Mike Rogers Still Pushing His 'Snowden Is A Russian Spy' Delusion, Citing Every Single 'Counterintelligence Official' In Support
from the more-delusions-cited-within,-including-a-presidential-run dept
Mike Rogers is still intent on proving Ed Snowden is a Russian spy. Apparently, Rogers' plan is to make the same assertions over and over again without providing any evidence beyond hearsay and conjecture (always from unnamed, unspecified intelligence community members).
His latest foray into his own particular conspiracy theory occurred during an interview with Michael Crowley at TIME. Crowley asks him to explain the assertions he's made about Ed Snowden, particularly the statement that he's under the influence of Russian intelligence (FSB). Crowley points out Rogers has offered no evidence to back up these claims. Rogers responds… by again offering no evidence.
The NSA contractor is definitely under the influence of Russian officials. We know that he was in China, Hong Kong anyway, and in Russia today. We have seen patterns and activities that lead us to believe that some or all of that information is being worked through by those intelligence services and putting the U.S. at risk.There's your "evidence." Snowden was in Hong Kong and now, Russia. Case closed. As for the "patterns and activities," Rogers offers nothing definite, other than foreign intelligence services are "working through" the documents, which could really mean nothing more than they're reading the papers.
If the NSA still doesn't know what's been taken, it's rather hard for any "counterintelligence official" to claim moves are being made because of yet undisclosed documents. If Rogers' assertion is true (and there's no reason to believe it is), it means the intelligence community is engaging in the same sort of conspiratorial speculation that he is. Needless to say, this would be perhaps the least productive use of the agency's resources.
You'll notice (as Crowley did) that Rogers won't even say Snowden's name at this point (referring to him only as a "NSA contractor"). Here's his excuse:
I think people have wrongly given him some elevated status, and he has some kind of an underground rock-star status. He’s a traitor who puts our soldiers lives at risk.If anyone's turning Snowden into a larger-than-life figure, it's those, like Rogers, who are attempting to portray him as backstabbing traitor who ran to the welcoming arms of foreign intelligence agencies.
Rogers goes from bad to worse to incomprehensible within the space of a few questions. He says Snowden's living arrangements are far too cozy with Russian intelligence. At first, Snowden's only "about a mile away" from FSB's headquarters, then he's "been in custody" and finally, he's living in an FSB "joint facility." Crowley questions this and Rogers backpedals.
No, no, not a joint facility. He’s housed very near an FSB facility. Makes it convenient for everybody.Hmm.
Then there's this: Rogers' ultimate proof that he's not a crazy person with a headful of conspiracy theories.
And remember we have other classified ways as well. That’s why no counterintelligence official does not believe that today he’s under the influence.Really? Then why have no other counterintelligence officials stepped up to make this claim? Do they really think this potential bombshell is best deployed by a rah-go-team-surveillance blowhard like Mike Rogers, a legislator who has done his very best to play the part of subservient flack catcher for the surveillance state? Wouldn't the single, most damning bit of evidence that Snowden is everything his detractors claim he is (traitor, spy) have already been exposed? Presumably these unnamed counterintelligence officials are no fan of Snowden's actions. If so, why are they sitting on this and letting someone like Rogers proactively destroy any potential credibility?
There's only one answer: it's completely untrue. Rogers may be able to find a number of yes-men who nod sagely while he spews baseless claims, but there's no way that number includes counterintelligence officials. Even if some of them suspect Snowden might be working in conjunction with Russia's FSB, they've wisely decided not to make that public before they've gathered enough evidence to support the claim. Rogers, on the other hand, has decided his gut instinct, informed by his irrational hatred of this "NSA contractor," is all the evidence that's really needed.
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Filed Under: ed snowden, mike rogers, russia
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Hey, Michigan...
Can someone give him an "I love me" jacket already?
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Re: Hey, Michigan...
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Re: Re: Hey, Michigan...
Too bad he's not up by St. Ignace. If he was, his constituents ought to toss him in the drink and not let him out until he gets to Mackinac Island.
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Response to: Ninja on Apr 7th, 2014 @ 7:53am
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Re: Response to: Ninja on Apr 7th, 2014 @ 7:53am
Give it time.
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My guess? They would say HE'S A RUSSIAN SPY!!1!1!
His presence in the small uninvolved country would be because, obviously Russia wouldn't be so stupid as to blatantly give him asylum. They'd need plausible deniability, after all...
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let's just use Roger's logic with Ninja's statements
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Re: let's just use Roger's logic with Ninja's statements
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Re: Re: let's just use Roger's logic with Ninja's statements
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Re: Re: let's just use Roger's logic with Ninja's statements
However, should Snowden leave the country, as the USG has shown no problem grounding the plane of a foreign president because Snowden might have been on it, I wouldn't put high odds on Snowden making it to whatever country he tried to fly too.
So, funny as it is, refusing to re-instate his passport is actually doing him a favor, as should he get it back he'd be left with two rather unpleasant options, either stay in Russia and have that 'prove' that he was/is working for them(at least to nutjobs like Rogers), or try his luck and leave, hoping he makes it to whichever country he chooses intact.
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Re: let's just use Roger's logic with Ninja's statements
Since everyone in the U.S. is, in a sense, inadvertently working with U.S. intelligence, he's probably just extrapolating from that to include all countries where one might reside.
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Re: let's just use Roger's logic with Ninja's statements
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He'd be dead already.
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In his defense, this is how they got him to vote for a bunch of stupid shit and not ask questions about it.
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So, you're saying that half the population and 90% of Congress IS buying it?
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"But the most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly and with unflagging attention. It must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over. Here, as so often in this world, persistence is the first and most important requirement for success."
Oh yeah, that was Hitler in Mein Kampf.
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Sure he is, he even says so. First he's going to talk-radio so he can spread his own special brand of FUD (sorry, I meant spread The Word according to Rogers) and then:
Question:
And if a Republican is elected in 2016, will you return to run the CIA, FBI or Department of Homeland Security?
Answer:
I never say never. I don’t think I’m done with government service. We’ll see what role it takes.
There you go. Asked and answered. Bet you can't wait :)
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http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/04/the-retirement-of-mike-rogers-national-secu rity-statist/360016/
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Parse it
He has them to thank for housing.
We know that he was in China, Hong Kong anyway, and in Russia today.
He certainly was.
We have seen patterns and activities that lead us to believe that some or all of that information is being worked through by those intelligence services and putting the U.S. at risk.
They read The Guardian.
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Mike Rogers - After he's Proven to be wrong,
I meant Vodka not Russian Officials ,Damn You Auto Correct!
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What's with this peculiar double negative word salad?
He doesn't seem to want to say "All counterintelligence officers believe.." so he's obfuscating and hoping not to be questioned. An odd linguistic tic.
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Rogers 'the asshole', versus Eric 'The Patriot" Snowden
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Sometimes tou just fix STUPID !
Benjamin Franklin
Seems to me Mr. Rodgers, you are putting in a lot of overtime on this subject !
Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.
Benjamin Franklin
So maybe Mr. Rogers it's time to educate yourself from TRUE American Patriots, rather than the false flag opinions that you express. So here is a small sample to start your education !
Experience hath shown, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.
Thomas Jefferson
In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.
James Madison
The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.
Patrick Henry
"We the People are the rightful masters of both Congress and the Courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution"
Abraham Lincoln
Mr. Rogers pay close atenion to this Quote !
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.
Abraham Lincoln
Disclaimer: Be advised it is possible, that this communication is being monitored by the National Security Agency, GCHQ or other third party organizations. I neither condone nor support any such policy, by any Government authority or organization that does not comply, as stipulated by the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
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If he was really a Russian spy, he's a complete IDIOT! What Classified Info did he released that hurt this country and helped Russia??? The NSA has no right to just go snooping on every american because it things so. They are not GOD! We have a Constitution and all Americans are protected by it! You need a Signed Warrant for each person and exactly what you're looking for. You can't just blanket screen anyone you feel like!!! We expect our government to be doing their spying which is why it is on other countries and their people. They are after all NOT protected under our Constitution, and those countries do the same thing to us.
There's right and wrong. Our Federal Government grows and grows and gets more and more Curupt. It should have never gotten like this. Now we have this crap Obamacare. See the Federal Government now seems to how the power to so ANYTHING it wants. Not just the 18 things it's suppose to do. Everything else is suppose to be reserved to the States.
That means if 1 State wants some type of Obamacare crap, that's perfectly fine, people are at least able to flee from it. If the State goes bankrupt, it's on them and them only. If another state wants Legal Weed, that's fine also. How the Federal Government stuck it's nose into this in the first place?!?! Same with marriage. It shouldn't have been a government thing in the first place. Just another way to get money and screw around with the taxes. If can all be done Legally without some Federal Marriage law. A State can do what they want, allow or not allow, it wouldn't matter anyway because it would be meaningless as anything having to do with anything can all be handled by signing some documents with your lawyers. Go to a church that allows gay marriage if your gay. All is fine. Government is not involved!!!
That is how it's suppose to be. Instead we have this ever out of control government. The more it grows, the more poor the middle class and poor become!!! The War on poverty for the last 50 years has done NOTHING!!! Spreading the Wealth is just growing a ever larger Welfare base. The Government is just doing everything it can to KILL JOBS! Worst of all, it's all for Amnesty. A flood of poor uneducated people coming in, taking up Services from Legal Americans and keeping pay LOW. You know Supply and Demand. large Supply of Workers for a job means LOW PAY! Small supply of workers means pay goes UP! You think these low pay $8 jobs maybe less would only be that if there were only a few people wanting those job? Lots of people, they can be easily replaced by yet another person.
Snowden is a true American. He knew what our Government was doing was completely Unconstitutional and of course this Corrupt Government doesn't like things like this getting out and want to punish him. Doesn't matter if the Government was completely in the wrong. All this stuff didn't start happening until 2009, AFTER BUSH was gone! Before is was just Spying on other Countries. It's OBAMA that expanded the program and then he got caught, and now they are trying to cover it up and pass the blame like so many other things.
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Re:
10 Incoherent, partisan, FUD-filled rant is incoherent. GOTO
20 Learn about the things you're discussing from reliable sources, not partisan ones. GOTO
30 Reverting to the Articles of Confederation would dissolve the United States and get rid of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights that created it because the Articles predate the Constitution. GOTO
40 Give it up, already!
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Why do I believe this? Because he told us what he was doing, and Snowden is not at all prone to say one thing and do another.
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Snowden is admired by many for making factual statements despite having provided no independently verifiable backup.
Sounds to me that the common denominator is each case is the lack of independent verifiable backup. Hence, why one is charged with purposely hiding the truth and the other is not makes no sense. A truly objective comment about each would state that they have said something that cannot be verified.
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Huh? Snowden made very few factual statements. His main feat was providing a wagonload of government documents to journalists. The veracity of those documents has not been drawn into doubt by the government, and they paint a consistent picture that has been verified independently. In consequence, the government had to repeatedly change its story.
Whoever sees this situation as "lack of independent verifiable backup" has not been paying attention, or more likely, has been paid for pretending not to have paid attention.
"Anonymous Coward". Is that all the shilling the NSA can afford?
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Libel?
If levelling baseless accusations that somebody is a Russian spy is not libel I don't know what is. Proof is also pretty open and shut since Mr Rogers is on record several times. Unless he really has proof of some sort which seems very unlikely.
Perhpas he should sue in the UK. Libel laws are pretty stict there I understand.
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Does this lessen his positive impact on federal policy?
Does this undo the enlightenment he has given the ('unworthy') US citizen into the US government's inconsistent, unethical, and potentially illegal inner workings?
If Snowden is a spy, then is he not a spy who has served the people of the United States, potentially at the cost of his foreign masters? Isn't this superior to the espionage the US is funding in many countries?
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Tell enough lies often enough and you have History.
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