OK.

You have to understand.

You have to understand **why** a "Cover Your Ass" [CYA] memo like this is written to begin with.

If you don't understand that, you miss what the declassified section reveals.

Rice is the observer of this conversation in which sitting President Obama ***orders*** FBI Director Comey to hide from the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump that the FBI is **spying** on his National Security Adviser, Gen Flynn.

It says Obama ***asks*** Comey intended to have the FBI National Security Council [that was running the Crossfire Hurricane counterintelligence sting of the incoming Trump team] keep Flynn in the dark about "information related to Russia".

That's CODE for "Crossfire Hurricane".

The way Rice **relates** it in this CYA memo, Obama politely **asked** "I say, my good man, do you intend to let's say, keep Flynn in the dark and not inform him about this counterintel thing you are running involving Russia matters?"

& Comey says "Why yes! Yes indeed!"

It **can't be conveyed as an ORDER**.

But this is the President of the United States talking to a direct employee of the Executive Branch.

So he's not politely **asking** Comey what HE'S going to decide to do.

He's TELLING Comey what to do.

But of course....Rice can't phrase it that way.

So it gets put in this memo in the form of a MILD QUESTION that Obama asks Comey, as if he's leaving it COMPLETELY UP TO THE FBI DIRECTOR to decide what's going to happen next.

This is deliberately written to make it look like COMEY is the decider here, he's the executive that makes the decision to hide from Flynn & the rest of the incoming Trump team that they are TARGETS of an ongoing counterintelligence sting being run by the FBI.

So the memo is written to portray Obama pounding the table and saying "I want this thing done by the book, and by the way Comey, it's COMPLETELY UP TO YOU, you make the decision on if we keep Flynn & Trump's team in the dark about this counterintel sting!"

The micromanager who completely effed up everything my having to be a micromanager to the point he was insisting on making decisions on how indigenous troops were trained in Iraq suddenly says I'm in charge here and it's YOUR decision!

It's incoherent.