leak things like Trump being investigated for being a Russian asset so the public can

[Quixote1818]

digest it and come to terms with it over time and be ready for the news once it breaks? If they flat out broke it out of nowhere, seems like it could be a shock to the public and hard for many to believe. Not hard for me to believe but for someone not so tuned into how fucking corrupt he is.

Someone must understand why it is done this way?

[benld74]

1. Mueller allowed leak to prepare the way

[klook]

26. I don't think so.

Mueller is known for running the tightest ship in the business. I wouldn’t count on any leaks coming from his team.

[Renew Deal]

32. Could be someone that received a $0.00 check on Friday.

By I don’t think the OP is far off.

[sharedvalues]

33. Yes. This seems like an FBI/DOJ leak

McCabe or Ohr or a dozen other DOJ/FBI officials could have told the NYT this.
Probably not Mueller.


Mueller will however use the drip drip strategy with indictments as he has so far.

[mucifer]

2. this is so freaking scary. It just feels normalized when I hear it on the news if it's not

msnbc or cnn.

[WeekiWater]

3. If they know that.

It would be unacceptable for them to not go public immediately. Complicit is another word.

[marylandblue]

7. It's classified info and the subject of a sensitive investigation

So they can't just put it all out there. And it's complicated. Mueller has been carefully gathering all the evidence for the big reveal when the conclusion will be unescapable.

[WeekiWater]

13. They would have to act immediately if they had proof.

The classification is insignificant. To allow him to continue making decisions that impact the US and other countries, while knowing he is a foreign asset, is unacceptable. So many things we know over the last couple of decades are wrought with classified information we don’t get to see, yet we still know thae narratives. Information being classified isn’t a reason to allow the President to continue operating if he is a direct Russian asset.

Large amounts of information connecting to 9/11 is classified, yet we get what happened.

[marylandblue]

16. It's reason not to blow a sensitive investigation and spend the rest of your life in jail

They put Mueller in charge of this and he has clearly decided that nothing will be revealed until he has all his ducks in a row, then he will probably take everyone down at one time.

[WeekiWater]

20. He would act if he had proof that Trump is a direct asset.

I see no way he couldn’t. Mueller would be every bit of the problem if he was holding proof that Trump is a direct Russian asset. You don’t wait on something like that.

[marylandblue]

27. Our system doesn't have a better way of handling this.

Look at what happened to McCabe and Strzok. They became subjects of investigation and targets for right wing propaganda. Mueller has been the subject of attacks himself, but he is so by the book, they have had not worked. The book says that grand jury investigations are secret, you gather all the facts before coming to a conclusion, and only when have all the facts do you indict or report. A single mistake could jeopardize the whole thing.

[Hoyt]

29. I agree. You can't sit on hard evidence like that, even if you have to leak

it to an influential Democrat or media to get it out.

Truthfully, there’s enough evidence that a preliminary report should have been issued by before the midterms.

[bgramer]

21. Mueller taking aim

Have you heard the expression “if you take aim at the king, you best not miss”...?

Mueller is making sure he doesn’t miss!

[triron]

23. Sounds reasonable to me.

[Quixote1818]

24. It takes some serious guts to aim at the king. nt

[WeekiWater]

25. The narrative here is that there is proof.

That is much different than connecting dots and tidying everything up.

I believe Mueller is going to uncover just about everything in all of this. I also believe he wouldn’t be sitting on proof that the President is a direct Russian asset. You don’t sit on something like that and leak stories so the public will be a bit less shocked.

[peggysue2]

30. Bingo!

That and the network is large, complicated. Taking time to create the narrative that the public can absorb while providing evidence that is linked six ways to Sunday.

But making absolutely sure you have the kill shot is #1, critical, the 'if you take aim at the king (or kingpins), you dare not miss' rule.

Because there will be no do-overs.

[luvallpeeps]

34. Maybe he has to make it crystal clear, and can't just yet.

Since we don't know all the facts, and probably never will, we have to assume they're doing things a certain way in order to either catch the most criminals, or prevent the most damage? What's the difference between being a direct asset as opposed to just being blackmailed? Is it the same?

[Ellipsis]

4. ...

[Quixote1818]

18. It's been a long time since I saw that movie

Wasn't the entire thing a dream sequence of the blond girl wishing she could be the famous one? So the cowboy was part of her dream. One might interpret her visions as seeing Hollywood directors as having a narrow vision of who has talent and who doesn't and not seeing how talented she is. And so the cowboy was basically her made up guardian of her own reality?

Again, it has been so long I really can't remember enough about it.

[marylandblue]

5. I think they are trying to tell House Democrats what to look for. nt

[Freethinker65]

6. They want him to resign so the country can heal and not be torn apart.

Our entire system of government has already been damaged.

Thing is, Trump does not care if he destroys the country. He never cared about it or anyone but himself.

[elleng]

8. Schmitt (NYT) said they'd been working on the article for a long time,

over a year as I recall; heard last night on MSNBC. This wasn't a simple FBI 'leak.'

[brush]

12. Not one simple leak, but a series of leaks and disclosures from more than just the FBI.

[blogslut]

40. Also, didn't he say that when they originally came across this information...

the FBI told them to wait before publishing it?

I believe I heard that. I could be wrong.

[elleng]

42. Mebbe; I don't recall, but sounds reasonable.

[Taraman]

9. This is my sense of things, as well

Over the next 6-8 weeks, there will be news drops. The fact that a U.S. President has been working with a foreign adversary, one that put him in power, will be very, very shocking.

I'm shocked, and appalled.

I'm also 50/50 on whether Trump and his Family will be indicted, contrary to DOJ rules.

[luvallpeeps]

35. I have noticed the pundits discussing those rules more of late.

The ones regarding the President being protected from being indicted. Since the Ds took the house anyway.

[dflprincess]

10. The only people that might be shocked

Are the Trump cult. And judging from their reaction to the current revelation all they will do is put their fingers in their ears and yell "Fake news '.

[luvallpeeps]

36. if they voted for him after that campaign, then they're either

mean-spirited, scared fox watching bigots, or just morons. They may be unsalvageable. A wall? Seriously? I still can't get my head around this whole thing.

[TheBlackAdder]

11. I took a US Intel course and leaks are performed as a last resort, when all normal safeguards fail.

[Ellipsis]

15. I think the question is who makes those decisions.

Who's coordinating it?

[TheBlackAdder]

17. There are multiple levels of command and checks in place, if they fail any one could leak if needed.

[marylandblue]

19. I think we are not supposed to know that.

[Ellipsis]

22. It's spooky.

[KCDebbie]

14. I think the FBI leaked this story so Trump knows that every breath he's taken, every move he's made,

every smile he's faked, the FBI has been watching his Orange ass...

[klook]

28. Heh - nobody escapes The Police! (nt)

[Pluvious]

43. They'll catch him in a sting operation (nt)

[klook]

44. .

[luvallpeeps]

31. We'll probably never know

But this is a clusterfuck of epic proportions, and we've lived through some epics. This is unprecedented, and I've really felt like we've been shanked ever since trumplethinskin invited the Turk, Russian and who knows who else into the oval office without informing our press. (we found out from RT) How many confound clues do we need fer fucks sake? The ones that haven't got it by now ain't ever gonna get it. Fuck em

[Lock him up.]

37. It's for the House to set up a bi-partisan committee

which it has done today to inquire the whole thing.

Another brick in the wall... around the betrayer$.

[RandySF]

38. The NY office leaked ani-Hillary stuff throughout the 2016 campaign.

[uponit7771]

46. +1, This should of been investigated and people publicly fired and embarrassed

[AlexSFCA]

39. Comey admitted he leaks so no doubt there are other leakers

lile there were in watergate. The public is well prepared for this news except the base of course.

[uponit7771]

45. +1

[mopinko]

41. perhaps it is in reaction to the shutdown.

getting to where it is a real danger to the republic.

[Talitha]

47. Maybe something was mentioned in the grand jury investigations?

IIRC, the jurors are sworn to secrecy - but the witnesses can speak freely.
Just a thought....