FBI officials involved in the Crossfire Hurricane – the investigation into Donald Trump’s associates’ connections with Russia – must now be “extremely concerned”, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said.
Lindsey Graham, a powerful Republican ally of the president, told Fox News on Friday morning that he thought a house of cards would turn upside down.
Kevin Clinesmith, 38, a former FBI attorney, is expected to plead guilty to altering an email during the Crossfire Hurricane investigation.
Clinesmith’s lawyer said he made a mistake in trying to explain facts to a colleague.
Lindsey Graham appeared Friday night at Hannity to discuss the guilty plea
Talking to Trey Gowdy, who comes in for Sean Hannity, discussed Graham Clinesmith
Donald Trump took issue with the news that Clinesmith was preparing to plead guilty, and promoted the plea agreement as proof that the Russia investigation was illegitimate and politically motivated.
Clinesmith had written texts expressing opposition to Trump.
The president opened a White House news conference by calling Clinesmith ‘corrupt’, and the deal ‘just the beginning’.
The work of Clinesmith, and others involved, is examined by John Durham, a U.S. attorney for Connecticut, as part of his exploration of the origins of the Russian probe that culminated in Robert Mueller’s question.
Graham told Trey Gowdy, host of the Hannity show on Friday, that the news of Clinesmith’s ongoing plea marks a ‘great day for the rule of law’.
He added: ‘Something tells me that Mr Clinesmith knows where the bodies are buried, and if I was in the FBI working on Crossfire Hurricane [the Russia investigation], I would be very worried at the moment. ‘
Kevin Clinesmith, 38, a former FBI attorney, is expected to plead guilty to changing an email
Clinesmith will plead guilty to making a false statement in the first criminal case that emerged from Durham’s review of the FBI’s investigation into ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign, two sources close to the case told Fox News earlier Friday.
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz previously accused Clinesmith, albeit not by name, of exchanging an email about former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page saying Page was ‘no source’ for another government agency.
Page said he was a source for the CIA.
The DOJ relied on the claim that Page was not a source for other agencies, as it submitted a third and final renewal application in 2017 to crack down on Page, under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
Carter Page advised the Trump campaign during the 2016 election and was monitored by the FBI
Howoritz, however, found that law enforcement officials had sufficient reason to open the Russia investigation, and – despite Graham’s assertion – found no evidence that they were dealing with political bias.
Attorney General William Barr had anticipated the deal for the Hannity show on Thursday night, announcing that a development would take place in the investigation on Friday.
“It’s not an earthquake, but it’s an indication that things are moving at the right pace, as determined by the facts in this study,” he said.
Graham, however, said the plea was ‘a really big deal’.
‘An FBI attorney in charge of checking warrants will plead guilty to falsifying FISA court documents against a Trump adviser, and if you’m lucky, you’ll find this in the mainstream media for 30 seconds ” said Graham.
He said that if an FBI attorney had pleaded guilty to forgery of documents to prosecute Hillary Clinton’s advisers, it would have generated much more attention.
“What this lawyer did is a very big deal,” Graham said.
‘We have to trust the system, there has to be a certain amount of trust.
‘This is a lawyer, a man of the law, a member of the bar, who took it upon himself to falsify documents and conduct an investigation that needs to be stopped.
‘This is a great day for transparency and the rule of law. ‘
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