• • 8 signs pointing to a counterintelligence operation deployed against Trump's campaign
• • For Mueller, a question of three conflicts

It may be true that President Trump illegally conspired with Russia and was so good at covering it up he's managed to outwit our best intel and media minds who've searched for irrefutable evidence for two years. (We still await special counsel Robert Mueller's findings.)

But there's a growing appearance of alleged wrongdoing equally as insidious, if not more so, because it implies widespread misuse of America's intelligence and law enforcement apparatus.

Here are eight signs pointing to a counterintelligence operation deployed against Trump for political reasons.

Code name

The operation reportedly had at least one code name that was leaked to The New York Times: "Crossfire Hurricane."

Wiretap fever

Secret surveillance was conducted on no fewer than seven Trump associates: chief strategist Stephen Bannon; lawyer Michael Cohen; national security adviser Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn; adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner; campaign chairman Paul Manafort; and campaign foreign policy advisers Carter Page and George Papadopoulos.

The FBI reportedly applied for a secret warrant in June 2016 to monitor Manafort, Page, Papadopoulos and Flynn. If true, it means the FBI targeted Flynn six months before his much-debated conversation with Russia's ambassador, Sergey Kislyak.

The FBI applied four times to wiretap Page after he became a Trump campaign adviser starting in July 2016. Page's office is connected to Trump Tower and he reports having spent "many hours in Trump Tower."

CNN reported that Manafort was wiretapped before and after the election "including during a period when Manafort was known to talk to President Trump." Manafort reportedly has a residence in Trump Tower.

Electronic surveillance was used to listen in on three Trump transition officials in Trump Tower - Flynn, Bannon and Kushner - as they met in an official capacity with the United Arab Emirates' crown prince.

The FBI also reportedly wiretapped Flynn's phone conversation with Kislyak on Dec. 31, 2016, as part of "routine surveillance" of Kislyak.

NBC recently reported that Cohen, Trump's personal attorney, was wiretapped. NBC later corrected the story, saying Cohen was the subject of a "pen register" used to monitor phone numbers and, possibly, internet communications.

National security letters

Another controversial tool reportedly used by the FBI to obtain phone records and other documents in the investigation were national security letters, which bypass judicial approval.

Improper use of such letters has been an ongoing theme at the FBI. Reviews by the Department of Justice's Inspector General found widespread misuse under Mueller - who was then FBI director - and said officials failed to report instances of abuses as required.

Unmasking

"Unmasking" - identifying protected names of Americans captured by government surveillance - was frequently deployed by at least four top Obama officials who have subsequently spoken out against President Trump: James Clapper, former Director of National Intelligence; Samantha Power, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations; Susan Rice, former national security adviser; Sally Yates, former deputy attorney general.

Names of Americans caught communicating with monitored foreign targets must be "masked," or hidden within government agencies, so the names cannot be misused or shared. 

However, it's been revealed that Power made near-daily unmasking requests in 2016.

Prior to that revelation, Clapper claimed ignorance. When asked if he knew of unmasking requests by any ambassador, including Power, he testified: "I don't know. Maybe it's ringing a vague bell but I'm not - I could not answer with any confidence."

Rice admitted to asking for unmasked names of U.S. citizens in intelligence reports after initially claiming no knowledge of any such thing.

Clapper also admitted to requesting the unmasking of "Mr. Trump, his associates or any members of Congress." Clapper and Yates admitted they also personally reviewed unmasked documents and shared unmasked material with other officials.

Changing the rules

On Dec. 15, 2016 - the same day the government listened in on Trump officials at Trump Tower - Rice reportedly unmasked the names of Bannon, Kushner and Flynn. And Clapper made a new rule allowing the National Security Agency to widely disseminate surveillance material within the government without the normal privacy protections.

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As the special counsel investigation surrounding President Trump goes on, we still don't know what evidence Robert Mueller and his team have amassed behind closed doors. It's entirely possible they have built a strong case that Trump illegally conspired with Russian President Putin, which Trump's critics have long claimed but which Trump denies. 

If the New York Times' list of questions that Mueller wants to ask Trump is accurate, however, it's hard not to notice that Mueller is treading in waters in which he - the special counsel - may have at least three serious conflicts of interest.

The first area has to do with Mueller's reported inquires into Trump's alleged desire to terminate Mueller himself as special counsel, as well as Trump's firing of Mueller's longtime friend and colleague, former FBI director James Comey

 

hink of it this way: You're the boss at a company and decide to fire an important manager. Maybe you believe he acted improperly, conspired against you, or is simply not the right man for the job. He's unhappy you fired him. Now imagine the fired employee - or his good friend and colleague - is awarded the power to judge and assess your motives regarding that firing and other matters. Would it be fair to have the very people who feel wronged be put in charge of determining your fate?

Mueller garners a great deal of respect from many in politics, the law and media. But no matter how close to perfect an investigator might be, it may not be reasonable to expect him to be able to completely set aside his feelings on matters of his own position or the treatment of a longtime friend and colleague.

This question isn't unique to this case. As discussed in an article in Boston College Law Review, "Rethinking Prosecutors' Conflicts of Interest," legal scholars Bruce Green and Rebecca Roiphe write that "prosecutorial conflicts are ubiquitous" and "ought to be taken seriously ... They threaten prosecutors' exercise of discretion in all cases and pose multiple threats in some cases." The authors also raise conflicts arising from "institutional ties, that may distort prosecutors' ability to ascertain and pursue the public interest."

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NASHVILLE, Tennessee-President Donald Trump took an ole hickory stick to former Gov. Phil Bredesen Tuesday night and the raucous crowd of more than 5,000 supporters jammed in to the Municipal Auditorium loved it.

You can see the transcript of the portion of the president's talk that addressed Bredesen, the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party for the U.S. Senate seat from which Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) is retiring, here:

To keep this momentum going - to keep this incredible progress, to keep on winning, you have to vote Republican in November.

You see what's happening with the Democrats!

So Marsha's very liberal Democrat opponent Phil Bredesen - have you ever heard of this guy?

[BOOS] (at about the 1:30 min mark of the audio file below)

He's an absolute, total tool [pause - audience starts cheering] of Chuck Schumer.

He's a tool! Of Chuck Schumer and, of course, the MS-13 lover, Nancy Pelosi. (emphasis added)

[BOOS]

She loves MS-13. Remember?

I said, 'they're animals' and she said, 'how dare you say that - HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT.'

NASHVILLE, Tennessee- If you're older than 50 and worry millennials will eventually muck things up for America then look no further than who stood in line to hear President Donald Trump speak in downtown Nashville Tuesday.

There were a  good number of young people waiting six, seven, maybe even eight hours outside Nashville's Municipal Auditorium to cheer on Trump, despite mainstream media narratives that say only older working class folks support him.

They were not only young, but they relocated from parts of the country that traditionally vote left.

These millennials say they get a bad rap.

"I would say within the last year and a half I've seen the narrative flip flop dramatically. The mainstream media is losing the narrative," said McKenzie Blaser, 21 originally from Akron, Ohio.

"Don't count out the young female conservatives. They voted for Trump too, and I'm living proof."

Another Ohio native, Danny Kosko, came to Nashville only because he said he wanted to see last year's solar eclipse. He liked Middle Tennessee so much he decided to pro-long his stay, although he is moving back home soon to start a new business.

"I love Trump so much that I would blast Abraham Lincoln's face off Mt. Rushmore and put Trump's face up there replace it," Kosko said.

"Although I do believe that Trump should pay for it with his own money."