Fed Up Canadian
Special Counsel John H. Durham’s “Report on Matters Related to Intelligence Activities and Investigations Arising Out of the 2016 Presidential Campaigns” continues the practice of allowing government officials to escape accountability for their abuse of American citizens. In June 2017, the United States Department of Justice applied to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Court for the third renewal of a surveillance and search warrant on part-time Donald Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. The DoJ’s application was based in part on the credibility of former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele. Steele produced a so-called “dossier,” which was a 35-page collection of separate “Company Intelligence Reports.”
By the time the DoJ applied in June 2017 for the warrant renewal to the FISA Court, Steele had made at least two significant admissions in a British court case in which he was a defendant. By at least April 26, 2017, the FBI and the DoJ knew that Steele was a defendant in this British court case. Both admissions significantly weakened Steele’s credibility and made it impossible for the DoJ to satisfy the requirements for obtaining the warrant. However, the DoJ failed to tell the FISA Court about Steele’s admissions, thereby causing the FISA Court to issue the renewal of the warrant. Former deputy United States attorney general Rod Rosenstein approved the June 2017 warrant application to continue spying on Page.
