1. Could you explain what "Deza" is?
Deza is shorthand for Dezinformatsiya, or disinformation in Russian. Deza is the original fake news, also called propaganda. Russians are really good at it, and have been for years. It's much easier to propagate now, with social media and the rapid-access that the internet affords. If you pay attention to the news of the day, CNN's exclusive reporting shows exactly how effective the Russian Dezinformatsiya campaign was:
"Washington (CNN) Then-FBI Director James Comey knew that a critical piece of information relating to the investigation into Hillary Clinton's email was fake -- created by Russian intelligence -- but he feared that if it became public it would undermine the probe and the Justice Department itself, according to multiple officials with knowledge of the process.
As a result, Comey acted unilaterally last summer to publicly declare the investigation over -- without consulting then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch -- while at the same time stating that Clinton had been "extremely careless" in her handling of classified information. His press conference caused a firestorm of controversy and drew criticism from both Democrats and Republicans."
To say that Comey was in an impossible situation is an understatement. He basically had two options:
1. Do nothing and be blamed by the Democrats for announcing that she was under investigation in the first place / let Russian disinformation mar the reputation of the Bureau and the investigation.
2. Announce the investigation was over and that no reasonable prosecutor would take the case and face the ire of the Republicans.
Granted, I do understand the questioning of the announcement of re-opening the investigation, but once again, he was in an impossible situation with two options:
1. Say nothing. It leaks, as eventually happens in Washington and he's accused of being partisan by the Democrats.
2. Send a letter to Congress to let them know that he -may- have something new and risk -that- leaking, as we all know happened.
I understand this is easy to see from a partisan lens no matter what side you're on, but understand his position. If he says something and it turns out to be nothing, he can correct it, but he looks like a bad guy. If he says nothing and it turns out to be something, he looks like a bad guy that's involved in a cover-up. If anyone doubts how effective the Russian active measures campaign was, look at the position they put Comey in. There was no way to win. Remember, in the end, Comey is absolutely a white hat. He left a trail that guaranteed the continuation of this investigation - he knew he was going to be fired and he had no intention of letting Trump / Russia go away with his job. He's a hero.
2. How do you feel about the new administration "war room" as reported by CNN?
My thoughts on this are pretty simple: If you have to set up a war room to combat the Trump Russia narrative, you probably have a Russia problem, and it's not going away. A war room might be a good idea... for most administrations, but this one has zero credibility, so I'm having a hard time understanding how it will benefit them in any way - nobody believes what comes out of this White House anyway. There are increasing rumors that part of this plan is to keep POTUS occupied (read: off of Twitter and away from cable news) with more rallies and positive engagement. The theory is, if they can keep him in an echo chamber of support, maybe he will stop making an ass of himself. My response? Good. Luck.
3. Is Flynn cutting a deal?
If the rumors I'm hearing are true, yes, yes and yes. To be clear, I don't believe that his deal will save him from prison, but it might get him a reduced sentence. Senator Whitehouse's, "it's reasonable to think Flynn is already cooperating with the FBI" are probably as close to a dead public giveaway that you're going to get from Congress until indictments are made public. It's also worth reminding everyone that if the FBI is really entertaining the idea of proffer / Queen for a Day with Michael Flynn, there is only one possible target. They don't do these things for little fish. I'll let you take from that what you will.
4. If you haven't read Trump's Russia Problem (Part 1) now is a good time to do so.
CNN's 'breaking' news story yesterday confirmed that Jared Kushner was a person of interest in the Russia probe in regards to data management. It's looking more and more likely that the TeaPain theory that I reported on in Trump Russia 1, and my theory that Kushner is going down with Trump are both spot on.
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