IS TRUMP VINDICATED?
by Sharon Rondeau
(May 11, 2017) — At approximately 2:51 p.m. EDT, Sen. Rand Paul told Maria Bartiromo of the Fox News Channel that not only does it appear that his communications were collected during the 2016 presidential campaign, but also those of another presidential candidate who reportedly “confided” to Paul that he, too, was sure he was “surveilled” by the Obama regime.
In 2015, there were a total of 16 declared Republican presidential candidates, of whom four were and remain U.S. Senators: Paul, Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham, and Ted Cruz.
Paul reiterated to Bartiromo that he has asked the White House and a select group of eight members of Congress who receive special intelligence briefings to investigate whether or not he personally was surveilled, which he strongly suspects.
In late February, Deirdre Bolton of the Fox Business Channel interviewed Atty. Larry Klayman, whose client, Dennis Montgomery, testified to the FBI nearly two years ago that data-collection was conducted on Donald Trump when he was a private citizen, his employees and family members; 156 judges as well as two justices of the U.S. Supreme Court; other prominent businessmen, and Klayman himself, among others.
Under federal law, U.S. citizens are not to be subjected to personal surveillance without a warrant stemming from probable cause. If the names of “U.S. persons” are collected inadvertently in conversations with “foreign targets” in keeping with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), they cannot lawfully be released to the public.
In the case of Trump former national security adviser Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn (Ret), his name was both “unmasked” by unnamed members of the intelligence community and leaked to the press, which led to his resignation on February 13.
Paul mentioned Flynn’s professional demise as having stemmed from the illegal leaking of his name and possible illegal collection of his communications with the Russian ambassador. Paul said he has introduced legislation to offer greater protection to Americans against government surveillance, even if done with its focus on a foreign individual.
For months, Klayman has issued weekly videos through his Freedom Watch organization stating that he has approached House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes and other members of Congress about the information Montgomery reportedly has in his possession attesting to widespread, illegal surveillance of unsuspecting American citizens.
Both before and after former FBI Director James Comey’s dismissal on Tuesday, Klayman faulted Comey and the FBI in general for having been informed of the alleged surveillance in sworn testimony from Montgomery in 2015 and taking no action on it.
On March 4, 2017, Trump tweeted that he was “wiretapped” by the Obama regime during the weeks leading up to the November 2016 election. Paul’s claims made on Thursday appear to mirror Trump’s assertion given that the discussion with Bartiromo centered on Republican presidential candidates by the Obama regime.
Paul ended the interview, which was extended by cutting short a break, by stating that “if true,” the surveillance of presidential candidates by the federal government will far supplant the significance of any findings in the ongoing FBI investigation into alleged Trump-Russia ties.
The video of the exchange is here: