“Tickling the wire”: That’s the slang expression used by law enforcement personnel to describe the process of trying to breathe life into a moribund or unproductive wiretap. When the subjects of such surveillance fail to discuss their criminal activities over the monitored telephones or at the bugged premises, surreptitious steps can be taken to induce them to do so. For example, in the case of a federal wiretap on a drug dealer’s telephone, if few incriminating communications have been intercepted, the local police can be enlisted to conduct an apparently unrelated car stop, interrogation, and search of the subject. This would be calculated to rattle and worry him in the hope that he would discuss the incident over the monitored telephone and, in doing so, make self-incriminating statements regarding his activities. Other techniques — such as having an informant contact the subject — can be used, but the object is always the same: to agitate the subject and get him to make admissions against interest over the wiretapped line.
As an organized crime prosecutor at the federal and state levels, I worked multiple electronic surveillance cases in which this technique was used quite effectively. But of all the federal and state agencies with which I was privileged to work, the organization that was absolutely the best at “tickling the wire” was the FBI.
This brings us, of course, to the mysterious antics of former FBI Director James Comey, as chronicled in the recently released report by the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General regarding his disclosure of sensitive investigative information and “handling of certain memoranda.” Among other things, the report describes a series of private meetings by Comey with Donald Trump. Immediately following each meeting, Comey executed a memorandum setting forth his version of what had transpired.
The first of these meetings took place on January 6, 2017, with the president-elect at Trump Tower. It was at this meeting that Comey advised that the Russians had tapes of Trump cavorting with prostitutes.
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See Also:
(1) The flubs and failings of Joe Biden
(2) FNC’s Pirro: Trump Was Right to Fire ‘Arrogant, Sanctimonious, Condescending Low-Life’ Comey
(3) Pete Buttigieg: Life Begins At Breath
(4) The suicide of the House is complete
(5) Corporations upsetting the Constitution
There used to be a day when somebody like Comey would have been tied to a post in front of a brick wall, blindfolded and served up a healthy dose of justice via 7.62mm. Lucky for him (and so many in the Obama administration) those days are long gone.
An example of those long gone days I referenced. Example, in the old American west a gang of five horse thieves also labelled “prowling scoundrels” that had been operating all along the Kansas-Missouri border as far north as Nebraska and as far south as Indian Territory were lynched at Baxter Springs, Kansas, in early 1867.
In 2019 America for attempting to overthrow the duly elected President? Not even a jail cell. Instead getting paid to give speeches across the country suggesting or outright accusing the President of various crimes including Treason. Writing a book and making millions and/or getting a gig on CNN.
The horse thieves of yesteryear sure got a rotten deal.