sicsempertyrannis | I was chatting last night with a retired CIA colleague, a person well
connected to many folks still working at our former employer, and he
dropped a bombshell--he had learned that John Brennan set up a Trump
Task Force at CIA in early 2016.
This is definitely something Prosecutor John Durham should explore. A
"Task Force" normally is a short term creation comprised of operations
officers (i.e., guys and gals who carry out espionage activities
overseas) and intelligence analysts. The purpose of such a group is to
ensure all relevant intelligence capabilities are brought to bear on the
problem at hand.
While a "Task Force" can be a useful tool for tackling issues of
terrorism or drug trafficking, it is not appropriate or lawful for
collecting on a U.S. candidate for the Presidency. But Brennan did it,
so I'm told, and it had the blessing of the Director of National
Intelligence Jim Clapper.
The Task Force members were handpicked. The job was not posted.
Instead, people were specifically invited to join up. Not everyone
accepted the invitation, and that is now a problem for John Brennan. If
those folks are talking to Durham's folks then Brennan's days are
numbered.
Brennan reportedly took it upon himself to recruit foreign
intelligence organizations, such as MI-6, the Aussies, the Italians and
the Israelis, to help in spying on Trump and his campaign. He sold it as
a "counter-intelligence" mission citing his fear that Trump was a
Russian puppet. And these foreign services agreed to help. But they did
more than passive collection. They helped create and implement covert
actions, such as entrapping Michael Flynn as a foreign agent and
cultivating and ensnaring George Papadopoulos.
