https://www.dailykos.com/stories/20...daction-filled-report-on-Russia-investigation
Several pages consist of black squares, with whole pages kept from the public view. This makes it impossible to determine if there is anything more to the “findings” than talking points. For example, one finding is that the FBI reaction to Russian cyber intrusions was inadequate. But it’s impossible to know why, as not one word of the committee’s reasoning is revealed.
Other “findings” by the committee seem to not be supported by the evidence of the report itself. For example, the report finds that most of the conclusions of the intelligence community were right—except the conclusion that Russia was out to help Trump. Why wasn’t that right? The report says that the intelligence community used “bad tradecraft” in coming to that conclusion, because the House Republicans are apparently better intelligence agents than the intelligence agents.
The report also claims that the Steele dossier formed an “essential” part of the FISA application concerning Carter Page. However, the only evidence that the report provides is simply restating that “finding.” The report could not be more obtuse on this point, and others, if it simply included as evidence “Because we say so.”
Overall, the report is what was expected—a list of talking points created to support Trump, with little evidence that the committee made any significant effort to learn anything, and which contains what even in the report looks like a stretch to try and indict the Clinton campaign through friend of a friend of a friend actions resulting in an “indirect” connection between Trump and Russia.
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