The FISA leaks continue: exculpatory information was intentionally left out of Page FISA app

Loading

Paul Sperry:

The FBI omitted from its application to spy on Carter Page the fact that Russian spies had dismissed the former Trump campaign adviser as unreliable – or as one put it, an “idiot” – and therefore unworthy of recruiting, according to congressional sources who have seen the unredacted document.

The potentially exculpatory detail was also withheld from three renewals of the wiretap warrant before a special government surveillance court. The warrants issued by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court allowed the FBI to spy on Page and others he was in contact with for almost a year, the sources also confirmed.

The FBI was aware of Russians’ skepticism that Page knew anything of value or was a significant player because the bureau had recorded them voicing such doubts in a wiretap, from an earlier espionage case involving three Russian spies working undercover for the Kremlin in New York.

The FBI cited that 2013 case, minus the disparagement of Page, in its applications to the FISA court. They have been made public only in redacted form, professing evidence that Page was “recruited” by Russian intelligence and had “coordinated” with the Russian government. But “that’s a mischaracterization of the facts in the case,” a congressional source said.

As first reported by RealClearInvestigations after Page became a central focus of the Trump-Russia investigation, court filings that emerged from the earlier case show the Russian government wasn’t interested in cultivating Page as a spy. Rather, it tried to use him as a source of economic information, but soon “discarded” him as low-value and unreliable.

Withholding material and exculpatory evidence from the FISA applications may also have violated Page’s Fourth Amendment protections against omissions of material facts that would undermine or negate probable cause to search.

“It is illegal,” said veteran FBI agent Michael Biasello. “The affiant” — the person swearing to the affidavit — “cannot cherry-pick only information favorable to the case.”

More at RCI

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
2 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Page was set up exclusively to skip to spy on Trump.
The Clinton team FBI was creating dossiers on every Republican Candidate since 2015. It needs to be exposed who Fusion was researching in the NSA database. Admiral Mike Rodgers exposed that 85 % of searches were done illegally accessing information of American citizens, shutting down private contractors in April 2016

The Uncovering – Mike Rogers’ Investigation, Section 702 FISA Abuse & the FBI

Then the 1st warrant is issued when was that hmmm https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fbi-obtained-fisa-warrant-to-monitor-former-trump-adviser-carter-page/2017/04/11/620192ea-1e0e-11e7-ad74-3a742a6e93a7_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c2b199c0a25b
Must love the paper trail.

Well, in fairness, why WOULD you submit a FISA request and include the information you KNOW makes the FISA warrant improper? I mean, what would be the point of THAT? Why, it’s like just up and admitting there is not real reason to suspect Trump or those working for him.

And what was the name of that guy who strengthened the protections against abuse of the FISA courts? Mule…. something? I guess protecting the privacy of would-be terrorists is more critical than protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens that have different political views.

Let’s hear some more about how honorable Mueller is.