Newly discovered text messages obtained by The Federalist reveal two key federal law enforcement officials conspired to meet with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) judge who presided over the federal case against Michael Flynn. The judge, Rudolph Contreras, was recused from handling the case just days after accepting the guilty plea of President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser who was charged with making false statements to federal investigators.
The text messages about Contreras between controversial Department of Justice lawyer Lisa Page and Peter Strzok, the top Federal Bureau of Investigation counterintelligence official who was kicked off Robert Mueller’s special counsel team, were deliberately hidden from Congress, multiple congressional investigators told The Federalist. In the messages, Page and Strzok, who are rumored to have been engaged in an illicit romantic affair, discussed Strzok’s personal friendship with Contreras and how to leverage that relationship in ongoing counterintelligence matters.
“Rudy is on the [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court]!” Page excitedly texted Strzok on July 25, 2016. “Did you know that? Just appointed two months ago.”
“I did,” Strzok responded. “I need to get together with him.”
“[He] said he’d gotten on a month or two ago at a graduation party we were both at.”
Contreras was appointed to the top surveillance court on May 19, 2016, federal records show.
The pair even schemed about how to set up a cocktail or dinner party just so Contreras, Strzok, and Page could speak without arousing suspicion that they were colluding. Strzok expressed concern that a one-on-one meeting between the two men might require Contreras’ recusal from matters in which Strzok was involved.
“[REDACTED] suggested a social setting with others would probably be better than a one on one meeting,” Strzok told Page. “I’m sorry, I’m just going to have to invite you to that cocktail party.”
“Have to come up with some other work people cover for action,” Strzok added.
“Why more?” Page responded. “Six is a perfectly fine dinner party.”
It is not known whether the proposed party happened as planned.
While working as one of the top counterintelligence officials at the FBI, Strzok reportedly took part in the FBI’s interview of on January 24. Flynn later pleaded guilty to one charge of providing false information to federal investigators. Strzok later left the FBI to join Mueller’s special counsel team, which obtained the indictment of Flynn.
Flynn’s guilty plea was accepted in federal court by Contreras on December 1, 2017. The New York Times reported the next day that Strzok, who left the FBI to work for special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, had been removed from the case by Mueller due to inappropriate text messages between Strzok and another federal official, now believed to be DOJ attorney Lisa Page. On December 5, 2017, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote a letter to FBI director Christopher Wray demanding text messages from Strzok as well as any notes he took regarding his interviews with Flynn. Contreras was recused from the Flynn case on December 7, 2017, and the case was reassigned to Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, according to federal court documents.
Neither Contreras nor federal judiciary officials have publicly indicated the reason for Contreras’ removal from the case. Contreras’ office declined to comment on inquiries asking about his relationship with Strzok, or why he was not recused from the Flynn case until after he had accepted Flynn’s guilty plea.
The sentencing of General Flynn has been postponed, probably based on less than this.
If this is known to the new judge Flynn might just get all charges dropped.
I love the comment that the “couple” wanted a cover meeting of a cocktail or dinner party so as to not look like they were COLLUDING with Judge Contraras.
LOL! While pointing one fictional “collude” finger at Trump, they actually colluded over and over again themselves!
Well, see, they scheme, lie and manipulate relationships for leverage because the evidence against Trump is so overwhelming. Right?
Perhaps the “cocktail party” DID happen and the judge thought it was so improper that he decided to recuse himself.
I believe that if they are not already looking over their shoulders, there will be many Clinton and Obama supporters residing in the deep swamp looking for a way to salvage part of their future.
@Randy: A number of them could wind up shooting themselves on park benches.
@Deplorable Me: Would that be in gun free zones?
@Nanny G: Not collude they conspired
Watch out FBI losing your pensions could be a better than other fates.
On Wednesday,
The Telegraph revealed that Sergei Skripal, the Russian “double agent” who was poisoned in Salisbury, England last week, has ties to Christopher Steele, the author of the infamous anti-Trump dossier and former British spy, who is tied to Fusion GPS, which is directly connected to the DNC and Hillary Clinton.
The poisoning was carried out in a sloppy and amateurish fashion, better known as “Extremely Careless …and screams of a private contractor, who may have kept the poison in the bathroom closet, knowing that the UK government (and blowhards like Boris Johnson) would immediately link this to a state (Russia) sponsored attack.
Meanwhile in Chappaqua
@kitt: I always have been amazed with those people who spent weeks and months setting up dominos with the purpose of setting new records. I wonder just how far this will reach and how many dominos will fall before this is over. There are still 3 more years to find everyone, and with stand up citizens like McCabe taking everyone down with him, one of Trumps construction projects may be a new federal prison. Not having to pay millions of dollars to traitors could help the national debt to be lowered.
@Randy:
Absolutely not because guns are banned from those areas, making them completely safe for everyone.
I guess the Obama policy of letting government officials and administrators run off with their pensions instead of asking the questions you never want answered is over.