Let's see. Judge Contreras was randomly appointed to preside over the Gen. Michael Flynn case resulting from The Mueller indictment of Flynn. Contreras was also appointed to the FISA Court and is a friend of FBI agent Peter Strzrok who was a "friend" of FBI agent Lisa Page. Strzok and Page worked for Andy McCabe who worked for James Comey who was "best of friends" with Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller who indicted Flynn and is trying to find a crime to indict President Trump.
Stzrok was the FBI agent who worked with McCabe and Comey to keep Hillary in the clear and get FISA warrants to spy on Carter Page. Stzrok conducted the FBI interview of Flynn who was indicted by Mueller for lying to the FBI. Stzrok suggested in a text message to Page that a dinner get together with friend Contreras be arranged instead of a one on one meeting to cover for anticipated questions of impropriety. That text message was withheld from Congressional investigators by someone in the FBI. We don't know if that dinner ever took place or exactly what was to be discussed.
McCabe and Comey have been fired, Strzok and Page have been demoted and moved somewhere, Contreras was recused from the Flynn case by somebody, and Mueller is still searching for something with which to indict Trump.
Now the press would have you believe that these "friendships" are just coincidental and of no interest. They wish to remind you that the real problem is that Trump colluded with the Russians to fix the election.
Nothing to see here. Move right along.
Admin, 03/17/2018
REVEALED: Peter Strzok Had Personal Relationship With Recused Judge In Michael Flynn Case
Text messages obtained by The Federalist show that Peter Strzok and Lisa Page conspired to collude with Judge Rudolph Contreras, a FISA judge who presided over Michael Flynn's guilty plea and was later removed from the case.
From The Federalist: By Mollie Hemingway, March 16, 2008
Newly discovered text messages obtained by The Federalist reveal two key federal law enforcement officials conspired to meet with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) judge who presided over the federal case against Michael Flynn. The judge, Rudolph Contreras, was recused from handling the case just days after accepting the guilty plea of President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser who was charged with making false statements to federal investigators.
The text messages about Contreras between controversial Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) lawyer Lisa Page and Peter Strzok, the senior FBI counterintelligence official who was kicked off Robert Mueller’s special counsel team, were deliberately hidden from Congress, multiple congressional investigators told The Federalist. In the messages, Page and Strzok, who are rumored to have been engaged in an illicit romantic affair, discussed Strzok’s personal friendship with Contreras and how to leverage that relationship in ongoing counterintelligence matters.
“Rudy is on the [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court]!” Page excitedly texted Strzok on July 25, 2016. “Did you know that? Just appointed two months ago.”
“I did,” Strzok responded. “I need to get together with him.”
“[He] said he’d gotten on a month or two ago at a graduation party we were both at.”
Contreras was appointed to the top surveillance court on May 19, 2016, federal records show.
The pair even schemed about how to set up a cocktail or dinner party just so Contreras, Strzok, and Page could speak without arousing suspicion that they were colluding. Strzok expressed concern that a one-on-one meeting between the two men might require Contreras’ recusal from matters in which Strzok was involved.
“[REDACTED] suggested a social setting with others would probably be better than a one on one meeting,” Strzok told Page. “I’m sorry, I’m just going to have to invite you to that cocktail party.”
“Have to come up with some other work people cover for action,” Strzok added.
“Why more?” Page responded. “Six is a perfectly fine dinner party.”
It is not known whether the proposed party happened as planned.
While working as one of the top counterintelligence officials at the FBI, Strzok reportedly took part in the FBI’s interview of Flynn on January 24. Flynn later pleaded guilty to one charge of providing false information to federal investigators. Strzok later left the FBI to join Mueller’s special counsel team, which obtained the indictment of Flynn.
Flynn’s guilty plea was accepted in federal court by Contreras on December 1, 2017. The New York Times reported the next day that Strzok, who left the FBI to work for special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, had been removed from the case by Mueller due to inappropriate text messages between Strzok and another federal official, now believed to be DOJ attorney Lisa Page. On December 5, 2017, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote a letter to FBI director Christopher Wray demanding text messages from Strzok as well as any notes he took regarding his interviews with Flynn. Contreras was recused from the Flynn case on December 7, 2017, and the case was reassigned to Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, according to federal court documents.
Neither Contreras nor federal judiciary officials have publicly indicated the reason for Contreras’ removal from the case. Contreras’ office declined to comment on inquiries asking about his relationship with Strzok, or why he was not recused from the Flynn case until after he had accepted Flynn’s guilty plea.
The pre-existing relationship between Strzok and Contreras and Contreras’ mysterious recusal from the Flynn case, forced or otherwise, raise serious questions about whether Flynn’s case, among others, was properly conducted.
The text messages that show Page and Strzok conspiring to meet with Contreras were originally hidden from Congress. In records provided by DOJ to Congress, the exchanges referencing Contreras, and plans to meet with him under the guise of a cocktail party, were completely redacted by federal law enforcement officials. The exchanges obtained by The Federalistinclude information that was never turned over to Congress.
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