Those Deputy Attorney Generals in the Obama administration who signed the four FISC applications could well find themselves derailed by Barr's investigation.
FISC abuse could top Watergate as USA's worst political scandal
Attorney General William Barr's announcement that he would be investigating alleged spying on the Trump 2016 election campaign has shocked the conflicted anti-Trump mainstream media and an increasingly beleaguered Democratic Party.
The mainstream media has known of the spying allegation for years--but did nothing to investigate it--Fox News excepted--and continues to be in a state of total denial of what could prove to be America's worst political scandal.
Barr will be investigating whether America's top secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) was improperly used in October 2016 and January, April and June 2017 to obtain warrants to surveil an American citizen--Carter Page-- a former member of the Trump election campaign team--thereby lawfully gaining access to all communications forwarded and received by Page during the course of the 2016 Presidential campaign.
The warrants were allegedly issued on the basis of an unverified dossier on Donald Trump prepared by a former British intelligence officer--Christopher Steele --based on Russian sources (Steele Dossier)
The Court allegedly was never fully informed that the Steele Dossier was paid for by the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton.
The applications targeting Page were made by the FBI to principally gather "foreign intelligence information", claiming that:
" The FBI believes Page has been the subject of targeted recruitment by the Russian Government (redacted) undermine and influence the outcome of the 2016 US Presidential election in violation of criminal law. Page is a former policy advisor to a Candidate for US President (Candidate 1)"
The first application was signed by FBI Director James B Comey and approved for filing by Sally Quillian Yates the Deputy Attorney General of the United States.
Other listed authorized signatories not signing the first application were:
John F Kerry Secretary of State
Andrew G McCabe Deputy Director Federal Bureau of Investigation
Antony J Blanken Deputy Secretary of State
John O Brennan Director Central Intelligence Agency
Ash Carter Secretary of Defence
James R Clapper Director of National Intelligence
Susan E Rice Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
Stephanie O'Sullivan Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence
The other named signatory who could have approved the filing of the first application was:
Loretta E Lynch US Attorney General
Signatories to the three further applications included:
James Comey
Dona J Boente Acting US Attorney General
Andrew McCabe
Rod J Rosenstein Deputy US Attorney General
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Different Judges dealt with each Application.
Page has not been charged with any offenses.
The flow of Trump campaign material to the FBI investigators and the possible use of such information to benefit the Clinton campaign remains unknown.
Barr's Investigation could see the above named persons being examined under oath to ascertain:
Their knowledge of the contents of the four FISC Applications
Whether any material from the Trump election campaign came into their possession during Page's surveillance or afterwards.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's response to Barr's announcement was instructive:
"Let me just say how very, very dismaying and disappointing that the chief law enforcement officer of our country is going off the rails, yesterday and today."
Those Deputy Attorney Generals in the Obama administration who signed the four FISC applications could well find themselves derailed by Barr's investigation.
Digging up dirt on your political opponents or trying to find out their campaign strategies and sources of finance are part and parcel of America's robust political system.
Gaining such information illegally--as occurred in the Watergate break in--is reprehensible.
Doing so by misleading the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court-- if substantiated--would destroy the Democrats hopes for success in the 2020 elections.
David Singer is an Australian Lawyer, a Foundation Member of the International Analyst Network and Convenor of Jordan is Palestine International—an organization calling for sovereignty of the West Bank and Gaza to be allocated between Israel and Jordan as the two successor States to the Mandate for Palestine. Previous articles written by him can be found at: jordanispalestine.blogspot.com
Attorney General William Barr's announcement that he would be investigating alleged spying on the Trump 2016 election campaign has shocked the conflicted anti-Trump mainstream media and an increasingly beleaguered Democratic Party.
The mainstream media has known of the spying allegation for years--but did nothing to investigate it--Fox News excepted--and continues to be in a state of total denial of what could prove to be America's worst political scandal.
