Why should we (and Devin Nunes), be so interested in Carter Page and the contradictions of his testimony with even more interesting omissions of Russian contacts. Some of it lies in the differences among degrees of classified material available as well as IC intelligence information.
The GOP goal has been to obfuscate whether the memo had any exoneration value for 45* compared to the need to obstruct further investigation into #TrumpRussia. He is always about the vindictiveness rather than the vindication, and this is what motivates these desperate actions that only reveal his ignorance even about the quality of his evasions.
The memo is only one way to tie off Biglygate and to divert interest in the now numerous ‘foreign agents’ who have Russian ties and who are also GOP members, whether elected officials or party functionaries. This has been the prime purpose of GOP disinformation regarding the Steele Dossier, and why anyone actually reading the materials can see that Fusion GPS has been trying to show that it has served numerous interests. Because that’s what oppo-research when well done, does in terms of objective reality.
More importantly #TrumpRussia has always been about the money and the power of domestic and foreign networks willing to subvert democratic political processes in the name of individual and corporate power.
The real background to the allegations about the so-called “wire tapps”(sic) tweeted by 45* was that the reference was actually to the FISA warrant on Carter Page. Even if it wasn’t an obstruction of justice, it goes to the desire to steer investigators away, even if stupidly it actually points to the history of surveilling Russian mobsters, among others who have lived in Trump Tower. More interesting is that even if they didn’t know each other, the subset of Russian government spies at some moment still intersects the subset of Russian mobsters and both are run by oligarchs.
Like the smoking gun(man) is more like a smoldering arsenal, this crisis does not center on one individual and trying to focus on Carter Page has shown how even more important the larger network of individuals like George Papadopoulos, Paul Manafort, and all those Russians, Dutch, Ukrainians, Hungarians, Czechs, Germans, Australians, and Brits have been.
Page was a little known investment banker when Mr. Trump announced him as a member of his foreign policy advisory team early last year. Trump aides insist the president has no relationship with Page and did not have any dealings with him during the campaign.
www.cbsnews.com/...
(April 2017)
The FBI and Justice Department obtained the warrant after convincing a FISA judge there was probable cause to believe Page was acting as an agent of a foreign government (Russia), the report says. The warrant presents the strongest information to date that the FBI had reason to believe a Trump adviser was in touch with Moscow and met with foreign operatives during Trump's presidential campaign.
FBI Director James Comey has acknowledged that an investigation was opened last year into Russia's efforts to influence the election and the question of whether the Trump campaign coordinated with the Kremlin. But Comey stopped short of naming anyone working for the campaign who may have been involved.