Rep. Mike Rogers Is A Liar

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Rep. Mike Rogers, one of the most doggedly pro-NSA figures in Congress, is once again making claims for which he presents zero evidence and which contradict findings from the intelligence community. Specifically, he is going on television to claim Edward Snowden is a double agent for the Russians.

New York Times:

A top congressional intelligence official said on Sunday that American counterintelligence officials are virtually unanimous in believing that Edward J. Snowden is “under the influence of Russian intelligence services.”

That suggestion came from Representative Mike Rogers, the Michigan Republican who is chairman of the Intelligence Committee.

Mr. Rogers had previously raised the possibility that Mr. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor, might be working for Russia, though the congressman has yet to offer any evidence. His assertions on Sunday, however, were his most sweeping to date.

“Every counterintelligence official believes that,” Mr. Rogers said on the NBC News program “Meet the Press.” “You won’t find one that doesn’t believe today he’s under the influence of Russian intelligence services.”

Actually, I know of one official who doesn’t believe Snowden is working with Russian intelligence services: Rick Ledgett, the guy who leads the NSA’s task force on Snowden’s leaks. That task force, according to a Reuters report, “found no evidence that [Snowden] had help either within the NSA or from adversary spy agencies.”

The FBI has also concluded that Snowden “worked alone.” Indeed, in the final paragraph of the New York Times article reporting on Rogers’ latest allegations, it is reiterated: “There has been no public indication that investigators for the F.B.I., the N.S.A. or the Pentagon have uncovered evidence that Mr. Snowden received assistance from any foreign intelligence service.”

So what the hell is Mike Rogers talking about? Notably, Rogers has also made other outlandish allegations on the NSA scandal, claiming last month that Glenn Greenwald had been “selling his access to information” for his own “personal gain.” When he said this, I called his office and was directed to the House Intelligence Committee’s Spokesperson Susan Phalen, who insisted, “Chairman [Rogers] does not make such statements casually.” When I pressed her for one iota of evidence for these very serious claims, she said she “can’t divulge.”

In other words, there is no evidence. And the claims Rogers has been making about Snowden directly contradict the findings of both the FBI and the NSA. So why is he making these claims?

I have some guesses. One guess is that he is trying to demonize Snowden for propaganda purposes and thereby turn public opinion against him. This is especially plausible after the demonization of Russia following Ukraine crisis, since hatred of Russia is higher than at any time since the Cold War. Another possibility is that he is trying to stoke outrage and gather support within the government to violate Snowden’s asylum, use force to apprehend him, and punish him, thereby discouraging further leaks and staving off the momentum for reform.

The real tragedy here is that no interviewer ever seems to be willing to exhibit the slightest skepticism when Rogers makes these evidence-free claims. The willingness of the press to simply take his words for granted because he is the chairman of the House intelligence committee is astounding.

28 thoughts on “Rep. Mike Rogers Is A Liar”

  2. Of course, Rep. Rogers wants to keep the propaganda flowing – as a former FBI agent – he'll fight to the bitter end to keep that message in the "media".

    He, and others of his ilk in Congress and elsewhere, have invested a great deal of time, energy and MONEY into the business of spying on Americans.

    The "counter-intelligence" in the U.S. that Rogers speaks of, has a long and sordid history of spreading lies, destroying lives, illegal surveillance and harassment of lawful citizens and even assassinations.

    Just a small nugget of information on that subject: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO

    Don't be fooled: Cointelpro never ended.

    FightGangStalking.com

  3. i mean, for all practical purposes, he is right. he did not say that snowed worked for Russians. he said that NSA believes that he is under the influence of Russians, which is a meaningless statement. it can be construed anyway. i don't know what it means being under the influence of Russians. is he working? he is impressed by them? he is held hostage by Russians? etc. etc.

    but the issue is that the intended purpose of the statement was to create the dramatic affect by using this very loose language, and which it seems worked very well :-)

    1. When it comes to hair-splitting with these NSA stooges, the worst thing you can do is take the hair-splitting seriously. Rogers is a liar in every sense that matters.

  4. and if NSA believe, that does not mean he was working for Russians. but the statement is right that NSA is believing (generally speaking).

    btw, i am just playing devils advocate. the guys needs to be treated fairly. he is a just a messenger for the real masters :-)

  5. Would someone please garner some psych medication for my disturbed Congressman (R) Mike Rogers?

  6. Nobody-or very few people in Europe know that the US is deploying missiles in Romania, Poland and on 32 ships in the Mediterranean Sea – European Phased Adaptive Approach. It's NOT in the media or news. Ignorant of the danger-Launch On Warning is lurking down the road. That means MUTUALLY ASSURED SUICIDE. Suicidal, stupid bloody fools in the Pentagon!

  7. There are very old ruins on the Moon and Mars. Everybody can see the ruins on many videos on youtube. But why don't they tell us as it is? After all, everybody can see scattered technology on the ground of Mars on youtube. And it seems Miranda, Triton, Enceladus have ruins. We may be the last place in our solar system to blow it all up. So many nuclear weapons and still making more, deploying missiles near Russia's border is evidence that "homo sapiens" generally speaking is insane and stupid. The facts we need to win the argument are in the great missile engineer Bob Aldridges books and on http://www.plrc.org Bob Aldridge on the new missiles: "Whether they are on ships or land, they are still a necessary component for an unanswerable first strike."

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  12. Lansing Michigan, and I am appalled at their choice of congressman! Are the people of Lansing really this stupid?

    1. …does anyone really think anyone really gets "elected" in this country? With all the money flowing our of corporate coffers and the Diebold Vote-Rigging Machines…does anyone really still believe that we hold honest elections…at all…even if having an "honest election" worked…we still have to elect men and women of ethics, honesty and integrity….good luck with that…

      RJ O'Guillory
      Author-
      Webster Groves – The Life of an Insane Family

  13. NSA believes that he is under the influence of Russians, which is a meaningless statement. it can be construed anyway. i don't know what it means being under the influence of Russians. is he working? he is impressed by them?

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  15. What is most odd is that the right-wingers on the attack against the small libertarian-leaning wing of the party that opposes rabid interventionism seem thoroughly unaware that what they call “naive” foreign policy is actually backed up by history and much of academia.

  16. What is most odd is that the right-wingers on the attack against the small libertarian-leaning wing of the party that opposes rabid interventionism seem thoroughly unaware that what they call a??naivea?? foreign policy is actually backed up by history and much of academia.

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