The document said all the requests were made by people authorized to do so, and were handled properly. Johnson, R-Wis., and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, had requested the Trump administration declassify Rice's entire email late Monday. All rights reserved.
The document noted Yates learned about the calls during that meeting.
special counsel investigation led by Robert Mueller.
Then on Monday, Attorney General Bill Barr weighed in, saying he did not expect U.S. Attorney John Durham's review into the origins of the Russia probe to lead to a "criminal investigation" of either Obama or Biden. Before we get into the actual meat of the letter, let's remember some key context. “And we cannot allow this process to be hijacked by efforts to drum up criminal investigations of either candidate.”. Market data provided by Factset.
Rice wrote that Obama said, "he wants to be sure that, as we engage with the incoming team, we are mindful to ascertain if there is any reason that we cannot share information fully as it relates to Russia.".
But her descriptions of the Oval Office meeting are consistent with congressional testimony from Yates and Comey, who were there, and others who were briefed about it afterward. There was ample evidence at the time, and even more now, to suggest that caution as to what Flynn was told was the right approach. Rice notes that the meeting came on the heels of an intelligence community briefing "on Russian hacking in the 2016 election."
Comey said that he would.”, “The president stressed that he is not asking about, initiating or instructing anything from a law enforcement perspective.”. Ambassador Rice did not alter the way she briefed Michael Flynn on Russia as a result of Director Comey’s response.". To translate: Obama wanted his top aides to be mindful of the fact that there was at least the possibility that someone (or someones) within the incoming Trump campaign had been compromised by the Russians when preparing and briefing the incoming administration on the geopolitical landscape. “We live in a very divided country right now, and I think that it is critical that we have an election where the American people are allowed to make a decision, a choice, between President Trump and Vice President Biden based on a robust debate of policy issues,” Barr said in a press call on an unrelated topic. “From a national security perspective, Comey said he does have some concerns that incoming NSA Flynn is speaking frequently with Russian Ambassador Kislyak. It says that then-FBI Director James Comey worried about sharing classified information with the Trump team because of incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn’s frequent conversations with the Russian ambassador but that Comey had no knowledge of Flynn sharing classified information with the envoy. And Attorney General Bill Barr said he didn’t expect Durham’s probe to result in criminal charges against Obama or Biden. The note from Susan Rice was declassified by Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell and transmitted to the Justice Department. Trump and his allies, meanwhile, pointed to the document as evidence to claim the Obama administration illegally spied on his campaign. (The. Senate Intelligence Committee probe reached the same conclusions. Barr stressed that "Not every abuse of power, no matter how outrageous, is necessarily a federal crime. It's not at all clear to me why any reasonable person would see any part of this Rice email as evidence of anything other than the Obama administration seeking to protect national security interests at an extremely touchy time between an election and an inauguration. Rather than revealing some sort of rogue, extralegal spying by Obama and his top advisers, it shows a president going out of his way to ensure that all laws and rules are followed -- while also acknowledging that Flynn's dealing with the Russians meant that everyone involved needed to proceed very carefully. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Rice said it shows the Obama administration handled the Flynn situation appropriately. The email, most of which was already declassified, describes a Jan. 5, 2017, Oval Office meeting that followed up on an intelligence briefing about Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeSingman. On the day of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, outgoing national security adviser Susan Rice sent herself an email that has since drawn intense scrutiny from … He later sought to withdraw that plea. “He reiterated that our law enforcement team needs to proceed as it normally would by the book.”. (Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that former Obama National Security Advisor and U.S. READ: DECLASSIFIED SUSAN RICE EMAIL ABOUT JAN. 5, 2017 OVAL OFFICE MEETING WITH OBAMA. Comey did not talk about prosecution in the meeting.".
Fox News obtained a copy Tuesday from GOP Sen. Ron Johnson's office, which had sought access to the document. He added that he has no indication thus far that Flynn has passed classified information to Kislyak, but he noted that 'the level of communication is unusual.'". 'Red flag' goes up on Susan Rice's 'after the fact' memo: Lewis, Washington's Ron Rivera wants the next president to address this one thing, Biden on edge of 270 as Trump claims victory in Pennsylvania, other states before race calls, Celebs push 'every vote counts' message; meaning of 'true democracy', John Leguizamo bashes Florida 'lemmings' after the state was called for Donald Trump in the 2020 election. President Obama asked if Comey was saying that the NSC should not pass sensitive information related to Russia to Flynn. Because he had just received a briefing from the intelligence community in which he was told that the Russians had worked to interfere in our election to help Trump and hurt Clinton! The mention of that Oval Office meeting aligned with Rice’s email describing the Jan. 5, 2017 meeting. "President Obama began the conversation by stressing his continued commitment to ensuring that every aspect of this issue is handled by the intelligence and law enforcement communities 'by the book,'" Rice emailed to herself. This was where the original version of the email was redacted -- containing information about Comey's response. Legal Statement. ", DOJ'S FLYNN FILINGS RENEW FOCUS ON SUSAN RICE MYSTERIOUS INAUGURATION DAY EMAIL TO SELF. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Comey said that could be an issue as it relates to sharing sensitive information. "Furthermore, the email makes clear that the Obama administration did not change the way it briefed Michael Flynn — but rather that President Obama asked Director Comey 'to inform him if anything changes in the next few weeks that should affect how we share classified information with the incoming team,'" the spokesperson continued in a statement. The email describes a Jan. 5, 2017, Oval Office meeting about Michael Flynn and Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Russia probe files released as part of the Justice Department's move to drop its case against Flynn brought renewed focus on Rice's email in recent weeks. In her response this week to the Republicans' allegations, Rice has not explained … You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Rice continued: "From a national security perspective, Comey said he does have some concerns that incoming NSA Flynn is speaking frequently with Russian Ambassador [Sergey] Kislyak. Ongoing spying from an outgoing POTUS on the incoming POTUS—directed by Obama himself—is unprecedented in the 243 years of our nation's history,". 'Red flag' goes up on Susan Rice's 'after the fact' memo: Lewis. Republicans have zeroed in on the Rice email amid heightened questions over the handling of the Russia probe and top-level awareness inside the Obama administration. In each episode of his weekly YouTube show, Chris Cillizza will delve a little deeper into the surreal world of politics. The newly declassified portion describes Comey’s response. “JOE BIDEN IS GUILTY,” read the subject line of a recent Trump campaign fundraising email. To which the rest of the world channels John McEnroe and … Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, admitted in written responses given under oath that she emailed with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Clinton’s non-government email account and that she received emails related to government business on her own personal email …
There's just one problem here: Rice's email proves nothing of the sort. Graham balked, voicing concerns about the implications of such a spectacle. “Our concern over potential criminality is focused on others,” he added. President Obama asked if Comey was saying that the NSC should not pass sensitive information related to Russia to Flynn.
An exhibit in the DOJ's motion to dismiss the Flynn case earlier this month detailed a special counsel interview of former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates.
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