FBI official under investigation after allegedly altering document in 2016 Russia probe (DOJ IG Report thread) (3 Viewers)

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Washington (CNN) —

An FBI official is under criminal investigation after allegedly altering a document related to 2016 surveillance of a Trump campaign adviser, several people briefed on the matter told CNN.

The possibility of a substantive change to an investigative document is likely to fuel accusations from President Donald Trump and his allies that the FBI committed wrongdoing in its investigation of connections between Russian election meddling and the Trump campaign.

The finding is expected to be part of Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz's review of the FBI's effort to obtain warrants under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act on Carter Page, a former Trump campaign aide. Horowitz will release the report next month.

Horowitz turned over evidence on the allegedly altered document to John Durham, the federal prosecutor appointed early this year by Attorney General William Barr to conduct a broad investigation of intelligence gathered for the Russia probe by the CIA and other agencies, including the FBI. The altered document is also at least one focus of Durham's criminal probe.

Exclusive: Former FBI lawyer under investigation after allegedly altering document in 2016 Russia probe - CNN Politics

A former FBI lawyer is under criminal investigation after allegedly altering a document related to 2016 surveillance of a Trump campaign adviser, several people briefed on the matter told CNN.

www-m.cnn.com

Terrible if true. Trump will obviously seize upon this.

 

[samiam5211]

Really? Falsifying information on the FISA warrant, 51 Woods Procedure violations and 17 serious problems cited by the IG report isn't a crisis?

The case against the Trump campaign was so strong that the FBI had to create fraudulent evidence and alter emails so it could lie to a court that already approves 99.8% of all warrants.

You’re right. Serious was a poor choice of word. The people should be held accountable. If prosecution or at least terminating their employment is appropriate, that’s what should happen.

What I was trying to say was that these errors were not meaningful. There is nothing that shows these errors ended up informing the conclusionsof the investigation.

 

[samiam5211]

I do think the FISA on Page was one of the most important pieces of the Russia investigation. Page became the face for the justification for the Trump Russia investigation. Someone needs to go to jail for falsifying the FISA application.

For the thousandth time yes I think Russia tried to influence our election, but I think it's influence been vastly overstated. How many times will you guys keep asking that question?

The Carter Page FISA didn’t result in any information used in the investigation.

Carter Page became the face of the investigation because he never met a camera he didn’t like. He chose to go on any news show that wouldhave him. That’s why the media latched on to that angle.

The FBI didn’t end up seeing Carter Page as any meaningful part of the investigation.

 

[N.O.Bronco]

You’re right. Serious was a poor choice of word. The people should be held accountable. If prosecution or at least terminating their employment is appropriate, that’s what should happen.

What I was trying to say was that these errors were not meaningful. There is nothing that shows these errors ended up informing the conclusionsof the investigation.

It’s also just hard to take seriously the whines and cries of a group of people that’s initial defense of criminally stealing private campaign information and strategically releasing it to affect our elections was to tell Democrats and all that were concerned to ignore the process and just look at the content.

While later on just glossing over the president holding up foreign aid to coerce a foreign country to interfere in our election again and damage his opponent, trying to hide communications of that bribe on special servers they weren’t qualified for to limit its exposure.

All in the context of supporting a party that has had two opportunities to vote on reforms that would tighten up and create more accountability for the FISA process and to this day is still not considering taking up those votes.

Me personally, I’m with you, if people abuse their power those people should be held to account according to policy and law and rooted in a personal ethical foundation that doesn’t move depending on party. Problem is many of the people in this thread or in their party writ large have not ever demonstrated that same ability.

 

[SaintForLife]

The Carter Page FISA didn’t result in any information used in the investigation.

Carter Page became the face of the investigation because he never met a camera he didn’t like. He chose to go on any news show that wouldhave him. That’s why the media latched on to that angle.

The FBI didn’t end up seeing Carter Page as any meaningful part of the investigation.

Carter Page became the face of the investigation because of the 3 years of being smeared on cable news networks as a Russian spy. It had nothing to do with his tv appearances. It had everything to do with proven liars like Clapper and Brennan who have now been exposed.

Sort of like what we were told about the Steele Dossier.

 

[samiam5211]

Carter Page became the face of the investigation because of the 3 years of being smeared on cable news networks as a Russian spy. It had nothing to do with his tv appearances. It had everything to do with proven liars like Clapper and Brennan who have now been exposed.

Im just saying no information from the Carter FISA Page was used.

As far as I know that is a fact not in dispute. If you have evidence to the contrary, I’d welcome it.

 

[SaintForLife]

Im just saying no information from the Carter FISA Page was used.

As far as I know that is a fact not in dispute. If you have evidence to the contrary, I’d welcome it.

They found NOTHING to use against Page so your statement about them not using anything is confusing.

 

[N.O.Bronco]

They found NOTHING to use against Page so your statement about them not using anything is confusing.

Get your stories straight then and clarify your points clearly, you just asserted that the FISA Page warrant was “was one of the most important pieces of the Russia investigation.”

When it was neither the impetus nor any of the major substantive foundation underlying it.

 

[samiam5211]

They found NOTHING to use against Page so your statement about them not using anything is confusing.

We seem to agree that Carter Page amounted to nothing. What’s confusing to me is that you think that matters with regard to the findings of the investigation.

 

[Beach Friends]

We seem to agree that Carter Page amounted to nothing. What’s confusing to me is that you think that matters with regard to the findings of the investigation.

Can we also agree that, given the fact that the allegations of the Steele dossier were leaked, the FBI should have let the public know that the Steele dossier was garbage as soon as it knew that it was unreliable? And that Comey should not have continued to go on TV indicating that he believed they were (or may have been) true?

 

[samiam5211]

Can we also agree that, given the fact that the allegations of the Steele dossier were leaked, the FBI should have let the public know that the Steele dossier was garbage as soon as it knew that it was unreliable? And that Comey should not have continued to go on TV indicating that he believed they were (or may have been) true?

I think the FBI was already doing too much talking before the election. I think Comey was wrong to talk about the Clinton investigation. He may have just decided it was the only way to counter the leaking about that investigation which was much worse than any leaks about the Russia investigation.

I think the FBI talking about an investigation into the Trump campaign and Russia before the election may have changed the results; so I do wish they had, but I don’t believe they should have.

 

[MT15]

Can we also agree that, given the fact that the allegations of the Steele dossier were leaked, the FBI should have let the public know that the Steele dossier was garbage as soon as it knew that it was unreliable? And that Comey should not have continued to go on TV indicating that he believed they were (or may have been) true?

There are parts of the Steele dossier that are true and have been verified. It’s not an all or nothing proposition. In fact, IIRC, I saw a snippet from the IG report where Horowitz acknowledges that at one point the FBI was discarding parts of the dossier and just focusing on what they could verify. I think that’s common for raw intelligence and reasonable.

And yes, I think we’ve established that Comey is an arrogant man who likes to hear himself talk. He did things he shouldn’t have done, but they hurt Clinton far more than they hurt Trump.

 

[Archies Ghost]

There are parts of the Steele dossier that are true and have been verified. It’s not an all or nothing proposition. In fact, IIRC, I saw a snippet from the IG report where Horowitz acknowledges that at one point the FBI was discarding parts of the dossier and just focusing on what they could verify. I think that’s common for raw intelligence and reasonable.

And yes, I think we’ve established that Comey is an arrogant man who likes to hear himself talk. He did things he shouldn’t have done, but they hurt Clinton far more than they hurt Trump.

Multiple sources familiar with the FBI spreadsheet tell me the vast majority of Steele’s claims were deemed to be wrong, or could not be corroborated even with the most awesome tools available to the U.S. intelligence community. One source estimated the spreadsheet found upward of 90 percent of the dossier’s claims to be either wrong, nonverifiable or open-source intelligence found with a Google search.


In other words, it was mostly useless.

“The spreadsheet was a sea of blanks, meaning most claims couldn’t be corroborated, and those things that were found in classified intelligence suggested Steele’s intelligence was partly or totally inaccurate on several claims,” one source told me.

FBI's spreadsheet puts a stake through the heart of Steele's dossier

Using Steele’s belated cooperation with the inspector general investigation to prop up the credibility of his 2016 anti-Trump memo is misguided.

thehill.com

 

[samiam5211]

FBI's spreadsheet puts a stake through the heart of Steele's dossier

Using Steele’s belated cooperation with the inspector general investigation to prop up the credibility of his 2016 anti-Trump memo is misguided.

thehill.com

Since you didn’t post any of you own words, I can’t be sure what point you’re trying to make, but I read that article.

There were several misleading (intentionally or not) characterizations in it.

The article said that FBI spreadsheet showed that 90% of the dossier’s claims were either unverified, wrong, or available in open sources. Those are three unrelated groupings.

What percent of that 90 were wrong v/s available in open sources v/s unverifiable? It is an important distinction unless your intent is to discredit the dossier.

 

[N.O.Bronco]

Can we also agree that, given the fact that the allegations of the Steele dossier were leaked, the FBI should have let the public know that the Steele dossier was garbage as soon as it knew that it was unreliable? And that Comey should not have continued to go on TV indicating that he believed they were (or may have been) true?

When did Comey ever say he believed the Steele Dossier was entiriety true?

What specifically in the Steele Dossier was proven to be false?

It's fair to say it was largely unsubstantiated, but as has been pointed out before, the reason the Steele Dossier was even in the FBI’s hands was because it corroborated some of their own findings.

 

[SaintForLife]

We seem to agree that Carter Page amounted to nothing. What’s confusing to me is that you think that matters with regard to the findings of the investigation.

By face of the investigation I meant what the media and certain Democrats were saying about Page. It drove media coverage and gave legitimacy to the Trump Russia investigation.

 

[MT15]

What happened to Page was wrong and terrible, but the Russia investigation was legitimate to begin with.

 

[SaintForLife]

There are parts of the Steele dossier that are true and have been verified. It’s not an all or nothing proposition. In fact, IIRC, I saw a snippet from the IG report where Horowitz acknowledges that at one point the FBI was discarding parts of the dossier and just focusing on what they could verify. I think that’s common for raw intelligence and reasonable.

What parts of the dossier are true and been verified. I see that as a very common talking point on the left, but I've never seen anyone point out the parts that are true or verified. The only parts of the dossier that I've read were true are the ones that were already publicly known. The CIA said the dossier was an internet rumor according to the IG report.

 

[SaintForLife]

What happened to Page was wrong and terrible, but the Russia investigation was legitimate to begin with.

The Russia interference investigation was legitimate, but do you think someone saying something in a bar to someone else was enough to start an investigation into Trump?