The full 'Secret Society' text between Strzok and Page

The full Secret Society text between Strzok and Page has been made public:

'Are you even going to give out your calendars? Seems kind of depressing. Maybe it should just be the first meeting of the secret society,' FBI lawyer Lisa Page wrote to agent Peter Strzok and first reported by ABC News. 

Sources told CNN that the calendars referenced featured Vladimir Putin and were purchased as a gag gift to give out to those at the FBI who were working on the Russia investigation. 

Link

As I read this, I was kind of floored. Just yesterday, I was reading about bias from prosecutors and investigators and its effect on due process and I came across an article about Kobe Bryant and Michael Jackson. Here's the portion that leapt to my brain as I read about the context of the 'secret society' text and what 'calendars' referred to:

The Evidence of Prosecutorial Bias in the Bryant Case

Sometime this October, a staffer at the Colorado D.A.'s office prosecuting Kobe Bryant ordered 78 T-shirts from a website called Hangmantees.com. The T-shirts featured a symbol of a hanged man, drawn to resemble the stick figures typical of the game of Hangman. Hangmantees.com also reportedly gave the office two of the same T-shirts on October 9, the day of Bryant's preliminary hearing -- his first chance to try to raise questions about the evidence the prosecutors say establishes his guilt.

The backs of some of the T-shirts mocked Bryant's defense to the crime with which he is charged, stating "I'm not a rapist, I'm just a cheater." (Others mocked his relationship with his wife.) The backs of the T-shirts also featured his jersey number and many of the letters from Bryant's name -- presented in filled-in blanks, Hangman-style. It was plain that the solution to the puzzle was "Kobe Bryant."

Both District Attorney Mark Hurlbert and District Attorney Greg Crittenden say they disposed of their shirts. Hurlbert says he did so instantly; but Crittenden admits he only disposed of his T-shirt shortly before a court hearing on the issue. Meanwhile, what staffers in the office may have done remains unclear. Initially, Hurlbert denied the T-shirt order had been made -- indicating a staffer may have lied to him. But then he had to correct himself, and concede that the order had indeed been made.

Now, the judge has ruled that, by January 5, the Bryant prosecution must turn over the names of all those in the office who ordered a T-shirt, or took one for free.

Hurlbert has claimed the shirts are a "peripheral issue" in the case. But he's wrong. To the contrary, they constitute evidence that some in the D.A.'s office misunderstand what is perhaps the most fundamental aspect of the office's role: To ensure that justice is done, by means of a fair trial. After all, the T-shirts arguably depict perhaps the most loathsome alternative to a fair trial there can be: A lynching.

Moreover, even if one shares D.A. Hurlbert's view that the T-shirts are not racist, one cannot deny that the T-shirts mock Bryant and display contempt for him. A trial is an extremely serious matter; the T-shirts treat it as a laughingstock. And again, prosecutors' offices are supposed to be on the side of justice, not out to get the defendant. Accordingly, a staffer's decision to order the shirts, and D.A. Crittenden's apparent decision to keep his shirt, rather than immediately disposing of it, are very troubling.

The defense is right to ask for answers with respect to the T-shirts. Why were they ordered, accepted, or kept, if not to be worn or displayed? And why would they be worn or displayed by prosecutor's office staff, if not to proclaim Bryant's guilt long before any jury can consider the question? The duty of everyone in a prosecutor's office is to seek justice through a fair trial -- not to blindly seek the conviction of the defendant.

FindLaw


Obviously, I have no idea what impact the calendars or the 'secret society' reference might have on any possible future effort to prosecute Trump (or anyone indicted from the Mueller investigation), if any, but I thought it was an interesting parallel and including it is better than just aggregating the 'news' for ATS with no original content.

I don't see how the FBI handing out Putin calendars is substantively different than the prosecutor's office handing out Hangman t-shirts during the Kobe Bryant case.

Anyway…I look forward to reading what others have to say...

I've seen some here say that the agents bias has nothing to do with it.. In that case, they wouldn't mind being investigated by a police officer that hates them and has a personal grudge.... right?

a reply to: DAVID64

Exactly. I think the calendars are possibly more meaningful (harmful to the investigation) than the 'secret society' reference.

The duty of everyone in a prosecutor's office is to seek justice through a fair trial -- not to blindly seek the conviction of the defendant.

This is exactly why no one trusts the justice department and or police officers anymore in this country.

Because they do blindly see everyone as guilty and do their best to prove it to justify their budgets and because of the caseload

I always knew Putin was the reptillian-leader. That bath he took last month just confirmed it.

a reply to: MotherMayEye

CNN would quote the White House janitor if they told them it was just related to some gag gift. I think I'll withhold judgement til some more solid info comes out.

a reply to: face23785


I had intended to mention the source was unnamed in the OP, too.

But, it is CNN reporting on something an unnamed source said that casts Trump in a sympathetic light...so there's that.

originally posted by: DAVID64
I've seen some here say that the agents bias has nothing to do with it.. In that case, they wouldn't mind being investigated by a police officer that hates them and has a personal grudge.... right?

You get it!

Same with BLM, they can just rest assured that racism will not be a part of their prosecution, even though the officers are biased against black youths.

originally posted by: MotherMayEye
a reply to: face23785


I had intended to mention the source was unnamed in the OP, too.

But, it is CNN reporting on something an unnamed source said that casts Trump in a sympathetic light...so there's that.

That was kind of my point. Their vetting method for stories about Trump is "Would this be bad for Trump? Yes. Print." There's no further standard over there.

originally posted by: vinifalou
I always knew Putin was the reptillian-leader. That bath he took last month just confirmed it.

He obviously is a weak reptilian. He lost big with Hillarys loss. She was his ace in hole. Now he just has an empty ace hole

Does this mean that CNN has a copy of all the "lost" FBI texts that have been found?

If not, how do they know that, that is the only text? ....asking for a friend

a reply to: MotherMayEye

I just made a little opinion thread about whether the US is being destabilised, and honestly it looks like it is. Regardless of whether there is reason or not there is a concerted effort to do so, or so it seems to me.

Some people want the world to change.

a reply to: SocratesJohnson

This thread is just dealing with the ONE text that mentioned a "secret society."

I don't have the answers to your questions...although I have read the missing texts have been recovered.

double post

originally posted by: SocratesJohnson
Does this mean that CNN has a copy of all the "lost" FBI texts that have been found?

If not, how do they know that, that is the only text? ....asking for a friend

Things like this aren't factored into CNN's decisions on whether to report. As noted above, once something is determined to be potentially bad for Trump, no further verification, sourcing, or investigating is required.

a reply to: MotherMayEye

Astute points MME.

could it be that CNN is distracting away from the Secret Soiety
comment with the calendars. How did they come to the conclusion
they were Putin Calendars?


It seems to me The Secret Society comment was reported as
standing alone?

originally posted by: face23785

originally posted by: MotherMayEye
a reply to: face23785


I had intended to mention the source was unnamed in the OP, too.

But, it is CNN reporting on something an unnamed source said that casts Trump in a sympathetic light...so there's that.

That was kind of my point. Their vetting method for stories about Trump is "Would this be bad for Trump? Yes. Print." There's no further standard over there.

And that was my point..it's not bad for Trump. It's bad for the FBI.

CNN can spin it...but it's still bad for the FBI, and favorable to Trump.

originally posted by: burntheships
a reply to: MotherMayEye

Astute points MME.

could it be that CNN is distracting away from the Secret Soiety
comment with the calendars. How did they come to the conclusion
they were Putin Calendars?


It seems to me The Secret Society comment was reported as
standing alone?

I think the FBI handing out Putin calendars is worse than a 'secret society' operating via the FBI.

We need to find out who ordered the calendars, who handed them out and who accepted and displayed them.

It may have been a blatant & widespread culture of bias in the FBI, not a 'secret' and small one.

a reply to: MotherMayEye

Very good points, I am with you.

Putin Calendars could also symbolize the "Russia" trap in
a which they thought they snared a victory.

Lines of thought: If Page thought they would be depressing,
that could only be due to aTrump's victory.

a reply to: MotherMayEye

There's no way that this is the full context of the text...it might be the full text sent, but what about what came before or after that? What about his responses and texts back?

Context matters, and we still have none, just a bit more and then someone telling us what things mean.