Carter Page, a U.S. citizen, who was a foreign policy adviser to the Trump presidential campaign in early 2016, was surveilled under FISA Title I.

The FBI used the so-called Steele Dossier—which was written by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele and paid for by the Clinton campaign and the DNC—to portray Page as “an agent of a foreign power,” specifically Russia, to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC).

FISA warrants on American citizens require formal approval from the FISC and specifically require that there be probable cause to believe the proposed target is a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power.

A FISA warrant is among the most invasive ways an American citizen can be spied on.Continue Reading

Congressional testimony by Trisha Anderson highlights unusual process used by FBI and DOJ in obtaining FISA warrant on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page

Trisha Anderson, the principal deputy general counsel for the FBI and head of the bureau’s National Security and Cyber Law Branch, signed off on an application for a warrant to spy on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page—before the application went to FBI Director James Comey—despite not having read it, she said.

Anderson, whose division was also assigned the Mid-Year Exam—the FBI’s investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server—was responsible for legal oversight of the FBI’s Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) applications process, and provided a final sign-off before FISA applications were sent to the FBI director level. Anderson, who supervised the FBI attorneys involved in FISA applications, characterized her role as being “involved at a supervisory level within the legal chain of command.”Continue Reading

Closed-door testimony by former head of counterintelligence Bill Priestap reveals handpicked group ran the investigations outside of his control

Bill Priestap, the high-ranking FBI official responsible for overseeing both the Clinton email investigation and the agency’s counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign appeared to not have been in real control of his own investigations.

In closed-door testimony before congressional lawmakers in June last year, Priestap, who served as the head of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, acknowledged it was mostly FBI agent Peter Strzok and FBI analyst Jonathan Moffa who were “driving the train.”

Talking to lawmakers, Priestap described the unusual circumstances under which he inherited the team in January 2016, saying the members had been previously handpicked by an unknown high ranking official at the FBI.Continue Reading

How Christopher Steele and Fusion GPS used their connections to spread the Trump dossier

Information paid for by the Clinton campaign targeting Donald Trump made its way to the highest levels of the FBI and the State Department, with a sophisticated strategy relying on the personal connections of hired operatives.

At the center of the multi-pronged strategy to disseminate the information were Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson and former British MI6 spy Christopher Steele. The operation was funded by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

Simpson and Steele not only used their contacts at the FBI to feed information directly to the bureau, but also used their contacts within other agencies to create additional channels into the FBI. Additionally, they utilized their media connections to create an external distribution channel for the unverified material against Trump and his campaign.Continue Reading

Closed-door testimony by former top FBI lawyer James Baker revealed that Michael Sussmann, a lawyer and partner at Perkins Coie, gave Baker information alleging a Russian bank was communicating with a server in Trump Tower—an allegation later proven false.Continue Reading

Former top FBI attorney James Baker admitted to House lawmakers in October last year that the investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump 2016 presidential campaign and Russia was riddled with abnormalities.

Confronted with a damning summary of abnormalities, bias, and omissions, which transpired during the investigation, Baker told Congress that the investigation indeed was “highly unusual.”

“I had a jaundiced eye about everything, yes. I had skepticism about all this stuff. I was concerned about all of this. This whole situation was horrible, and it was novel and we were trying to figure out what to do, and it was highly unusual,” Baker told lawmakers.Continue Reading

Congressional testimony by DOJ official Bruce Ohr shows FBI went back to disgraced source between Comey’s firing and Mueller’s appointment

In the days following the firing of FBI Director James Comey by President Donald Trump, the FBI, under Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, sought to re-engage with former MI6 spy and author of the Steele dossier, Christopher Steele.

The FBI’s attempts to re-engage Steele, who had been fired by the FBI six months earlier for breaking protocol by talking to reporters, were soon thwarted by the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller.Continue Reading

Transcripts of two closed-door testimonies by Lisa Page, the former assistant general counsel at the FBI, have provided new insights into the actions of the FBI, DOJ, and others—including CIA Director John Brennan—regarding their investigation into Donald Trump.

Included in the transcripts provided to us is information suggesting Brennan was aware of the so-called Steele dossier in early August 2016, and that he included information regarding the dossier in a briefing given to then-Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

Other key points in Page’s testimony before Congress:Continue Reading

The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces program was established in 1982 as a means to combat increasingly organized drug traffickers.

The OCDETF program is an unusually broad coalition that, as noted by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, “brings together just about every federal law enforcement agency there is. It’s the Swiss Army knife of law enforcement.”

The program’s strategy, which currently operates under the direction of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, aims to “focus federal drug resources on reducing the flow of illicit drugs and drug proceeds by identifying and targeting the major trafficking organizations, and eliminating the financial infrastructure of drug organizations.”Continue Reading

Gen. Michael Flynn, a former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, was interviewed on Jan. 24, 2017, by FBI agents Peter Strzok and Joe Pientka about two December 2016 conversations that Flynn had with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak.

Details of the phone conversation had leaked to the media. Flynn ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of lying to the FBI regarding his conversations with Kislyak. It remains unknown to this day who leaked Flynn’s classified call—a far more serious felony violation.

The Washington Post reported in January 2017 that the FBI had found no evidence of wrongdoing in Flynn’s actual call with the Russian ambassador. The call, and the matters discussed in it, broke no laws. Why Flynn would lie to the FBI agents about a perfectly legal call isn’t immediately clear.Continue Reading