Americans for Intelligence Reform

Brad Johnson, President, and retired CIA Senior Officer and Chief of Staff. Insight into current events from an intelligence angle.

Brad Johnson on the Break it Down Show

https://youtu.be/k1wStHLuolE

 

 
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hey everybody its PJ Turner executive
00:02
producer and host of the break it down
00:04
show today’s guest is a guy named Brad
00:06
Johnson who was the station chief for
00:09
the CIA and that means that this is a
00:11
spy versus spy show what’s cool about
00:14
this one is we get a chance to examine
00:15
some real-life scenarios specifically we
00:19
talked about we talked about the Hillary
00:22
Clinton email situation and the what
00:24
about ism and how that’s kind of a not a
00:27
very good way to represent that dianne
00:29
feinstein’s chinese chief of staff slash
00:32
limo driver as well as how we
00:35
investigate all of these things whether
00:37
it’s impeachment with the president or
00:40
Joe Biden and his son so we didand a lot
00:44
of those things brad has an organization
00:47
called Americans for intelligence reform
00:50
he is the president of it and you can
00:52
find more about it at Intel reformed org
00:55
and their idea is that a strong and
00:58
effective CIA is actually absolutely
01:00
absolutely fundamental to u.s. national
01:03
security and safety for our citizens
01:05
you’re gonna love this episode it pushes
01:08
some buttons I’ll be ready you’re gonna
01:10
learn some things about how field
01:11
operators operate and how the guys that
01:13
guide them also operate standard things
01:18
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01:33
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02:00
wherever you’re out there have a great
02:02
holiday season whatever holiday you
02:04
celebrate in whatever country you’re in
02:06
I just think it’s great that this is the
02:08
time of year we all sort of slow down
02:10
recognize one another regardless of
02:12
anything else and
02:13
say have a happy holiday have a Merry
02:16
Christmas Happy Hanukkah happy Kwanzaa
02:18
happy Festivus it’s all of these things
02:21
that make us who we are and unite us as
02:24
people this can be great show you’re
02:26
gonna love it here so Brad Johnson Lions
02:29
Rock productions
02:32
this is jay mohr that group this is
02:35
jordan hassan Dexter from the Oscar
02:37
Maithili Sebastian yo this is Rick Murad
02:39
Stewart Copa this is Mitchell s is handy
02:41
somebody there’s a skunk Baxter Gabby
02:43
Reese is Robyn hey this is John Leon
02:44
Guerrero hey and this is Pete a Turner
02:48
hi this is Brad Johnson our president of
02:51
Americans for intelligence reform in
02:53
charge and you’re listening to the break
02:55
it down show spy versus spy style here
03:00
we go
03:01
I got Brad on the show with me and you
03:03
know I like to try to take the reality
03:05
of folks that collect information and
03:07
bring it to you because it turns out
03:10
there’s not always a mole at the very
03:12
top of the CIA or the top of army Intel
03:15
it’s usually much more complex than that
03:17
but let’s let’s look into Brad and what
03:21
he does in so fright if you would just
03:23
kind of give us a basic bio
03:24
on you know look I mean being an office
03:28
chief overseas is an incredibly sexy job
03:31
on paper let’s talk about some of that
03:33
but just give us a kind of a basic
03:34
background of double diving hey this is
03:36
PJ Turner from the break it down show
03:37
checking in real quick to ask you this
03:40
John Scott and I all support save the
03:42
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03:44
effort and our money
03:45
each month we give a small amount do the
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same with us go to save the brave dot
03:49
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03:52
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month and they will handle all the rest
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I stand behind these folks thank you so
03:57
much let’s get back to the show but just
03:59
give us a kind of a basic background and
04:01
double dive in okay sounds good
04:03
my background was intelligence
04:06
operations at the CIA which is your
04:08
overseas cadre that runs the espionage
04:11
arm of things and so I spent out of a
04:14
25-year career about almost 20 years of
04:16
it overseas I tried to avoid the
04:19
headquarters duty as much as possible
04:22
we’re preferring to be out in the field
04:24
and for field cadre uh
04:27
basically a chief of station which is
04:29
the head of a CIA office oversees
04:33
equivalent of I guess the captain
04:35
ownership for Navy
04:36
CA is actually largely built on Navy
04:38
traditions rather than army even though
04:40
it was OSS
04:42
came out of was led by the army so that
04:44
a lot of the
04:45
powers were actually built on ships
04:47
captain’s authorities so that was that
04:50
was my background was after multiple
04:52
times as the chief of station and as I
04:54
said most of my career was overseas when
04:57
you’re a chief of station are you in the
05:00
field collecting are you running the the
05:02
day-to-day operations of the office
05:05
well you know all of the above you know
05:09
things have changed a lot in the last
05:10
few years particularly under former
05:12
director of the CIA John Brennan where
05:14
he did what he called the modernization
05:17
but essentially what he did was dissolve
05:20
the operations division the operations
05:22
cadre and and created sort of one size
05:26
fits all everybody does everything sort
05:28
of methodology so he bragged about this
05:32
on NPR that what we’ve done is turned to
05:35
our overseas partners and in partnership
05:38
with them trying to accomplish the
05:40
things that we need to do rather than
05:42
doing the traditional espionage role of
05:45
finding people that work that tell
05:47
secrets if you will
05:48
the spies what we would call the spies
05:50
who are reporting information secretly
05:53
to the United States and the United
05:54
States only so in that role my role
05:57
certainly you’re always doing things
05:59
because there’s always a certain level
06:01
of cooperation with these liaison
06:03
services with whom you deal our overseas
06:05
partners if you will so there’s always
06:07
operations of overseas with different
06:10
countries and organizations has always
06:11
been robust and that has always been
06:13
important in fact we just saw that where
06:15
we just had the recent success in
06:18
getting Baghdadi that was done in large
06:21
part through a liaison relationship a
06:23
partnership or overseas for in
06:26
partnership with the Kurdish
06:28
intelligence service so it came and has
06:32
succeeded and will continue to succeed
06:35
in many ways I guess my gripe and one of
06:37
the reasons for the founding of this
06:39
organization was because of the
06:41
disillusion of the operations cadre that
06:45
runs espionage and what’s done today is
06:48
really no longer espionage and again
06:50
that was something that John Brennan
06:51
bragged about although others have now
06:53
tried to disseminate and cover-up for
06:55
that he did away with that and the
06:58
training in the
06:59
ability I mean this is a highly highly
07:01
specialized field of endeavor and OSS
07:06
learned a lot of those lessons through
07:08
literally blood sweat and tears a lot of
07:11
people died along that that way learning
07:13
the lessons it had to be learned and
07:15
then that was all turned over to the CIA
07:17
and many of the personnel came over from
07:19
OSS to to you could certainly say it’s a
07:22
continuation CIA’s a continuation of OSS
07:24
and a lot of those people came over in
07:26
the training and lessons learned we’re
07:27
all built upon over the next decades all
07:30
of which was just flushed down the
07:32
toilet and spit on by by John Brennan
07:35
who just shows his incompetence and lack
07:37
of understanding and ability to
07:40
prioritize was was demonstrated by this
07:42
this modernization program that he did
07:45
now some good came out of the
07:46
modernization program and the technical
07:48
fields and so on but everything was
07:50
overwhelmed by the stupidity of having
07:52
done away with operations cadre oh man
07:56
that is a lot when when folks like
07:59
Brennan come in and they run the
08:00
organization how I mean they know how to
08:02
run organizations I think Leon Panetta
08:05
didn’t he run the CIA for a while too
08:08
yes I mean how does he compare with
08:11
someone like Brennan Leon’s nodding a
08:13
collector he wasn’t from the IC in
08:15
general does he compare favorably well
08:19
except the same ilk you you essentially
08:23
I mean we’re kind of getting into the
08:24
philosophical realms with some of this
08:27
but essentially people who are leftist
08:31
in philosophy the Democrats today are
08:33
very leftist in their philosophy but
08:36
socialists here in the United States
08:38
have always been anti espionage and it’s
08:43
so it’s always been something that
08:44
they’ve undertaken to sort of damage or
08:47
do in without recognition of just how
08:49
precisely important that is in the
08:51
scheme of things for national security
08:53
you take away our information and and
08:56
you’re just you’re so badly damaging us
08:58
by the risk that’s out there if we had
09:00
had a well organized fully robust
09:03
intelligence collection program I think
09:05
it’s realistic to suspect that we could
09:08
have stopped 9/11 for example where we
09:10
were making more active
09:13
efforts to penetrate all of these
09:14
organizations that are enemies of the
09:16
United States so if you look back in
09:19
history yet you know after the fall of
09:21
the wall and where the Soviet Union
09:23
essentially disintegrated
09:25
there were congressmen Democrats of
09:27
course who called for the you know
09:29
dissolution of the CIA so it’s always
09:31
been something they’ve sort of been
09:32
after and it’s specific to the espionage
09:35
end of things they just don’t like it
09:37
philosophically where the conservatives
09:40
and generally the Republicans but more
09:43
kind of the conservatives and the
09:44
national security people tended to you
09:48
just be more readily understanding of
09:52
the need for good espionage because of
09:55
the value of the information it provides
09:57
that impacts US national security so
10:00
it’s it’s just one of those things it’s
10:02
kind of a philosophical thing so former
10:04
leaders that were picked by Republican
10:06
presidents tended to do a better job and
10:09
the ones picked by the Democratic
10:11
presidents tend to do a poorer job
10:13
because of their philosophical
10:15
commitment and for example Jimmy Carter
10:19
Jimmy Carter probably was was the one
10:22
when understands field turn at the time
10:24
who is his director of the CIA probably
10:27
did the most really kind of undermined
10:30
the capabilities of the CIA and he did a
10:32
RIF it was known as a black Thursday
10:35
because it took place on that day which
10:36
is the end of the pay period in federal
10:38
government and he let go a couple
10:41
thousand people just sent him out the
10:43
door RIF is a reduction in force in
10:45
government terms next day and roughly
10:48
equal number of people walked out the
10:49
door and just said screw this and lot
10:51
and they can all retire so under
10:54
President Reagan that was attempted to
10:56
be recovered and rebuilt and and there
10:59
was a you know substantial rekindling of
11:02
capability at the CIA but then under
11:05
Clinton that again was turned around and
11:07
you started to see all this separation
11:09
where the FBI and CIA weren’t allowed to
11:11
communicate and and I would argue that
11:13
as a result we see these problems like
11:15
9/11 and that has never really been
11:17
repaired and it was finally just done
11:19
away with the capabilities of the CIA
11:21
were just horrendously damaged under
11:23
specifically the former President Obama
11:26
and
11:27
at the hand of John Brennan former
11:28
director John Brennan who admitted that
11:31
he had voted for the Communist Party
11:33
previously and was apparently very
11:37
friendly to to the ideas of Islamic
11:41
extremism and Islamists and himself has
11:45
is supposed to be a a Muslim so you just
11:49
had a kind of an unfriendly audience in
11:52
charge of intelligence and it’s it’s
11:55
just that it’s something that’s been
11:56
repeated and repeated and repeated and
11:58
at least in modern history how often do
12:02
you need that that recalibration though
12:04
I mean because look if we’re here to be
12:06
critical of of conservatives they’ll
12:08
take it too far in their direction
12:10
whether it’s they’re too hawkish or
12:11
they’re you know we complain a lot about
12:14
the Russians meddling in our in our
12:16
elections but let’s you know you and I
12:18
both know like we we love to meddle in
12:20
other people’s elections like we we love
12:22
to talk about it openly in the newspaper
12:23
so but we don’t like what happens to us
12:26
what do we need that that recalibration
12:29
back towards a more suspicious a more
12:32
left-leaning leader to to kind of force
12:35
the the agency not to hobble it because
12:38
you know we don’t really want to do that
12:40
but but what we kind of do well a couple
12:48
things on all of that I mean you
12:50
actually touched a lot of very
12:51
interesting and important points first
12:53
of all the people interfering in our
12:55
elections and us interfering others
12:57
elections quite quite common it’s it’s a
13:02
normal thing I would say in fact and
13:04
that that goes on in the world and
13:06
different countries would like to see
13:08
different governments come to power and
13:10
other countries in neighboring countries
13:12
and certainly the Obama administration
13:14
was very active in that the President
13:16
Obama traveled to Israel and and took
13:18
money and and was actively supporting
13:20
one party over another party he was very
13:23
very active in and his dislike for the
13:28
Netanyahu and and him being the Prime
13:32
Minister of Israel so I mean it very
13:34
active very open
13:35
there was no secrets it was discussed in
13:37
the press openly but say Russia coming
13:40
in and interfere
13:40
with our elections or China coming in or
13:43
Cuba much smaller country but
13:45
nevertheless very active they all they
13:48
all have always done that you know
13:50
following World War two this was
13:52
everybody’s been doing it all this time
13:53
there’s many defectors that have come
13:55
out through the years and written books
13:56
about it you can go back and look and
13:58
see what they’ve done they’ve all been
13:59
very active trying to find people that
14:03
would support their perspective in the
14:05
press and they’ve been active at that
14:06
for you know the last 70 80 years so
14:09
they’ve had a lot of successes and so we
14:11
see a lot of what I would consider enemy
14:14
propaganda be you know picked up and
14:16
used in printed or reported on in the US
14:19
press it’s quite common so they’re doing
14:21
influence but now this is all changed
14:23
and we’ve kind of come to a new page
14:25
what happened is the the United States
14:27
legalized and codified actually legally
14:31
interfering with US elections and u.s.
14:34
policy the formation of US policy that’s
14:37
why when I saw the original report that
14:40
Russia had supposedly interfered with US
14:44
elections and then somehow you’ve been
14:46
in cooperating with Trump and the Trump
14:47
campaign I knew that was all false
14:49
instantly and very easy to know for
14:52
anyone who knows you know what kind of
14:53
understands the situation you know you
14:56
instantly know that was all quickly made
14:58
up the reason is how the system got
15:00
caught fighted is called lobbying it is
15:03
perfectly legal for Russia to spend
15:06
millions of dollars a month which they
15:09
do here in the United States to pursue
15:12
policies that are their interests which
15:14
they do so does China and so does any
15:17
other country in the world that has
15:19
enough money to do that
15:21
and millions and millions of dollars
15:23
I’ve spent here in Washington DC area on
15:25
K Street getting these lobbyists to try
15:28
and influence policy so it’s been
15:29
legalized so why on earth would Russia
15:32
ever try to recruit somebody in that in
15:35
the Trump campaign and something that
15:38
would be difficult to control difficult
15:40
to keep secret be extraordinarily
15:42
expensive what is far cheaper just to do
15:44
it legally through a lobbyist so it just
15:47
it just made no sense from the very
15:49
GetGo so I mean I would say our problem
15:51
today is that we’ve legalized and I’m
15:53
trying
15:54
Russia India and whoever wants to is
15:56
taking full advantage of it so if you
15:58
want to address that issue there’s the
16:00
place and you know to everybody here at
16:03
me she knows that everybody in the
16:04
Capitol Senate and congressmen they all
16:06
know that that’s the case but yet it
16:09
doesn’t get talked about publicly so
16:10
it’s it’s just one of those little
16:12
quirks of Washington DC establishment
16:14
yeah I mean a lot of of the things that
16:17
are important in terms of these big
16:18
decisions seating a Supreme Court
16:21
justice that became a political you know
16:24
partisan show
16:26
where nobody got what they want we
16:28
didn’t we didn’t get to understand who
16:30
Brett Kavanaugh was if he should or
16:33
shouldn’t be a justice we got to see
16:35
people grand standing on the stage
16:37
instead of focusing on you know the very
16:39
important task of giving someone a
16:41
lifetime seat on well you know one of
16:44
the three branches of our of our
16:46
government and ended you know now we
16:48
have this impeachment thing and right or
16:51
wrong if the president did something
16:52
wrong let’s do it let’s open Lee hear it
16:54
let’s have the case out call witnesses
16:56
let him stand in front of his accusers
16:57
call witnesses and and let’s get through
17:00
it and see what the evidence is but look
17:02
as a fellow collector as a guy who’s
17:05
gone out and done things I don’t I don’t
17:08
see evidence that I would be confident
17:10
have all the all the reports everything
17:12
but I don’t see evidence there that that
17:14
this has actually happened I understand
17:16
folks that are upset about it and don’t
17:18
want quid pro quo but are we are we now
17:21
torpedoing the entire election because
17:24
of a partisan thing you know trying to
17:27
do that because if the president has to
17:29
go down then doesn’t also Joe Biden have
17:33
to go down and then isn’t that the
17:34
president’s job like if if someone’s
17:37
using their political office to gather
17:39
favor with another personal favor with
17:42
another government there’s a real
17:44
problem there I would like to know the
17:47
answers to both of these things I
17:48
suppose I think it’s actually fairly
17:50
straightforward I I don’t see you know I
17:53
don’t find anything to be too tricky
17:54
it’s it’s misreported and manipulated
17:57
purposefully for political goals but if
18:00
you just sit back and look at the actual
18:02
facts you have hunter Biden who is a
18:04
drug addict emotionally very unstable
18:06
just you
18:07
for example you know his brother dies he
18:11
divorces his wife marries his brother’s
18:12
widow divorces her and marry some girl
18:16
that forces her then marry some other
18:17
girl II just barely met so you’ve got
18:19
this emotionally unstable former drug
18:22
addict who has zero experience in the
18:24
energy industry and something gets hired
18:26
to be on the board to the tune of
18:27
eighty-three thousand dollars a month
18:29
now they’re not going to do that out of
18:32
their goodness of their heart they’re
18:34
doing it for a reason and we know that
18:36
that for sure some of that reason
18:39
included access to the vice president
18:41
because we’ve seen the photographs being
18:43
reported where the two top executives at
18:45
this energy company hunter and Joe Biden
18:47
were both all we’re all playing golf
18:49
together so we know those those
18:51
conversations took place then the other
18:55
half of that suddenly Joe Biden goes to
18:57
Ukraine and tells Ukraine Ukraine fire
19:00
this prosecutor that’s investigating the
19:03
company where my son gets paid eighty
19:05
three thousand dollars a month or
19:07
withholding this aid so I mean that’s
19:09
all facts that all of them have admitted
19:12
to there is ZERO question in there of
19:14
interpretation it’s it’s hunter Biden
19:17
has talked about all of these facts the
19:19
photographs have come up of the meetings
19:20
Joe Biden himself talked about insisting
19:23
that that prosecutor be fired and that
19:25
he was the one investigating the company
19:27
where his son work so all of that is
19:29
basic facts so President Trump is
19:32
responsible to fund to go after
19:34
corruption especially at that level and
19:37
just so blatantly corrupt so he was
19:40
absolutely within his duty to have done
19:43
that now but I don’t think that’s the
19:45
essence of what we seeing is he
19:47
happening with this charmella Eric
19:48
charmella guy I think that what happened
19:51
with him is not so much to target
19:54
president Trump although that’s a
19:56
secondary goal and kind of cream on the
19:59
side if you will and to let them kind of
20:01
bring up the same sort of argument that
20:03
oh yeah crime problem is corrupt they
20:06
tried to quid pro quo got rid of that
20:08
and now they’re calling it corruption I
20:11
think is the term that’s now it and each
20:12
time they they just try something new to
20:14
see what sticks and the nothing sticks
20:16
they move on to the next one but if you
20:18
look at Eric charmella he was
20:21
buddy that in college was a protester
20:23
speaks Arabic very Pro Islamic radicals
20:27
and was was at a a demonstration in the
20:31
streets supporting a radical professor
20:33
who was you know Islamic extremist he
20:36
got picked up then by the CIA and was
20:38
just skyrocketed to the top with John
20:41
Brennan John Renan Brennan then with the
20:44
Obama administration put em at the
20:46
National Security Council which is the
20:48
White House and he for a while was an
20:51
analyst working on Ukraine Russia issues
20:54
and so had some background in Ukraine so
20:57
kind of just evolved into being this
20:59
Ukraine expert now he was on these trips
21:02
with Joe Biden he was at the meetings
21:05
here that that Joe Biden had in
21:07
Washington DC with the Ukrainian people
21:09
so he was involved in all this all the
21:11
way along which you know talk about
21:13
irony Joe Biden’s son gets the payoff
21:17
which it looks like that Joe Biden you
21:20
know does the deed and gets this guy
21:22
fired and and this chair Abella doesn’t
21:25
look at that as something he needs to
21:26
report but Trump asked to have this
21:29
clearly questionable act investigated
21:32
and that’s what he reports as a
21:34
whistleblower I mean the irony of that
21:36
is just astounding so this guy this guy
21:39
is is connected back into that formerly
21:41
worked for Joe Biden formerly worked for
21:43
the Obama White House close associate of
21:46
John Brennan and all of this stuff
21:48
always seems to lead back to John
21:50
Brennan all the stuff that we saw
21:52
overseas with the Italians being
21:54
involved with putting this case together
21:57
that was used to get the FISA warrant
21:59
all of these connections every time
22:01
something new comes up there’s always a
22:03
connection to John Brennan so my
22:05
personal theory on it is is that when
22:07
all this comes out when all of its
22:08
surfaces a lot of the roads are going to
22:10
just simply lead back to John Brennan as
22:12
having been the spider at the center of
22:14
the web okay man it’s so many so many so
22:20
many things to ask about let me just
22:21
start with some real like ground truth
22:23
basic stuff as well as as a station boss
22:26
one of your one of your clandestine
22:29
operators comes up and says I’ve got a
22:31
source who basically you know
22:34
we’ll use the whistleblower as a source
22:36
but he describes this person to you in a
22:38
dossier form like they didn’t hear
22:40
directly what they said but there could
22:43
be something here this person seems like
22:45
they’ve got exploitable information is
22:48
is that for me if I’m running a CI team
22:51
in my end I’m like ah Act can we find
22:54
somebody better you know like is there
22:56
can you cooperate I want to triangulate
22:58
the information I’ve got there’s no
23:01
question whatsoever I mean and this this
23:03
whistleblower information had precisely
23:05
that done to it it was moved up the
23:07
chain if you will chain of command and
23:10
was turned over to DOJ DOJ took a look
23:12
at it go the heck is this this is
23:15
useless and so nothing went forward from
23:17
that point and that is when the
23:19
information came out that shift who’s
23:22
running the committee doing the
23:24
investigation Adam Schiff was
23:26
coordinating with chair Abela
23:29
and once that surfaced that’s when chair
23:32
Abela kind of disappeared but you know
23:34
that’s that’s person once Adam Schiff
23:37
saw that this was going nowhere stepped
23:40
in coordinated directly with the
23:41
so-called whistleblower and that’s how
23:44
it all took off and became public now
23:46
and then Adam Schiff was initially
23:48
saying this guy has to come testify
23:49
we’re gonna put him out here in front of
23:50
everybody once the news surfaced that he
23:53
had previously coordinated with Eric
23:55
karbala then then that ended then he
23:57
didn’t want that apparently to come out
23:59
and so now this guy has to be protected
24:01
at all costs except etc even though his
24:03
name has been bandied about for weeks
24:05
everybody knows who it is a lot of the
24:07
mainstream media is they they mentioned
24:09
his name but they they hesitate to
24:12
confirm it was him even though it’s been
24:13
confirmed by many many other sources and
24:15
reported on by lots of other people it’s
24:17
still they’re still hesitant okay so and
24:20
you know I’m not a political guy but
24:22
these are the things that bugged me
24:23
because people like us have to go out
24:25
and dig up dig through what these things
24:27
are in real time and in situations that
24:29
are extremely dangerous quite often to
24:31
everybody involved so let me back up
24:35
real quick it seems like we can’t get a
24:39
straightforward investigation on anybody
24:42
working at the very top of the federal
24:44
government and and I’m pointing my
24:46
finger right now squarely
24:48
Secretary Clinton because look this is
24:52
what I understand about top-secret SDI
24:54
it doesn’t belong on a server outside of
24:57
a closed Network that’s very specific
24:59
everybody knows the rules and one of the
25:03
fail-safes is that if you don’t know the
25:05
rules you’re still guilty so when you
25:08
come forward and you say I didn’t care
25:11
for this information I admit it and I
25:13
take responsibility and then there’s no
25:17
conviction of anybody how do I take
25:21
anything any of those folks regardless a
25:24
party how do I take any of them
25:27
seriously I couldn’t agree with you more
25:29
I think that’s a fabulous and extremely
25:31
important point and let’s go back and
25:34
look at some of the basic facts on this
25:35
one
25:38
former director FBI director Comey came
25:41
out with his infamous famous speech in
25:44
July of 2016 and in that speech he would
25:48
that was where he said oh yeah Hillary
25:50
Clinton did this this this was extremely
25:52
careless in her handling of classified
25:53
documents but no prosecutor in the
25:56
United States would go after on this
25:58
case it’s just not worth doing there was
25:59
no intent blah blah blah well a couple
26:02
things one the first of all when Comey
26:03
started talking about Clinton’s intent
26:05
which is precisely the point that you
26:07
made intent is not required you know
26:10
there have it at home or you do not
26:12
right if you have it at home you are
26:13
guilty even if it was an accident you
26:16
are guilty so that wants Comey said that
26:19
you know he’s lying
26:21
because he knows that he was director of
26:23
the FBI he’s a highly familiar with all
26:25
of those things so now the other part of
26:27
it one of the things come he said there
26:29
was
26:29
hey this is PA Turner from Lions Rock
26:32
productions we create podcasts around
26:34
here and if you your brand or your
26:36
company want to figure out how to do a
26:38
podcast just talk to me I’ll give you
26:40
the advice on the right gear the best
26:42
plan and show you how to tick a podcast
26:43
that makes sense for you that’s
26:45
sustainable that’s scalable and fun hit
26:48
me up at Pete and break it down show com
26:50
let me help I want to hear about it now
26:52
the other part of it one of the things
26:54
come he said there was he said there
26:57
were numbers of strings of commute
27:01
ocation containing classified document
27:04
and he made a comment like there were 12
27:05
or 15 of them each containing several
27:07
hundred classified documents so you kind
27:10
of just guesstimate and you’re probably
27:12
talking between 2,500 and 3,000
27:16
classified documents now I gotta say
27:18
that’s a that’s a lot of classified
27:20
documents to have released essentially
27:22
out into the public
27:23
now the FBI then did an IG an inspector
27:27
general report looking at all of this
27:29
they went to the FBI agent who did was
27:34
investigating the computer the laptop
27:36
computer that was Anthony Weiner’s that
27:38
contained all these classified documents
27:40
that guy reported to the FBI IG that
27:44
James Comey had misled the American
27:46
people and was off by the number of
27:48
classified documents by a factor of 10
27:51
Wow that means we’re no longer talking
27:53
about 2,500 or 3,000 we’re talking about
27:57
25,000 or 30,000 classified documents I
28:01
mean that is just absolutely completely
28:04
out of control one more a step to this
28:07
there was a second that computer then
28:09
was sent to Quantico which is where the
28:11
FBI does its forensic work and a second
28:14
IG report was done the second IG report
28:17
reconfirmed what was mentioned in the
28:19
first IG report that there was a second
28:22
area of memory that had not been
28:24
exploited that appeared to contain an
28:27
equal number of documents so some
28:30
portion of which would then be
28:32
classified so we we don’t know there
28:35
would probably be some overlap of
28:37
documents within these two memories but
28:39
now we’re probably talking you know
28:40
maybe as many as 60 or 70 thousand
28:43
classified documents now say one
28:46
classified document has got lots of
28:48
people in trouble there’s people doing
28:50
jail time over one classified document
28:53
and so we’re looking at perhaps as many
28:57
as 70,000 classified documents possibly
29:00
more that the Hillary Clinton team
29:04
because to do that it takes a team it’s
29:07
not something mom person would just do
29:08
especially somebody that Killary Clinton
29:10
who was a busy and co-read you know
29:13
doesn’t know that much about this sort
29:15
of thing
29:15
so you know 70,000 documents are out
29:18
there nothing is done whatsoever State
29:21
Department about two weeks ago came out
29:23
with their IG report that basically said
29:25
well there were 31 security violations
29:29
which have been adjudicated adjudicated
29:31
just as government T’s for you know
29:33
whoever was supposed to get punished for
29:34
a violation got punished meaning they
29:36
got a letter in their file or whatever
29:38
those are the sorts of things that could
29:40
happen nobody was fired or they would
29:42
have reported that so there was some
29:44
sort of administrative action taken
29:47
against whoever was held responsible for
29:49
those 31 security violations which is
29:52
essentially few slaps on the wrist and
29:54
nothing happened for 70,000 perhaps
29:57
70,000 classified documents and one
30:00
final thing on that and I’ll let it rest
30:03
a bit but the way that that has to be
30:06
done it’s a closed system precisely as
30:07
you said so on it on a classified
30:10
computer system you have the computers
30:13
pre-screening your keyboard you’re not
30:15
able to put a thumb drive in there and
30:18
make copies of everything you know take
30:20
you share to another computer that’s not
30:23
on the classified system there’s no way
30:24
to connect up so the way that you get
30:27
these documents off is to print them
30:30
everybody can print and those are all
30:33
carefully kept track of so all of those
30:35
documents that were printed off the
30:37
government knows who printed them off
30:38
exactly the moment when they did it
30:40
whose computer you know who authorized
30:42
that all of those things are of record
30:44
clear record and those records are still
30:47
there so we know who did it
30:49
but you know that’s not followed up on
30:51
State Department says there’s no problem
30:52
there there’s no know they’re there and
30:55
so you print that off now one of the
30:57
things that Hillary Clinton has made a
30:59
big deal out of saying was well they
31:01
weren’t class marked classified at the
31:03
time well that’s all correct so what
31:06
happened when you print off a classified
31:08
document it has a header and a footer
31:09
both the header in the footer
31:11
give the classification of the document
31:14
so somebody had to cut those off scan it
31:19
and put it into an unclassified system
31:21
and then start emailing them out and I
31:24
would say that this is what Jake what
31:28
James
31:29
Comey said in that July 2016 speech that
31:32
all this was done to make things easy
31:34
for Hillary Clinton so I would say that
31:37
pretty clearly what has happened is her
31:39
team said about to do all of this and
31:41
they would cut off the header and footer
31:42
scan the document and then they would
31:44
send it out to her blackberry which she
31:46
has many many photographs of her
31:47
flipping through her blackberry looking
31:49
at things but no one has ever looked at
31:52
the damage
31:52
Donna damage assessment seven we don’t
31:55
even know the number of classified
31:56
documents said they were out there were
31:58
there 70,000 was it a hundred and fifty
32:00
thousand was it 30,000 nobody knows as
32:03
far as I know how many documents are
32:05
actually out there the audience for a
32:08
minute and kind of give them some
32:09
context on some of this so look a cop
32:12
secret sauce informations processed in a
32:14
specific facility on occasion it can
32:18
happen somewhere else but there is if
32:19
you’re going to be working day to day
32:20
you go home to a thing called a skiff
32:22
and skiff stands for really top-secret
32:24
happens here if someone walks into
32:27
that building they don’t just walk
32:29
directly into the skiff they walk into a
32:30
secure checkpoint you sign in you
32:33
surrender your phone if you’ve never
32:35
been there before they likely make you
32:36
read a form to say you understand you
32:38
walk into an area where they’re
32:40
processing key SSCI and you can’t se
32:42
Aiye means special compartment
32:44
information so you can’t even get that
32:46
information unless you have specific
32:47
permission so there’s all these layers
32:50
because it turns out we know how to
32:52
protect top secret if everybody plays by
32:54
the rules and so just like Brad is
32:57
saying all of these things are laid out
32:59
everybody knows that you know that not
33:01
only is it your job it’s your money it’s
33:04
your freedom all on the line if you
33:06
screw this up so you always err on the
33:08
side of hey even to the point we have to
33:11
self-report your own security violation
33:14
and if you don’t that is a crime so you
33:18
walk into this space you’ve got a closed
33:20
system just like Brad said you cannot
33:22
get that thing off if you put a thumb
33:24
drive into the computer assuming it
33:26
still has a thumb drive port here’s what
33:27
happens an alert goes over to the person
33:29
that runs that part of the computer
33:31
system someone gets up and they walk
33:32
over and the trouble starts right there
33:35
like there’s there’s anything any of
33:39
this it’s all you cannot have top secret
33:42
leave
33:43
because here’s what happens when top
33:44
secret leaves and we’re not even talking
33:46
about secret we’re talking about the
33:47
highest level especially
33:49
compartmentalized so that you can’t know
33:51
someone’s name or someone sources name
33:53
or what a special program or a special
33:56
technology it’s protected because
33:58
people’s lives are at stake and that’s
34:01
precisely right yeah exactly
34:03
people die about this stuff so here’s
34:05
the rule in in the intelligence
34:07
community if that stuff well first off
34:09
we assume everything’s compromised
34:10
anyhow if the stuff gets out of the
34:12
system one there’s a real problem
34:15
someone’s not following the rules – it’s
34:17
all compromised so if there are 70,000
34:20
documents we’re assuming that someone
34:22
now let me flip it and I’m gonna give it
34:24
back to Brad Brad if I told you as a
34:28
station chief that there is a super
34:32
senior government leader in your area
34:34
that is reckless with classification and
34:38
you have a chance to access that
34:40
person’s workspace by hiring in or you
34:43
have someone already has a job there is
34:45
that of interest to you as someone who
34:47
processes information for the government
34:50
well yes of course it would be interest
34:53
of interest to me I’m assuming what
34:55
you’re discussing about it would be say
34:57
just for example not pointing a finger
34:59
but just say for example that a an
35:01
ambassador in a country where I was
35:03
working a u.s. ambassador was allowing
35:06
classified information to escape his
35:08
control that would be of interest it
35:10
wouldn’t be something where I would take
35:12
direct action that would be something to
35:14
be reported up the up the chain up the
35:16
food chain and let the the big boys take
35:18
care of that then it would you know we
35:20
would they would those sorts of
35:22
discussions for example would take place
35:24
at a very senior level in Washington DC
35:26
not but not in that country between a
35:30
chief of station and ambassador so yeah
35:33
that would certainly be something I
35:35
would look at yeah so as someone who’s
35:38
collected information give me a sniff of
35:40
that opportunity and I’m gonna put I’m
35:44
gonna stop everything and I’m gonna put
35:46
all of my resources into exploiting that
35:48
one thing because it may be temporary
35:50
but I’m gonna do everything I can I’ll
35:52
spend millions of dollars if I’ve got
35:54
access to it and like you said Brad it’s
35:56
gay
35:56
get elevated above my level because it’s
35:59
really valuable to have access to that
36:02
information so yeah if it’s a foreign
36:05
you know yeah I mean if it’s somebody
36:06
who’s being sloppy with information in
36:08
that country not an American and I’m
36:11
able to go after the information they’re
36:12
providing like let’s say the vice
36:14
president of you know country X where
36:16
I’m the chief of station then that guy
36:18
is being sloppy with information if I
36:20
can collect all that up oh yeah oh yeah
36:22
we’ll do that all day long absolutely I
36:24
mean that’s it’s a career-making
36:26
operation it could be it could be it
36:29
would depend on what you get but yeah it
36:31
would certainly not do you any harm just
36:33
no matter how you slice it it would be
36:34
something worth going after yeah so and
36:37
the reason why we take that aside is to
36:39
say this is not what about ISM that is a
36:42
significant event in the security of the
36:45
United States we don’t know what’s been
36:47
compromised we don’t even know how many
36:48
things were were released or in the open
36:52
because of this whole thing so then as
36:54
we come all the way back to these
36:55
investigations if you can’t get that
36:57
part right a cut and dry case where the
37:00
person admits to it and obviously it’s a
37:02
system you know and and look if I work
37:05
for Secretary Clinton and I have my
37:07
clearance and I’m using it I’m gonna say
37:08
hey you know I’ll do whatever the boss
37:11
needs but I’m not pulling top-secret out
37:14
of the skiff without some kind of
37:16
written guarantee that she’s gonna give
37:18
me top cover because I’m not going to
37:20
jail for this you know I don’t so
37:23
any that level that wouldn’t want that I
37:26
agree in two very important points out
37:29
of all of this one all of those people
37:32
that were apparently the ones doing the
37:34
day-to-day mechanics of pulling
37:35
classified information off of a you’re
37:38
printing off classified information from
37:40
a computer computer and then Trent you
37:42
know cutting it off scanning it and
37:44
transferring it to the unclassified
37:44
system those people apparently were all
37:47
made had a deal made with them by DOJ
37:49
and that was the famous case of where
37:52
they were out you know with hammers
37:53
breaking their BlackBerry’s into little
37:55
pieces to destroy the evidence the other
37:58
part of it is and by the way there are
37:59
no ports on a classified computer
38:01
there’s no thumb drive port so I mean
38:03
it’s physically impossible to do it the
38:05
only way to get the classified
38:06
information off is to print it and that
38:08
you that absolutely
38:10
100% purposefully CC who printed off
38:12
what when case in point you remember the
38:15
the case of Felicity winner she was
38:18
somebody I never Trump or who hated
38:20
Trump that was working as a contractor
38:22
had started out his airforce broader
38:24
clearance across was working for a
38:26
contracting company saw something that
38:28
she thought would damage Trump printed
38:30
it out and gave it to the press who then
38:31
ran with it and printed it so that’s how
38:34
they tracked it down that that I
38:35
remember the press reporting at the time
38:37
if there had only been three people that
38:39
printed it out the other two were you
38:40
know somewhere else doing something else
38:42
and she was the only one and they
38:43
immediately tracked it down to her and
38:45
she’s still in jail to this day I
38:47
believe now the final point out of all
38:50
that that’s to me is absolutely
38:52
fundamental and most important and such
38:54
a strong indicator of the depth of
38:57
corruption the political corruption that
38:59
exists in Washington DC is where is the
39:02
damage assessment and you had just
39:05
alluded to this where is it they’re
39:06
required to do a damage assessment and
39:08
have not now in the early days of when
39:12
Clinton was in the Secretary of State
39:14
position and this process would have
39:16
begun if it was done as I’m suggesting
39:19
out of all of this there were a lot of
39:21
things going on like the entire
39:22
according to press reporting the entire
39:25
Chinese spy program the CIA’s
39:28
penetrations of Chinese government and
39:31
information and technical information
39:32
were all wrapped up and apparently
39:35
roughly 30 people were pulled out of
39:37
their desks walked out the front door
39:38
and shot on the sidewalk in front of
39:41
their buildings to you know make a point
39:43
to everybody else and another handful or
39:45
in jail to this day well there was also
39:48
a an Iranian missile technology guy that
39:53
was arrested and ended up being shot a
39:56
lot of these sorts of things were taking
39:58
place in that general timeframe now
40:00
nobody can tell you for sure that those
40:05
people weren’t killed because of Hillary
40:07
Clinton’s leaking out of this
40:08
information and I think what what this
40:12
is is in fact the origin of this whole
40:16
Muller investigation and the FISA
40:18
warrant if you just look at the facts
40:20
what fits the facts you know kind of
40:22
taking an Occam’s
40:23
or look at this what fits the facts is
40:26
that Hillary Clinton had a real problem
40:28
because she would have realized those
40:30
names of all those people were included
40:32
in these documents and within this
40:34
hypothesis and that they all got killed
40:37
so she knew that she was on the stick
40:39
for that and had to find a way out
40:41
so John Brennan was a close associate a
40:44
friend somebody she knew had some
40:46
confidence in he was a party loyalist
40:48
who was in charge of the CIA at the time
40:50
so it looks like he went to her she went
40:54
to him and said I got a mess here how do
40:57
I fix this and part of it is the reason
41:00
I kind of suggest that as what has
41:02
actually gone on is based on the timing
41:05
if you look back when the steel dossier
41:07
was created and paid for by the Hillary
41:09
Clinton campaign thus indicating she’s
41:12
the origin of all of this it was done
41:15
before Trump was even the candidate for
41:17
president for the Republican Party
41:19
nobody thought he was even going to win
41:20
the Republican nomination so this was
41:23
all prepared to target someone whoever
41:26
the Republican candidate was going to
41:28
turn out to be and they didn’t think
41:30
they were going to that that person
41:31
would win everybody thought Hillary
41:33
Clinton was going to win most of the
41:34
people I know thought that so the only
41:37
thing that fits the facts is that it
41:39
originated with Hillary Clinton in order
41:42
to cover her tracks for all these leaked
41:44
documents that got people killed that’s
41:46
the one solution that fits all of the
41:49
facts and this whole Muller
41:51
investigation trying to get Trump and
41:53
all of that is a desperate you know
41:57
effort on the part of all of these
41:59
people now at this point to cover tracks
42:01
and I think all of this this this this
42:03
latest thing with Ukraine is to cover
42:05
tracks
42:06
I think the Muller investigation was to
42:08
cover tracks and I think the great fear
42:11
of these people and what’s coming that
42:13
everybody knows is coming is the the
42:17
final investigation coming out of DOJ
42:19
looking at all of this the origins of
42:21
the FISA warrant and how all of this got
42:24
started and kicked off now Attorney
42:26
General Barr has said multiple times
42:28
that he’s asked how all this got started
42:31
and the answer is that he gets don’t
42:33
make any sense and they’re all conflict
42:34
with each other so clearly
42:37
the get-go this whole thing smells bad
42:39
looks bad and I think it’s gonna
42:41
ultimately blow up in the face of the
42:43
Democrats and I think we’re going to see
42:44
people go to jail I would even suggest
42:47
more I would suggest that some of this
42:50
approaches the line of treason and I
42:52
also remind everybody that just the day
42:55
after or two days after the Muller
42:57
investigation ended attorney general bar
43:00
put federal execution back on the table
43:04
so there is now the death penalty for
43:06
federal criminal activity federal crimes
43:09
treason would be one of those I think
43:12
that was done with forethought and
43:14
understanding of what was coming because
43:16
I think there’s people here that have
43:18
crossed the line and I would certainly
43:20
be looking at all of these names you and
43:22
I have mentioned so far and I would not
43:24
be surprised it may only be a ploy it
43:26
may be real but I would not be surprised
43:28
and I guarantee you none of these people
43:30
if they’re guilty of all these things
43:32
we’re talking about not a one of them is
43:34
going to stand up to the threat of the
43:35
death penalty they’re going to give them
43:37
everything they know to have that taken
43:38
off the table so I think that was why
43:40
that was put on the table originally by
43:42
barb because he saw it coming let me ask
43:45
you this you talked about a lot of his
43:47
stuff weaving together and and again
43:52
this is not what about ISM this is a
43:54
significant crime right and we have to
43:56
take it like that what I first became
43:59
you know got into the army and was gonna
44:01
become a counterintelligence agent the
44:03
commander that I had you know I remember
44:05
who the person was just a basic thing
44:06
but he came in and said you know you’re
44:09
about to become counterintelligence
44:10
agents you’re gonna be federal badging
44:12
credential people like you know you’ve
44:16
got a serious job and you need to set
44:19
your meter to being above reproach that
44:22
means that you know you you don’t put
44:24
yourself in compromising situations I
44:26
know not everybody lives our life wet
44:28
way I certainly don’t live my wife that
44:30
way anymore but when I had a clearance I
44:33
I certainly did what I wouldn’t do is go
44:38
on to the Attorney General’s airplane in
44:40
a private unscheduled meeting you know
44:43
as the former president on the day my
44:46
wife is being interviewed about this
44:48
whole thing and expect
44:50
anybody to believe that all they’re just
44:54
talking about kids you don’t put
44:56
yourself in that situation because I
44:58
don’t believe it it’s just like a if you
45:00
and I were to go walk around as as
45:02
intelligence professionals forget that
45:06
as college kids in Iran and the hills
45:08
we’re spies when you go do spy when
45:11
you go do illegal that’s what it
45:13
looks like and yep my question to you is
45:17
does this go all the way to the boss and
45:20
I’m not trying to throw President Obama
45:21
under the bus but when there’s this much
45:24
stuff and there’s this much work to get
45:27
out of the way of it I have to feel like
45:30
it’s not unreasonable to say how much
45:33
was President Obama involved in this how
45:35
much did he know because here’s what
45:37
I’ll tell you as a guy that’s worked in
45:39
Intel we all have a sense for what is
45:41
and isn’t classified and if it doesn’t
45:43
have a portion marking or a header like
45:45
you talked about it doesn’t make it not
45:47
classified again you don’t have to go oh
45:49
because that’s it’s not how this stuff
45:51
works you go whoa why is this on my desk
45:55
this has got presidents intent in it
45:57
this is at least secret you know and if
46:00
not I need to get up and go make sure
46:02
like hey this showed up on my desk it’s
46:04
not portion marked it’s not classified
46:06
as far as what I’m seeing but this seems
46:08
like this should be protected
46:09
information and you go to the person
46:11
whose job literally is to say yes no on
46:13
these cases and so Brad what are the I
46:18
don’t know what are the odds that this
46:20
actually touches the president and
46:21
there’s culpability and a lot of this is
46:23
done just to kind of let go hey let’s
46:25
protect the entire government let’s not
46:27
tear this thing down because of this one
46:30
thing let’s clean it up and then just
46:32
kind of look the other way and say not
46:34
too many harm it’s not too many fouls
46:35
all this good go forward well I think
46:38
that’s certainly the attitude that we’ve
46:40
seen so far I think that’s State
46:41
Department’s attitude I there’s just no
46:43
question they know the gravity of
46:46
everything that was done and I think the
46:48
the powers that be there which
46:50
ultimately has to rest with Mike Pompeo
46:52
secretary state who is a trump appoint
46:55
appointment to the Secretary of State it
46:59
i I just don’t know how I must have gone
47:02
to his level to be looked at but
47:04
understand this they know all these
47:06
things you and I have talked about have
47:07
been true well there goes to the
47:08
President of the United States former
47:10
president United States Obama I I go
47:14
back and forth now previously there were
47:16
a lot of people looking this than the
47:18
way they analyzed it was that Obama knew
47:21
and I would say that’s kind of the most
47:23
common conclusion out of this that Obama
47:26
was directly involved previous to that
47:30
to a recent statement by Jim James
47:32
clapper former head of national security
47:36
I would have said no and the reason is
47:40
because I think all this was spearheaded
47:42
by Hillary Clinton and now it would have
47:45
been things that people would have
47:47
bounced off Obama but I do believe that
47:50
this that the person driving the Train
47:52
the impetus for all of this was Hillary
47:55
Clinton and she was acting through John
47:57
Brennan so say John Brennan thinks
47:59
everybody thought Hillary Clinton was
48:01
going to be the next president United
48:02
States everybody and so he would have
48:05
automatically kind of gone along with
48:07
whatever she wanted plus he’s a believer
48:08
in that doing those sorts of things
48:10
anyway and you know he would have looked
48:14
at and said okay eight more years of as
48:16
director of the CIA great you know I can
48:17
keep doing all the stuff I’m doing now
48:19
at some point that would have had to
48:21
have been bounced off Alabama and people
48:24
would have been telling him James
48:26
clapper came out in an interview oh
48:27
maybe a month ago now and said
48:30
everything they did was approved by
48:34
President Obama so I’m thinking that
48:37
that was more or less the way this was
48:39
and and that that Hillary Clinton was
48:42
driving the bus and yet Obama was
48:46
informed of what was happening and who
48:47
is doing what and why and all of that
48:49
and and allowed it to go forward at the
48:51
very least so I would not be surprised
48:54
if all this plays out in an honest
48:57
fashion which I don’t think there’s a
48:58
guarantee of that yet although it it
49:00
looks like it’s going to go forward that
49:02
way if it does go forward in an honest
49:04
fashion and the truth is brought out and
49:06
then and the guilty are convicted I
49:07
don’t think Obama will be directly
49:10
involved and and that’s the reason why
49:13
is that the orders didn’t originate and
49:15
come
49:16
him he would have you know said yeah
49:19
okay I know what you’re doing
49:20
but you know fine and he he closed his
49:23
eyes to it but I don’t think that level
49:25
of involvement to go after a president
49:27
United States is sufficient so I think
49:30
well I think Attorney General bar for
49:33
example would look at that situation but
49:35
okay well we’ve got Hillary forward
49:38
through everybody else that was involved
49:39
the John Brennan’s the James clapper of
49:42
the Jim Comey the FBI CIA NSA all these
49:47
guys are the type of people that were
49:51
directly involved and therefore the ones
49:53
that we’re gonna go after legally we’re
49:55
Obama I don’t I I may be wrong and all
49:57
this remains to be seen but I just don’t
49:59
think that he was all that directly
50:01
involved made aware but not directly
50:04
involved so I think that’ll be the line
50:06
that’s where that where the cutoff is
50:08
and I don’t think that if this goes
50:11
forward they’re gonna look back at this
50:12
and say oh no President Obama ordered
50:14
this from the get-go is his idea all of
50:16
those sorts of things I don’t think
50:17
that’s ever going to appear you know
50:19
it’s it’s a funny I mean and it’s just
50:22
been a great conversation cuz this is
50:24
when people say what about it’s they
50:27
don’t know all of these things yeah what
50:29
about the systematic disregard for
50:31
people’s lives you know okay let’s just
50:34
is that important to you and if it’s not
50:35
cool cool then we’ll just go forward
50:38
well Matt not on that assumption but all
50:40
of these things you know when the
50:43
government and and this is why I think
50:45
as a nation we’re sort of leery of the
50:48
CIA and the FBI having too much power I
50:50
mean here’s Comey who clearly knows he
50:53
has to go sit in front of the nation and
50:55
lie to you and me and maybe he doesn’t
50:57
lie to the jo-jo person and the person
50:59
that loves Secretary Clinton but but he
51:02
lied to you and I we knew it we heard
51:04
him say like what how can is again how
51:07
can I take you guys seriously if you’re
51:10
going to put people in jail for
51:11
significantly less and call them
51:14
traitors and everything else I mean I I
51:19
struggle with this mightily because look
51:21
the president gets to make a lot of the
51:23
rules you know like wouldn’t President
51:25
Trump I forget who it wasn’t it was
51:26
Jared Kushner he’s like you’ve got a
51:28
clearance
51:29
he gets to do that he gets to go yeah
51:31
give that guy whatever he needs
51:33
it helps me do my job and then it
51:36
becomes a political thing we’re of
51:37
course he can do that he’s the boss he
51:39
he holds the culpability of whatever
51:42
happens and even then he gets to go so
51:44
what he’s fired he’s out of here
51:45
whatever so it does get weird at the
51:47
presidential level but man it’s again as
51:51
a collector I would be licking my chops
51:54
to get after representatives and
51:57
Senators because they’re so desperate I
51:59
think I could exploit that stuff if I
52:02
had nefarious intent or noble intent
52:06
depending on your point of view and what
52:07
country you’re from but I just they just
52:11
seem so exploitable Brad when they get
52:14
into this position of trying to protect
52:17
themselves all I need is a crack and I
52:19
can get in there and start to pull
52:20
really high in different nation out of
52:23
that crack I agree and these things just
52:26
aren’t ever looked at I out of all this
52:28
mess I wouldn’t be surprised if the
52:31
House and Senate are kind of left alone
52:34
even if they’re fairly guilty in having
52:37
been involved in some of the aspects of
52:39
this I mean just look at the track
52:42
record on it I mean and you’ll speaking
52:46
of licking your chops as an intelligence
52:48
officer you’ll you’ll enjoy this one
52:49
look look what happened with Dianne
52:51
Feinstein what gods asked this bring it
52:54
up yeah she has a guy who’s her chief of
52:59
staff out in California who’s been a spy
53:02
for the Chinese for 20 years now her
53:05
husband by the way is a venture
53:07
capitalist guy and they’ve made several
53:09
hundred million dollars doing business
53:12
with the Chinese according to her own
53:15
you know economic report that she had
53:17
ever do her accounting release on how
53:20
much money they own and stuff and so
53:22
they made hundreds of millions of
53:24
dollars doing business with the Chinese
53:25
and in it he unfolds that this guy on
53:30
her staffer chief of staff for 20 years
53:32
as a Chinese spy now the her immediate
53:36
reaction is him by the way the FBI went
53:38
to her right away and today you know we
53:40
believe that this guy’s a spy we know
53:41
he’s just 5 4 X Y
53:43
reasons now in the Trump case which
53:46
you’re required to do by law and in the
53:48
Trump case if there was somebody on
53:50
Trump’s staff who was working with the
53:53
Russians they were also obligated by law
53:55
to go to President Trump and tell him
53:57
and they did not that’s one of the other
53:59
issues that’s going to bite them in the
54:00
rear when all this is said and done if
54:02
it all comes to the light of day so this
54:06
Chinese guy out there she Dianne
54:08
Feinstein says well he didn’t have any
54:09
classified air access to classified
54:11
information he was out in California
54:13
where I don’t keep classified
54:15
information but he was also her driver
54:17
so what do you do if you’re sitting in
54:20
the back seat of a car riding around you
54:22
make all your phone calls so he’s
54:23
hearing all of this sort of stuff yeah
54:25
what’s the other thing he does is your
54:26
chief his office out there what is she
54:28
mainly doing in her office
54:29
and that is collecting money for the
54:31
next election so all of her donor
54:33
information is in this guy’s hands so
54:35
how to prove to me that some of those
54:38
donors weren’t sent to her by the
54:41
Chinese government and that they weren’t
54:43
the ones financing her elections no
54:46
prove that didn’t happen and you know if
54:49
I were the Chinese intelligence officer
54:51
running this that would mean one of the
54:52
very first things I would have done the
54:54
second thing I would have done is you
54:57
know damn well are the people they get
54:59
hired into her office in DC originated
55:02
in California where she’s a senator and
55:04
who would have put them in the pipeline
55:06
to get those jobs her chief of staff out
55:09
in California the Chinese spy so how
55:12
many guys over a 20-year period guys are
55:14
gallops did that guy get jobs in
55:17
Washington DC that are also Chinese
55:19
spies and those guys would also spin off
55:21
the it’s kind of a musical chair things
55:23
on the hill those staff jobs are not
55:26
super well-paid so a guy will go in as a
55:29
staff position in one place he’ll get a
55:30
little bit better job someplace else and
55:32
go to hell and they all jump around so
55:34
he could have sent in 30 40 50 who knows
55:37
how many Chinese spies into the system
55:39
and who knows how many offices those
55:41
guys are working in now where is the
55:44
damage assessment on this and it’s
55:47
nowhere nobody’s even talking about it
55:50
no I haven’t heard a single person
55:51
mention it besides myself at all yeah
55:54
where is it
55:55
how can this be allowed to stand as is
55:57
it’s just unconscionable it really is
55:59
national security it’s been flushed down
56:02
the toilet
56:02
ya know and listen the Chinese have the
56:04
biggest collection force in the world I
56:07
mean everybody’s tasked with something
56:09
you know again as as someone looking to
56:12
gather information you know you’re
56:14
running an office bureau and you’ve got
56:16
access to a senator because the drivers
56:19
there that’s your baby you’re not gonna
56:22
put that person into a position where
56:24
they’re doing anything extra you know
56:26
you might exploit what’s in the car but
56:29
if you’re gonna be the chief of staff
56:30
and recommend people to hire I’m
56:32
gonna work the out of that I am I’m
56:34
gonna I’m gonna put as many people
56:35
through the pipeline as I can keep my
56:38
baby protected not put them through
56:40
anything they don’t need to go through
56:42
and I’m just gonna sponge all of that
56:45
stuff up and then also as I do that I’m
56:47
gonna find other things that are
56:49
exploitable with these people that are
56:50
hired you know when they have their
56:52
character flaws again because they’re
56:53
not above reproach and I’m gonna be like
56:55
there is a point of leverage there’s an
56:57
exploitable point here’s these documents
56:59
now I now I can go and start an
57:01
operation in a completely different area
57:03
because this one this one piece of
57:05
information unlocks a whole new avenue
57:07
and and this stuff spider webs out I’m
57:10
not telling Brad I’m telling the
57:11
audience in a hurry
57:13
I just need access to information so I
57:15
can get access to more information and
57:17
access is the key if you’ve got
57:20
placement and access and now it’s just
57:23
left to my creativity on how bad I
57:27
you every single time so maybe nothing
57:30
happened but this guy here on this end
57:33
who’s collected stuff from evil people
57:35
let me tell you something I’m not gonna
57:37
fail at that I’m never gonna quit and
57:39
I’m constantly going to work that system
57:41
and until that person is swinging from a
57:43
noose ultimately because it’s it’s me
57:46
against them and I will I will get what
57:49
I need out of that dad is my job that’s
57:50
why I exist I would say there’s zero
57:53
chance that nothing happened I mean the
57:55
Chinese intelligence service have
57:58
professionally trained and experienced
58:00
people and you’re not going to put your
58:01
first tour junior officer in charge of a
58:04
case like this one it’s going to be an
58:06
experienced operator
58:08
who knows how to exploit cases and just
58:11
think of it from that individual the
58:13
Chinese intelligence officers
58:14
perspective he could have you know if
58:17
this pipeline we’ve been talking about
58:18
running agents through this pipeline
58:20
into Washington DC and let them spread
58:22
out from there
58:23
and then start recording back to China
58:25
you know talk about wanting to get a
58:27
promotion I mean that well certainly be
58:28
the trick for him and look at some of
58:31
the other aspects of this so it’s easy
58:34
to manipulate once you’re in that far so
58:37
for example this chief of staff like I
58:39
said he’s gonna have his finger on all
58:41
the donors and be talking to these
58:42
people for the senator he’s going to be
58:45
the local contact for these people so
58:48
the husband who’s the venture capitalist
58:50
guy who’s making hundreds of millions of
58:52
dollars he has some company that’s doing
58:55
business a form of business where the
58:59
United States is pushing back against
59:00
China on that and so some US aspect of
59:04
that company here in the United States
59:06
starts contributing money to identify in
59:09
Stein’s campaign large contributions
59:11
there she’s naturally going to be
59:13
friendly to them the husband then starts
59:15
being able to get a piece of that pie
59:17
doing business and is able to make ten
59:19
or twenty million dollars out of the
59:21
deal again you have a very friendly
59:23
family operation where they’re making
59:24
millions of dollars and Dianne Feinstein
59:27
is getting money into her campaign now
59:29
what happens that means China owns our
59:31
but at least on that issue they own her
59:34
vote so that would have been another
59:35
thing I guarantee you that would have
59:37
got that that intelligence officer
59:39
Chinese intelligence officer promoted
59:41
and that’s no brainer or stuff this is
59:44
junior officer level decisions to figure
59:46
this stuff out it doesn’t take a lot of
59:48
sophistication everybody involved on the
59:51
Chinese end of it would have been
59:52
talking about okay which one do we do
59:54
first
59:54
not whether we do them or not and the
59:56
list would have been longer there are a
59:58
lot of other things that are far more
59:59
sophisticated that could have been done
60:01
successfully to manipulate the situation
60:03
in the favor of the Chinese and that
60:06
includes starting to stretch out going
60:08
to other senators maybe from California
60:10
and congressmen all of that needs to be
60:13
looked at and that I hate to be a broken
60:16
record on this but where is the damage
60:18
assessment where is it and it’s not
60:21
being done
60:21
that’s again it’s just yes yes again as
60:26
a station chief if one of your guys or
60:29
your one of your people came up to you
60:31
and said I have got the chief of staff
60:34
who also drives the car for a not just a
60:37
senator but a senior senator who I
60:39
believe sits on the Intelligence
60:40
Committee are you interested in that is
60:44
there a sweeter prize than that I don’t
60:46
think they get any sweeter other than
60:48
maybe you know someone inside the Oval
60:50
Office with similar access well that
60:54
would have that would have had it would
60:56
has to always the way were organized the
60:59
United States and then divisions between
61:01
the different agencies that has to end
61:03
up in the arms of the FBI so that would
61:07
be the automatic thing me and his chief
61:10
of station if I came across something
61:11
like that where somehow I knew that
61:14
there was a spy on the staff of a
61:17
congressman or senator I would have just
61:18
we would have the agency would have kind
61:20
of washed its hands of it pretty quickly
61:21
they would have gotten everything we
61:23
could get and just start turning it over
61:24
as quickly as we can to the FBI probably
61:28
the FBI has offices overseas to there
61:31
the legal attache office league at for
61:33
short is what we call it there would be
61:35
FBI people there probably we would start
61:37
by at Washington DC and word would come
61:40
down they would either send out a
61:41
special TV wire to handle this or they
61:44
would have talked about their special
61:46
agent in charge of the FBI office the
61:48
league at office and maybe call him back
61:51
to DC to talk about how to handle all
61:53
this and it would have been coordinated
61:54
somehow in that fashion but it would
61:56
always end up in FBI hands from from the
61:58
get-go yeah and I guess the ultimate
62:00
thing I’d want to illustrate with this
62:02
for the audience is that this one person
62:05
is so important to to your adversaries
62:08
efforts there will be an entire staff
62:11
hired out specifically like you said
62:13
they’ll be TV wide in and if it
62:15
continues to go ultimately they get
62:17
permanently assigned and there might be
62:18
20 25 30 there might be a hundred people
62:21
working on the opposite end of this
62:23
thing just focused on this one aspect
62:26
because it’s so valuable
62:27
you will spend millions of dollars in in
62:31
future retirement for your Chinese
62:33
employees there will be so many resource
62:35
so at this as long as it’s a viable
62:37
operation to just say oh nothing
62:40
happened
62:41
ignores how valuable this is
62:44
and then first off how the did this
62:46
happened in the first place you know
62:48
well that’s an excellent question that
62:50
in a damage assessment would be you know
62:52
relate to us all how this whole thing
62:54
got started but you’re absolutely right
62:56
I mean the FBI for these sorts of things
62:58
something that at high level I mean
63:01
depending on what facts they start to
63:02
see as they get into it the question is
63:05
not you know can they get the resources
63:08
to throw it the problem I mean they’ll
63:10
bring people from they do this on big
63:12
cases they’ll bring people in from other
63:14
offices if FBI headquarters can’t take
63:16
care of it they’ll automatically draw
63:18
from the Washington bureau office and
63:19
start bringing in people from other
63:21
offices Philadelphia or wherever and
63:23
they’ll draw them all in from Atlanta
63:24
out from the west coast LA whatever they
63:26
have to do if they have to put together
63:28
five hundred people guarantee of the
63:30
FBI’s gonna put together five hundred
63:31
people yeah I mean that’s that’s exactly
63:34
right whatever it takes whatever it
63:37
takes and I literally mean whatever it
63:39
takes they’re going to make it happen
63:40
and listen beretta this is a great
63:44
conversation one of my favorite spy
63:45
versus spy episodes because we just got
63:48
these realities for guys like us this is
63:51
what we want we want these opportunities
63:53
we want there to be chaos in the senior
63:56
level of the government so that we can
63:58
gain access to these things as an
64:01
adversary you know someone trying to
64:02
even even a friend you know we’ll just
64:05
say Great Britain you know they see this
64:07
know like oh great we can find more
64:09
things out like everybody’s collecting
64:11
on everybody and if you have chaos like
64:14
this it’s not hard to find people to
64:16
exploit what whether it’s passively or
64:18
actively and and you can really change
64:21
the outcome for your nation because
64:23
you’re right how many votes do you need
64:24
but when when there’s something coming
64:26
through the Congress and the Chinese
64:29
look around they’re like okay they’re
64:31
doing the same thing that Congress is
64:32
doing we have these 18 votes how do we
64:35
get the next twenty that we need to flip
64:38
this thing from A to B but that
64:39
absolutely happens it’s it’s statecraft
64:42
but what’s the information system for
64:45
statecraft it’s the CIA it’s the FBI
64:47
it’s the army CI all these things that
64:49
of them the ability to find the assets
64:51
to create the impact that they want with
64:54
another nation yeah it’s it’s a it’s a
64:58
funny game and dance out here all the
65:00
time that’s going on at the political
65:02
level I think the population in general
65:05
of the United States of America
65:07
understands that this is going all the
65:09
time on all the time at some level and
65:11
that’s why one of the most least trusted
65:15
groups of people in the United States is
65:18
Congress yeah because they just see it
65:21
but the quirk out of all of this is is
65:23
most people like their local congressman
65:26
or senator uh-huh but then they think
65:28
that everybody else is guilty of all
65:29
this stuff but they’re I think they all
65:31
are yeah yeah I always start with will
65:33
vote your guy out take all your
65:36
incumbents and vote them out my guys
65:38
good yeah okay
65:40
that’s why we’re the we’re in the mess
65:42
we’re in and okay seriously well listen
65:44
Brad we’ve done an hour and it was I
65:46
don’t know I really enjoyed it and I
65:48
would love to have you come back on it
65:49
and do some more you guys can find more
65:51
about Brad intel reformed org Intel
65:54
reformed org you can also link with Brad
65:57
on LinkedIn and just I mean what a great
66:00
conversation from from a guy that’s done
66:02
work in real life not just someone who’s
66:05
written a book and theorized this is a
66:07
guy who’s at the tactician anta and
66:09
knows how to get what he needs from the
66:11
people in the field so thanks Bradford
66:13
coming on and sharing your story at
66:15
least you know talking about these great
66:17
stories thank you it’s Americans for
66:20
intelligence reform we’re on Facebook
66:22
YouTube and certainly the website at
66:25
Intel reformed org thank you so much
66:26
it’s great talking with you
66:29
you
66:29
[Music]
[/expander_maker]

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