{"id":180644,"date":"2018-12-17T06:46:22","date_gmt":"2018-12-17T06:46:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=180644"},"modified":"2018-12-20T04:36:21","modified_gmt":"2018-12-20T04:36:21","slug":"judicial-watch-documents-reveal-obama-state-department-urgently-provided-classified-russiagate-documents-to-multiple-senators-immediately-ahead-of-trump-inauguration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=180644","title":{"rendered":"Judicial Watch: Documents Reveal Obama State Department Urgently Provided Classified \u2018Russiagate\u2019 Documents to Multiple Senators Immediately Ahead of Trump Inauguration"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\">Judicial Watch \u2013 Dec 14, 2018<\/h1>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>We made the deadline! Thank you everyone for what was truly a Department-wide effort!\u2019 \u2013 former senior advisor to the assistant secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, less than 24 hours before Trump inauguration<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\"><strong>(Washington, DC)<\/strong> Judicial Watch today released two sets of heavily redacted State Department documents, <strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/document-archive\/jw-v-state-cardin-docs-01381\/\">38 pages<\/a> <\/strong>and <strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/document-archive\/jw-v-state-cardin-december-2018-docs-01381\/\">48 pages<\/a><\/strong>, showing classified information was researched and disseminated to multiple U.S. Senators by the Obama administration immediately prior to President Donald Trump\u2019s inauguration. The documents reveal that among those receiving the classified documents were Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Sen. Robert Corker (R-TN).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Judicial Watch obtained the documents through a June 2018 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed against the State Department after it failed to respond to a February 2018 request seeking records of the Obama State Department\u2019s last-minute efforts to share classified information about Russia election interference issues with Democratic Senator Ben Cardin (<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/document-archive\/jw-v-state-cardin-complaint-01381\/\">Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:18-cv-01381<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span>)).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The documents reveal the Obama State Department urgently gathering classified Russia investigation information and disseminating it to members of Congress within hours of Donald Trump taking office.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">In a Thursday, January 5, 2017, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/document-archive\/jw-v-state-cardin-docs-01381-pg-3-6\/\">email chain<\/a><\/strong><\/span> then-State Department Congressional Advisor Hera Abassi indicates that then-Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland\u2019s bureau was attempting to get Russian investigation related documents to the office of Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) office as quickly as possible. (In <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2018\/06\/20\/steele-dossier-state-department\/\">June 2016<\/a><\/strong><\/span> Nuland permitted a meeting between Steele and the FBI\u2019s legal attach\u00e9 in Rome. Nuland told CBS News that the State Department knew about the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/new-details-emerge-on-anti-trump-dossier-as-house-gop-seeks-fusion-gps-boss-testimony\">Steele dossier<\/a><\/strong><\/span> by July 2016.)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">In the email, with the subject line \u201cFor Immediate Review \u2013 Call Sheet for S Call with Senator Warner,\u201d Abassi writes:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">\u201cI told Cardin\u2019s folks \u2026 that the process is long. Can we ensure that there are no holdups on our end?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Minutes later, Abassi confirms that Nuland was fully aware of the information that the State Department was providing to members of Congress alleging Russia interference information:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">\u201cThis is definitely on EUR A\/S radar!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Leaving no doubt that the State Department officials knew they were transmitting classified information, in a Wednesday, January 18, 2017, <strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/document-archive\/jw-v-state-cardin-docs-01381-pg-16-19\/\">email<\/a> <\/strong>with the subject line \u201cCables\/M,\u201d Former Foreign Service Officer <strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/notes\/us-department-of-state-engaging-the-community-on-foreign-affairs\/us-counterterrorism-efforts-discussed-by-lutheran-college-students\/445767873061\/\">Kerem Bilge<\/a><\/strong> writes to State Department Congressional advisor Hilary Johnson and others: \u201cHighest class is SECRET\/NOFORN.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Johnson replies:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">\u201cFYI \u2013 so we can keep the SECRET\/NOFORN header, and should declassify it 25 years from tomorrow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">\u201cI forwarded the fully cleared version to the two of you on the high side [Editor\u2019s Note: \u201chigh side\u201d is State Department term for high security classification system], but let me know if there\u2019s anything else you need from me on this.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">\u201cNote: we\u2019ll need to make sure there is someone in Senate security tomorrow who can accept these.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">On Wednesday, January 18, 2017, Johnson <strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/document-archive\/jw-v-state-cardin-docs-01381-pg-31\/\">confirms<\/a><\/strong> that classified documents were sent to Senator Corker in addition to Senator Cardin. \u201cFlagging that I sent you a high side request for clearance of the draft transmittal letter to send documents to Senators Corker and Cardin.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Additionally, involved in providing classified information to members of the Senate was Naz Durakoglu, Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs. In <strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/document-archive\/jw-v-state-cardin-docs-01381-pg-38\/\">an email<\/a><\/strong> dated Thursday, January 19, 2017, with the subject line \u201cSigned, sealed, delivered\u201d Durakoglu apparently confirms that Obama State Department officials were eager to provide the classified material before Trump was sworn into office: \u201c<strong>We made the deadline!\u201d <\/strong>Durakoglu states [Emphasis added] \u201cThank you everyone for what was truly a Department-wide effort!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">President Trump was inaugurated less than 24 hours later.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">In a Wednesday, January 18, 2017 <strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/document-archive\/jw-v-state-cardin-december-2018-docs-01381-pg-9-10\/\">email<\/a><\/strong>, Naz Durakoglu signed off on the document transmittal letter on behalf of her bureau. This letter accompanied \u201cthe documents to Senator Corker and Cardin\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">In a Thursday, January 19, 2017 <strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/document-archive\/jw-v-state-cardin-december-2018-docs-01381-pg-38\/\">email<\/a><\/strong>, Durakoglu appears to confirm that she is who carried the documents from the State Department to Capitol Hill. She states, \u201cI will be carrying over the cables to the Hill.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">\u201cThese documents show remarkable evidence of the non-stop, unethical effort in the Obama State Department to gather and send its own dossier of classified information on Russia in an effort to discredit the incoming Trump administration,\u201d said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">According to a March 2017 report in the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/news\/maryland\/politics\/blog\/bal-report-cardin-received-secret-documents-on-election-interference-by-russia-20170301-story.html\">Baltimore Sun<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span>:<em>\u201c<\/em>Maryland Sen.\u00a0Ben Cardin\u00a0received classified information about Russia\u2019s involvement in elections when the Obama administration was attempting to disseminate that\u00a0material widely across the government in order to aid in future investigations, according to a report Wednesday \u2026 Obama officials were concerned, according to the report [in<u><a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/03\/01\/us\/politics\/obama-trump-russia-election-hacking.html\">\u00a0<\/a><\/u><a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/03\/01\/us\/politics\/obama-trump-russia-election-hacking.html\"><strong><em>The New York Times<\/em><\/strong><\/a>], that the Trump administration would cover up intelligence once power changed hands.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Judicial Watch has <strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/press-room\/press-releases\/judicial-watch-documents-reveal-state-department-provided-classified-records-sen-ben-cardin-undermine-president-trump\/\">confirmed<\/a><\/strong> through previously obtained State Department documents that the Obama State Department did, in fact, provide classified documents to Senator Cardin. The documents also show Russian political interference in elections and politics in countries across Europe. In a section of the documents provided to Cardin titled \u201cPolitical Parties\u201d and marked as sensitive, Russia reportedly sought to foster relationships with groups in Germany, Austria, and France, to include paying members to travel to conferences in Crimea and Donbas \u201cwhere they stoutly defend Russian policy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The following section titled \u201cPro-Kremlin NGOs and Think Tanks,\u201d also marked as sensitive, discusses the Russian government funded Caucasus Research Network, which helped to spread anti-EU and NATO reports throughout the region. Also discussed is the Human Rights Accountability Global Initiative, which was founded by\u00a0<strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/press-room\/press-releases\/judicial-watch-sues-department-justice-communications-relating-russian-lawyer-immigration-parole\/\">Natalia Veselnitskaya<\/a><\/strong>. The Initiative was reportedly \u201cworking to erode support for the Magnitsky Act (which imposes sanctions on \u2026 gross human rights violations). The organization screened an anti-Magnitsky film at Washington\u2019s Newseum in June.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The Magnitsky Act attracted public attention earlier this year when it was reported Veselnitskaya obtained a meeting with Donald Trump Jr. with the purpose of seeking to\u00a0<strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/a\/trump-tower-russia-meeting-part-of-kremlin-backed-campaign-to-repeal-magnitsky-act-says-browder\/3952500.html\">undermine<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0the act. It was reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to repeal the act at least in part because it targeted top Russian officials who had committed human rights violations and were the beneficiaries of a $230-million tax fraud that Magnitsky exposed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/press-room\/press-releases\/judicial-watch-documents-reveal-obama-state-department-urgently-provided-classified-russiagate-documents-to-multiple-senators-immediately-ahead-of-trump-inauguration\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Was a trap set before Trump even assumed office?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19,41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-180644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-Behind_The_News","category-Inside_the_White_House_and_Washingtons_Beltway"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=180644"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180644\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":180648,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180644\/revisions\/180648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=180644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=180644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=180644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}