My Take On Russia-Gate, Susan Rice, Surveillance Of Trump Officials, And The Media

Barack Obama's former US National Security Adviser Susan Rice is the latest target for Donald Trump's embattled defenders. KEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERS

WNU Editor: What a difference a month makes. President Trump makes a tweet that he is being "wire-tapped" and was under surveillance by the former Obama administration .... and the media and political narrative overwhelming condemns and ridicules him. House Intel Chairman Nunes says the same thing a few weeks later after viewing classified documents at the White House .... and he too is condemned and ridiculed. And now .... after Rep. Adam Schiff (Dem.) sees the same files and documents in person .... coupled with his subdued reaction to the media on what he had saw (i.e. no more claims of proof of Trump - Russian collusion as he did a week before .... Schiff: New evidence shows possible Trump-Russia collusion (CNN)) .... the "dam has burst" on this story, and we are now entering a different phase.

To begin .... it looks like what former Obama intelligence official Evelyn Farkas said a few weeks ago is true .... Did A Former Obama Intelligence Official Admit That President Trump`s Staff Was Under Surveillance? (March 30, 2017).  That there was surveillance (and it had nothing to do with Russia), that there was unmasking of Trump officials, and in the waning days of the Obama administration a concerted effort to gather as much intel as possible and to disseminate it throughout the bureaucracy was made .... even (apparently) producing detailed spreadsheets .... Former US Attorney: Susan Rice Ordered Spy Agencies To Produce ‘Detailed Spreadsheets’ Involving Trump (Daily Caller).

If this is not an attempt to disrupt an incoming administration .... I then do not know what is.

But what takes the cake is how the main stream media has reacted to this story .... a complete meltdown that I have never seen before .... with CNN even refusing to first cover the story .... Why Is CNN Refuting The Susan Rice Story It Refuses To Cover? (The Federalist). More here ... CNN Goes On Rampage Against Susan Rice Bombshell, Instructs Viewers To Ignore The Story (Grabrien). And when CNN has finally decided to cover the story, they have someone who formerly worked with in the Obama administration saying that the entire story is a distraction .... Cillizza: Trump just keeps creating smokescreens to mask his Russia problem (CNN). Sighhh .... this is not how you cover a news story. But .... on the bright side .... at least no one in CNN is calling this story "fake news"

And as for the rest of the main stream media .... we now know that they actually sat on this story for a few days, and it only became known when (of all people) alt-right activist Mike Cernovich made it public after his sources in these news agencies gave it to him .... Cernovich Explains How He Learned About Susan Rice (Zero Hedge). I am still sceptical on Michael Cernovich .... but I give credit where credit is due .... he was the first to publicly break the story.

Now .... the media line is that Susan Rice was legally doing her job overseeing intelligence and that she was/is not responsible for the leaks of this intel to the media. But unlike the past where the media narrative was always unified on the entire Trump/Russia -collusion/wire-tapping story .... it is telling to me that they are now all over the place .... with some like CNN and the Washington Post first refusing to cover the Susan Rice story, to others saying that it is a "right-wing" attack on Susan Rice to divert attention away from Russia-gate, and to others who are now becoming more and more concerned that .... horrors of horrors .... it may be true.

As to what is my final take .... for the Trump-Russian collusion story to continue .... all of the anonymous sources that have been quoted for months by the main stream media that there is a Trump - Russian conspiracy/collusion story better step-up with their evidence .... and fast. And the reason why is simple .... the other story involving surveillance of Trump officials that had nothing to do with Russia appears to have evidence to back it up .... and my gut is telling me that it is about to blow-up in a big way for former Obama administration officials. My prediction .... if there was evidence of Trump - Russian collusion .... it would have been presented a long time ago (before the election) .... and Donald Trump would definitely not be the President today. And while I do believe the Russia-Gate story will be around for a long time, the Obama administration's role in conducting some level of surveillance of Trump officials is going to pick up speed .... and in the end it is going to shift the story away from President Trump ..... to President Obama and his role in this entire story.