In a recent letter to the attorney general just made public, Lindsey Graham is demanding to see the original source documents used to justify the Watergate style wiretap of Carter Page. The issue is so serious that the work of the Senate Judiciary Committee is virtually on hold, until they get access to what’s looking more like treason every day.
It looks a lot like Watergate
In a short but sharply pointed letter to Attorney General William Barr, the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman politely asked the man at the top of the justice pyramid to bring the un-redacted documents to that special room in the basement where Congress members can view all the top-secret documents.
Graham knows that Barr will make sure the Federal Bureau of Instigation doesn’t lose anything on the way, and he knows to get it there quick before anything happens to it. Based on bombshell information uncovered in recent weeks by Inspector General Michael Horowitz and now declassified, what Obama’s administration did looks a whole lot like Watergate.
The scandal that took down President Richard Nixon in the early 1970’s was so abominable that every political scandal now gets the “gate” suffix. “Russiagate” is Watergate on steroids.
FBI knew source debunked Steele’s reporting yet told FISA court information was corroborated, continued to use as a basis for FISA warrants.
Read @LindseyGrahamSC's letter to AG Barr here: https://t.co/HJ7aV6lWPi
— Senate Judiciary Republicans (@SenJudiciaryGOP) April 27, 2020
The FBI lied on purpose
The FBI was fully aware, Graham’s letter states, Christopher Steele’s single source blew his credibility to shreds. They also knew everything in his dossier was a lie, but they used it to wiretap Carter Page anyway. “In spite of this, the FBI continued to seek renewals for FISA coverage on Carter Page and never informed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of the credibility issues.”
The lawyers for the DOJ and the FBI agents literally deceived the FISA court. They lied on purpose just to get an ear into the Trump Campaign. “In fact, the FBI made it appear to the court that the Primary Sub-source corroborated Steele’s reporting.”
After President Trump won the election, the FBI continued the illegal surveillance with help from their “supervisors” at the Department of Injustice. Their Deep State investigation evolved into a conspiracy to overthrow the White House.
A look at the incriminating evidence
The first thing Graham demands in his letter is a peek at “all documents and communications related to the FBI’s interviews with the Primary Sub-source.” He’s especially interested in the FBI analysis of what that source said. He specifically asked to examine the “lengthy written summary” and “the two-page Intelligence Memorandum circulated by the Supervisory Intel Analyst in late February 2017 to Bill Priestap and other Counterintelligence Division officials, discussing ‘aspects of the Primary Sub-source’s interview.'”
After that, Graham wants to take a hard look at “the complete February 15, 2017, email exchange between Peter Strzok, Bill Priestap and others.” That’s the one where “Strzok stated that ‘recent interviews and investigation, however, reveal [Steele] may not be in a position to judge the reliability of his sub-source network.'”
Speaking of emails, Graham’s letter asks for “the complete March 31, 2017, email exchange between individuals identified in the OIG Report as the ‘OI Attorney’ and the ‘OGC Attorney’ regarding the second FISA Renewal Application and the Primary Sub-Source’s credibility.” He also requested “the complete email exchange between the Supervisory Intel Analyst and the OGC Attorney in March 2017 referenced in Footnote 389 of the OIG Report.”
Finally, Graham is anxious to see what was said in the “Sub-source interview” that “identified inconsistencies between Steele and the Primary Sub-source regarding some of the information.”
Watergate all over again, but worse
Nixon didn’t know about the June 17, 1972, bugging of the Democratic National Committee headquarters before it happened, but he did try to cover it up afterward. His “plumbers” tried to plug every leak but missed a couple. Barack Obama also may have known what was going on all along and possibly even directed illegal activity. His “plumbers” have the nickname of the “FBI branch of the Hillary Clinton Fan Club.” Not quite as elegant. but it suggests who was really in charge.
Five undercover operatives of the Nixon administration were caught burglarizing the Watergate Office Building so they could bug a target’s phone. The cash in their wallets connected them to the Nixon Re-election campaign committee. Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the DNC paid for Christopher Steele’s totally fictional dossier.
At the time, PBS covered the Senate Judiciary Committee investigation hearings “gavel-to-gavel,” because it was so important. That’s the same committee chaired by Lindsey Graham. Witness after witness testified that “the president had approved plans to cover up administration involvement in the break-in” Did Obama cover up involvement of his administration in the illegal bugging of Carter Page? That’s what Graham’s letter seeks to find out.
Nixon resigned rather than face impeachment because he knew he would be convicted. Obama served his term of office and walked away, for now. Nixon’s underlings faced grave consequences for their actions. It looks like Obama’s underlings are about to get a similar treatment. Back in the mid-seventies, “there were 69 people indicted and 48 people — many of them top Nixon administration officials — were convicted.”
As Wikipedia summarizes, “Watergate came to encompass an array of clandestine and often illegal activities undertaken by members of the Nixon administration, including: bugging the offices of political opponents and people of whom Nixon or his officials were suspicious; ordering investigations of activist groups and political figures; and using the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Internal Revenue Service as political weapons.” Gee, doesn’t that sound familiar?