Text From 2016 Shows Obama's Interest in FBI Employees' Work

[highplainsdem]

Source: WSJ

A text message between two FBI employees from September 2016 released by a Republican senator Wednesday says that then-President Barack Obama “wants to know everything we’re doing.”

What exactly the text refers to isn’t specified in the exchange. Associates of the FBI employees said it refers to preparation to brief Mr. Obama about Russian interference in that year’s election. Sen. Ron Johnson (R., Wis.), who released the text Wednesday as part of a 25-page report, said it raises questions about meddling by Mr. Obama in the federal Hillary Clinton email investigation, which wasn’t an active probe at that time.

-snip-

The associates of Mr. Strzok and Ms. Page said that exchange referred to the president’s wanting information on Russia election meddling, which the FBI was heavily involved in over that period. That exchange occurred just days before Mr. Obama met Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in China. Mr. Obama said in December 2016 that he had addressed the issue of tampering with the election process with Mr. Putin at that September meeting.

In August and September 2016, the FBI was no longer actively investigating the Clinton matter, after Mr. Comey had said that July that he was recommending no criminal charges be filed. In late October 2016, the FBI ramped up its investigation into Mrs. Clinton again when the bureau learned about a potential trove of new Clinton-related emails on the computer belonging to the husband of one of her aides. Mrs. Clinton and her allies have cited that announcement as a big factor in her election loss.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/texts-from-2016-show-fbi-employees-preparing-obama-briefing-on-russia-1518036629

---

The Wall Street Journal in effect shot down the conspiracy theory being peddled by Sen. Johnson and by Fox News today. Although they report on what Johnson is claiming, their story makes it pretty clear that what people at the FBI are saying about this is more credible.

[highplainsdem]

1. Media Matters on WSJ debunking the conspiracy theory

https://www.mediamatters.org/research/2018/02/07/wsj-debunks-murdoch-fueled-conspiracy-theory-fbi-texts-and-obama/219306

[riversedge]

7. Fox News spent the day pushing Sen. Ron Johnsons (R-WI) claim that a text message between FBI lawye

WSJ debunks Murdoch-fueled conspiracy theory on FBI texts and Obama

https://www.mediamatters.org/research/2018/02/07/wsj-debunks-murdoch-fueled-conspiracy-theory-fbi-texts-and-obama/219306

The conspiracy theory, which was debunked by WSJ and others, was heavily pushed by Fox News and other right-wing outlets
Research ››› 56 min 2 sec ago ››› CRISTINA LóPEZ G. Feb 7, 2018


The latest right-wing media ‘scandal,’ has completely fallen apart after The Wall Street Journal and others debunked several facets of the story. Fox News spent the day pushing Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-WI) claim that a text message between FBI lawyer Lisa Page and agent Peter Strzok referring to preparing talking points that then-FBI Director James Comey would use to brief then-President Barack Obama, implied an interference by Obama in the FBI’s investigation into Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s email server. Right-wing media, heavily led by Fox News, and other mainstream outlets ran with the claim, despite the fact that there was no active investigation into Clinton’s emails at the time the text message in question was sent.
Senate committee releases text between FBI officers, claim texts prove Obama personally involved in the Clinton email Investigation

Senate homeland security committee releases texts between FBI officers to claim they point to Obama being personally involved in the Clinton email investigation. On February 7, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee published an interim report titled “The Clinton Email Scandal And The FBI’s Investigation Of It” prepared by committee Chairman Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI). The report pointed to a text FBI lawyer Lisa Page sent to agent Peter Strzok about preparing talking points for then-FBI Director James Comey, writing “Potus wants to know everything we’re doing.” The report claimed this text actually “raises additional questions about the type and extent of President [Barack] Obama's personal involvement in the [then-Secretary of State Hillary] Clinton email scandal and the FBI investigation of it." [HSGAC.senate.gov, 2/7/18]
Outlets ran with the Fox News-fueled narrative that Obama was involved in the FBI’s investigation of Clinton’s emails

Fox & Friends’ hosts suggest Obama and FBI were “trying to rig the election.”.............................

[Historic NY]

2. Johnson is a scumbag.

[a kennedy]

3. Ah, dickhead Johnson??? Really??

a Koch puppet, nuff said.

[riversedge]

4. TheHill: FBI texts referred to briefing Obama on Russian interference, not Clinton probe: report

So, Trumps Bombshell is another DUD!


FBI texts referred to briefing Obama on Russian interference, not Clinton probe: report
http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/372819-fbi-texts-referred-to-briefing-obama-on-russian-interference-not-clinton

By Brett Samuels - 02/07/18 05:34 PM EST


© Getty Images

Text messages exchanged between two FBI employees stating that then-President Obama wanted “to know everything” referred to the bureau's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, not a probe into Hillary Clinton’s email server, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) released a report Tuesday that included the exchange between FBI agent Peter Strzok and FBI attorney Lisa Page, arguing that the texts raised questions about Obama's involvement in the investigation into Clinton's email use.

The report highlights one exchange from September 2016 in which Page wrote, “Potus wants to know everything we’re doing.”

Associates of Strzok and Page, who were having an affair at the time, reportedly said the two were talking about Obama wanting information on Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The exchange occurred days before Obama met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and spoke to him about election tampering, The Wall Street Journal reported.

By the time the texts were sent, the FBI had closed its investigation into the Clinton email case. It did not reopen the case until October.

The Wall Street Journal report contradicts the claims from Johnson’s report.

President Trump on Wednesday seized on the report, tweeting “NEW FBI TEXTS ARE BOMBSHELLS!” without any additional context......................

[Jim__]

5. Ron Johnson is just another republican clown. - n/t

[highplainsdem]

6. CNNs Burnett blows up conservative conspiracy du jour alleging Strzok texts prove Obama had a

hand in Clinton probe:

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/02/cnns-burnett-blows-conservative-conspiracy-du-jour-alleging-strzok-texts-prove-obama-hand-clinton-probe/


This article at Raw Story doesn't say whether Burnett referred to the WSJ article, but she's referring to the same facts they cited.

[unblock]

8. Lol they think this proves Obama was meddling in a probe that was over lol

[LiberalLovinLug]

12. they don't care if some liberal is laughing at them on some message board

All they care about is catapulting the propaganda, as W put it.
Their base never follows up on the sources. All they want to hear is "Obama did another very bad thing.....Hillary bad too!". And another turd is piled into their methane fueled anger wagon.
Tomorrow it might be another SHOCKING SCANDAL! No time to actually see if they have any merit. And that suits them just fine.

[vkkv]

9. We already KNOW that Obama knew about Russian meddling during the election but Obama chose NOT to

reveal any info to the public so to not taint the election or to appear bias toward HRC.

The BIG difference?

The FBI WAS NOT INVESTIGATING OBAMA - but they were investigating TRUMP & HRC.

[chowder66]

10. It's about time I see a headline that isn't hyped up and spun on its head. nt

[hexola]

11. Not so sure this is it...

The headline makes it sound like Obama was involved with them personally...or knew who was doing what.

I read the texts as top down pressure to get the job done...

"Hey the Prez needs this stuff on his desk next week - all of it!"

[chowder66]

13. You may be right but I read it as a positive or neutral headline.

Along the lines of a president genuinely taking interest in others work.

[hexola]

14. The Bombshell is - OBAMA ON THE JOB TILL THE LAST DAY!!!

Thats my takeaway!

[chowder66]

15. lol : ) nt