James Comey slams FISA memo as 'dishonest' and 'misleading'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former FBI Director James Comey slammed the “dishonest” and “misleading” memo released by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the White House on Friday, saying it “inexcusably exposed” classified investigations.
The fired-FBI director didn’t seem to be impressed with the long-awaited Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) memo’s contents.
“That’s it?” Comey tweeted. “Dishonest and misleading memo wrecked the House intel committee, destroyed trust with Intelligence Community, damaged relationship with FISA court, and inexcusably exposed classified investigation of an American citizen. For what? DOJ & FBI must keep doing their jobs.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The memo showed alleged government surveillance abuse, and included testimony from former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who stepped down Monday, that said the FBI and Justice Department would not have sought surveillance warrants to spy on a member of the Trump team without the infamous anti-Trump dossier.
FISA MEMO: STEELE FIRED AS AN FBI SOURCE FOR BREAKING 'CARDINAL RULE' --LEAKING TO THE MEDIA
The memo stated that on October 21, 2016, the Justice Department and the FBI “sought and received” a FISA probable cause order authorizing “electronic surveillance” on Carter Page from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC.) At the time, Page was a volunteer advisor on the Trump campaign.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Page warrant application required certification from either Comey or McCabe.
According to the memo, the FBI and DOJ obtained “one initial FISA warrant” targeting Page, and three FISA renewals from the FISA court. The statute required that every 90 days, a FISA order on an American citizen “must be renewed.”
The memo stated that Comey signed three FISA applications for Page and McCabe signed one. Trump’s current Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein also signed at least one FISA application for Page –along with former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and former Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The memo stated, however, that information on the now-infamous anti-Trump dossier compiled by Christopher Steele was “omitted” when seeking a FISA warrant for Page.
“Neither the initial application in October 2016, nor any of the renewals, disclose or reference the role of the DNC, Clinton campaign, or any party/campaign in funding Steele’s efforts, even though the political origins of the Steele dossier were then known to senior DOJ and FBI officials,” the memo released Friday read.
Republicans on the committee released the memo, and addressed their “concerns with the legitimacy and legality of certain DOJ and FBI interactions, involving FISA.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HOUSE MEMO STATES DISPUTED DOSSIER WAS KEY TO FBI'S FISA WARRANT TO SURVEIL MEMBERS OF TEAM TRUMP
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Friday that he has “great confidence in the men and women of this Department. But no Department is perfect.”
“I will forward to appropriate DOJ components all information I receive from Congress regarding this. I am determined that we will fully and fairly ascertain the truth,” Sessions said in a statement to Fox News.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“We work for the American people and are accountable to them and those they have elected. We will meet that responsibility,” Sessions added.