‘Rice was not briefed on the existence of any FBI investigation … and she later learned of the fact of this investigation from Director Comey’s subsequent public testimony…’
(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) A memo drafted by former national security adviser Susan Rice on her final day in office became the latest in a spate of declassifications revealing top Obama administration officials’ politically motivated abuse of power during their final months in office.
The memo has been widely referred to as Rice’s “CYA” memo—shorthand for “cover your ass” because it recounts a Jan. 5 meeting at the Oval Office during which then-FBI Director James Comey discussed with President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates the possibility of setting up Rice’s successor, incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn.
But far from offering her cover, the latest disclosures could potentially implicate Rice for having lied during a 2018 Congressional probe.
Much of the memo already had been made public, but a newly unredacted paragraph further outlined Comey’s alleged concerns about Flynn’s phone conversations with a Russian diplomat in late December 2016.
In it, Comey claimed he was proceeding “by the book”—although subsequent efforts to frame Flynn with a perjury trap would belie that claim. The paragraph also reveals that Obama considered withholding sensitive information about Russia from the incoming security adviser.
Following the new disclosure, CBS reporter Catherine Herrige and others sought to “triangulate” the records and note inconsistencies between the memo, media claims and congressional testimony from Comey, Rice and Yates.
#Flynn Triangulate records: Rice “by the book” email memorializes 1/5/2017 WH meeting but time stamp 1/20. Acting AG Yates tells FBI she first learned Flynn calls during same meeting. Comey transcript “..in the course of that conversation, the President mentioned this(redacted.) pic.twitter.com/jHoCl37irm
— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) May 19, 2020
Several in the conservative media noted that the declassified portion of the memo appeared to contradict a 2018 statement that Rice provided to Congress via her attorney, Kathryn Ruemmler.
In it, Rice claimed, “President Obama and his national security team were justifiably concerned about potential risks to the Nation’s security from sharing highly classified information about Russia.”
The statement also indicated that Rice “was not briefed on the existence of any FBI investigation into allegations of collusion between Mr. Trump’s associates and Russia, and she later learned of the fact of this investigation from Director Comey’s subsequent public testimony.”
Similar to a recent claim by Biden—now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee—during a Good Morning America interview with George Stephanopoulos, Rice’s denial has likewise proven to be an obvious lie. For Rice, in fact, it may be considered perjury.
Set-Up for a Scandal
Flynn, a three-star general, had been a top-level defense chief in Obama’s own administration prior to a falling out over policy disagreements.
That suggests that it was political differences rather than security concerns that drove the Jan. 5 discussion and Obama’s extraordinarily keen interest in the Flynn matter.
Despite Comey’s affirmation that he had “no indication thus far,” per Rice’s memo, that Flynn had given secrets to the Russians, the corrupt FBI director opined that “the level of communication is unusual.”
Flynn had reached out to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak shortly after Obama announced the expulsion of Russian diplomats amid accusations that the country had hacked the Democratic National Committee and interfered in the 2016 presidential election.
During the Jan. 5 meeting, Comey suggested charging Flynn under the antiquated Logan Act, a 1799 law that had never been used successfully to prosecute. But instead, a few days after President Donald Trump was inaugurated, Comey sent FBI agents—including notoriously biased counterintelligence deputy Peter Strzok—to interview Flynn at the White House.
They attempted to surprise him with questions about his Russian communications, despite the fact that several top Obama officials already had intercepted them and unmasked Flynn’s identity. The contents of the calls were later leaked, illegally, to the Washington Post.
Flynn told the agents he had no recollection of his discussion with Kislyak regarding sanctions. Although initial FBI reports indicated that he had been truthful, Strzok later solicited the help of his mistress, FBI attorney Lisa Page, to revise the documentation and indicate that Flynn had lied.
In the fallout, Flynn was forced to resign his White House post and later indicted for lying as part of the two-year Mueller investigation.
The Brewing Storm
Leftists have continued to downplay the Obamagate scandal and insist that the conduct was both justified and routine, despite clear evidence of abuse of power—a charge that largely parallels the circumstances of Trump’s recent impeachment at the hands of House Democrats—and possible perjury.
Some—including Rice—are now focusing on demands that the transcripts of Flynn’s calls with Kislyak—which already were leaked in the media—be made public.
My statement on behalf of @AmbassadorRice on the declassification of her Jan 20, 2017 email. pic.twitter.com/9fXQCeBjbV
— Erin Pelton (@erin_pelton) May 19, 2020
According to CBS, Attorney General William Barr said that the calls offered nothing to validate Comey’s assessment that they were “unusual.”
#Flynn Declassified Susan Rice January 2017 email: Comey said “level of communication (between Flynn and Russian Ambassador) is unusual.” Speaking exclusively @CBSNews earlier this month AG Barr said “nothing wrong“ with Flynn call, typical incoming NATSEC team WATCH pic.twitter.com/QlS7hAyfAm
— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) May 19, 2020
In the meantime, a partisan leftist judge has refused to accept Barr’s recent motion to dismiss the Flynn case.
But with Rice’s memo providing even more evidence of the conspiracy against Flynn, his attorney, Sidney Powell, filed an emergency petition to the appeals court seeking to dismiss Flynn’s case, vacate district judge Emmet Sullivan’s order and reassign it to a different judge.
#FLYNN team files emergency petition for Writ of Mandamus Court of Appeals. This further elevates and escalates the case. RELIEF SOUGHT: (1) grant DOJ Motion to Dismiss; (2) vacate Judge Sullivan’s order appointing amicus curiae (3) reassign to another district judge @CBSNews pic.twitter.com/yL270ldcXb
— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) May 19, 2020