Pierce: Republicans Can Say Whatever They Want About the FISA Document and Carter Page

[babylonsister]

Last edited Mon Jul 23, 2018, 09:27 PM - Edit history (1)

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a22520762/republicans-fisa-carter-page-russia-donald-trump/

Republicans Can Say Whatever They Want About the FISA Document and Carter Page
It's long enough, and there are enough redactions, for them to get away with it. But none of that will matter in the end.
By Charles P. Pierce
Jul 23, 2018

snip//

In case you were wondering, the person making the most sense about the 412-page FISA document is, inevitably, Charlie Savage of The New York Times, a man who never has been defeated by any document drawn by the hand of man. Basically, as he explains, Congressman Devin Nunes is every bit as big a jackass as that guy in Georgia whose career Sacha Baron Cohen just ended, except Nunes is playing for higher stakes.

But this past weekend, Mr. Trump’s unprecedented decision, which he made over the objections of law enforcement and intelligence officials, had a consequence that revealed his gambit’s shaky foundation. The government released the court documents in which the F.B.I. made its case for conducting the surveillance — records that plainly demonstrated that key elements of Republicans’ claims about the bureau’s actions were misleading or false. On Sunday, Mr. Trump nevertheless sought to declare victory. In a series of early-morning tweets, he claimed without evidence that the newly disclosed files “confirm with little doubt that the Department of ‘Justice’ and FBI misled the courts” to win approval to start wiretapping the former adviser, Carter Page, shortly after he had left the campaign amid criticism of his ties to Russia.

The president*’s decision also left Nunes twisting in the wind, and very few people ever have deserved it more.

The records again cast an unflattering light on Representative Devin Nunes, the committee’s chairman, who led the attack on the F.B.I. surveillance, though he admitted in February that he had not read the application documents. Mr. Nunes has taken repeated steps to try to bolster Mr. Trump and undercut the Russia investigation. In his tweets, Mr. Trump left unmentioned the nature of the concerns the F.B.I. raised about Mr. Page in the court applications. The documents said that the bureau “believes Page has been the subject of targeted recruitment by the Russian government,” that he had “established relationships with Russian government officials, including Russian intelligence officers,” and that he had been “collaborating and conspiring with the Russian government.”

Carter Page is the Zelig of this whole mess. His peculiar penchant for disappearing from, and then reappearing in, this story is one of its undying mysteries. The application, however, makes it quite clear that the authorities had an interest in him that went far beyond whatever is in the famous Steele dossier.

The application and several renewals, which continued into the Trump administration, contain many redacted pages, making it impossible to tell how many other sources of information the F.B.I. had. But the uncensored portion does also discuss a prior investigation into a Russian spy ring that tried to recruit Americans as assets in 2013. Mr. Page is known to have been one of its targets. Still, information from Mr. Steele — who had provided credible intelligence to the United States government in the past — was clearly an important part of the application. The application cited claims he had gathered about purported meetings between Mr. Page and two Kremlin-linked Russians during a trip he took to Moscow in July 2016; Mr. Page has denied meeting with them, although he later contradicted his claims that he had not met any Russian government officials on that trip.

snip//

But the release of the FISA material really is just another turn in the road that leads inevitably to trouble for this administration*. And Robert Mueller, with no expression on his face, reaches for another document.

[Historic NY]

1. Probable cause is all that was needed to show the Judges....

its the cornerstone of police work.

There must be enough evidence that a "reasonable person" would believe a crime was committed. This evidence is presented to a judge who must agree before authorizing the search by granting a warrant.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Link?

[babylonsister]

3. Here, and thanks.

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a22520762/republicans-fisa-carter-page-russia-donald-trump/