White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Sunday that it is “time for people to go to jail” as part of the US Attorney John Durham’s investigation into the FBI’s misconduct, prompting the Former Trump aide George Papadopoulos issued a celebratory note on Twitter.
The comments came when Fox News learned this weekend that Jennifer Boone, a top FBI official who oversaw the flawed investigation of former Trump aide Carter Page, received a major promotion to head a field office, and the office did not. will tell why.
Meadows, during his Sunday interview with Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” also anticipated the Trump administration’s plans to be reopened soon to reopen schools and implement new economic stimulus measures. Meadows said they will receive more details this week.
However, Meadows’ comments on the Durham investigation were among the most suggestive so far. Followed by Attorney General Bill Barr’s comments to Fox News earlier this year that Durham’s findings have been “very troubling” and that familiar names are currently being investigated.
“I think the American people are awaiting accusations,” Meadows told presenter Maria Bartiromo. “I await allegations based on the evidence I have seen. Lindsey Graham did a good job of pulling that out. We know that not only did they know there was no case, but they continued to investigate and spy.”
‘WHERE IS CHRISTOPHER WRAY’? GOP DEMANDS INTERVIEW WITH MYSTERY AGENT PIENTKA
Internal FBI documents that emerged in April showed that Peter Strzok, the now disgraced former FBI chief of counterintelligence against Trump, ordered that the investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn remain open even after it was closed due to lack of the called “derogatory” information. Strzok conducted an investigation based on the Logan Act, a law that was never used in a successful prosecution and was intended to prevent people from falsely representing the US government abroad in an era prior to the telephone.
FBI Deputy Assistant Director Peter Strzok testifies before a joint hearing of the House Judiciary Committee on “overseeing the actions of the FBI and the Justice Department around the 2016 election” on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 12. July 2018. (AP Photo / Evan Vucci)
(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
“And yes, I use the word spy on Trump campaign officials and even do things when this president was sworn in,” Meadows continued. “And after that and inappropriately, they will see a couple of other documents that will come out in the coming days that will suggest that not only was the campaign spied on, but that the FBI did not act appropriately as they did.” doing research. Everything is starting to fall apart. And I tell you, it’s time for people to go to jail and people to be charged. “
The Justice Department (DOJ) watchdog identified critical errors in each FBI wiretapping application it audited as part of the aftermath of the office’s highly flawed investigation into former Trump adviser Carter Page, who was monitored during the campaign in part due to a largely discredited dossier funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
The FBI repeatedly accused Page of being a “foreign agent” in his court order requests. Page has not been charged with any crime, and the Justice Department has since admitted that his requests for warrants are without probable cause and should not have been sought.
Additionally, a former FBI attorney in that case even falsified a CIA email sent to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court to make Page’s communications with the Russians appear dire, the inspector general found. from the Department of Justice. The CIA allegedly told FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith that Page had reported on his contacts in Russia and was essentially acting as an informant, only for Clinesmith to allegedly omit that exculpatory information in a surveillance order request framing the Page’s communications with the Russians as a sign that he was a secret foreign agent.
OBAMA KNEW DETAILS OF THE FLYNN CASE, OFFICIAL SHOCKING TOP DOJ, DOCS SHOW
Separately, Fox News learned that Jennifer Boone, a senior FBI officer, whom the IG said was “at headquarters supervising” Page’s investigation, was promoted to head the field office of the Baltimore office on last year. Boone was on the same level as Strzok in the FBI hierarchy.
The IG report indicates that Boone also contacted Bruce Ohr, who was a key contact within the Justice Department for former British spy Christopher Steele, the author of the now-discredited anti-Trump dossier produced by investigative firm Fusion GPS as an investigation. from the opposition for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign. Ohr’s wife, Nellie Ohr, was working for Fusion GPS at the time.
“Boone couldn’t remember who finally decided to go ahead with [Page FISA] Renewal application No. 2, and the available documents do not indicate, “wrote the IG.
IG REPORT CONTRADICTS REPEATED CLAIMS BY EXPERTS ABOUT THE FISA PROCESS
Boone also “told us that [she] did not recall being informed that the information of the [Steele] The primary Sub-source differed significantly from the information in Steele’s reports, “added the IG.
The FBI declined to comment specifically on Boone’s promotion when he was contacted by Fox News this weekend.
“As I’m sure you know, Director [Christopher] Wray recently sat down for an interview with his colleague Bret Baier, where he spoke about the corrective measures he has instituted in response to the FISA IG Report, “an FBI spokesperson told Fox News.” We will not have a comment beyond what the director said to Mr. Baier. “
Republicans have complained that Wray has not responded to his requests to interview other key officials who oversaw aspects of Page’s investigation, including Joe Pietnka, who was removed from the FBI website after Fox News asked about him. . Sources say Pientka received a major promotion that moved him from Virginia to a higher position in the San Francisco field office, and public records reviewed by Fox News confirm that Pientka has moved.
On Friday, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee released recently declassified documents saying they “significantly undermined” the “reliability” of the infamous Steele dossier of Russia’s investigation, as well as the accuracy and reliability of factual claims in warrant orders. FISA vs. Page.
HOROWITZ REPORT IMPORTANT POINTS ROLE OF LITTLE KNOWN AGENT
The first document, which the committee said spanned 57 pages, is a summary of a three-day interview from Steele’s main source. The document revealed that the record was “unfounded and unreliable,” according to sources who reviewed it, and showed that the FBI was aware of the record’s credibility issues, but continued to seek further renewals of the FISA order for Page.
In addition, the document demonstrated that the information Steele’s main source provided him was “second-hand and second-hand information and rumors at best.”
FBI DOUBLED STEELE’S DOSSIER RELIABILITY, SHOWS NEW DOCUMENTS
The document also revealed that Steele’s primary secondary source “disagreed and was surprised” at how Steele relayed the information he gave Steele in the record.
The documents were not the first evidence showing that the FBI had reason to doubt Steele’s record. In April, the FBI Crossfire Hurricane team investigating the 2016 Trump campaign received multiple indications that Steele was part of an elaborate “Russian disinformation campaign,” according to several declassified notes from the IG report.
The information flatly contradicted numerous media reports.
The FBI legal adviser described Page’s surveillance order as “essentially a single source for FISA” totally dependent on the record, which also made many other unsubstantiated claims about Russian hackers at a nonexistent consulate in Miami, Cohen’s alleged trips to Prague and creepy blackmail tapes. Special Adviser Robert Muller was unable to find any evidence to support those allegations.
Fox News’s Brooke Singman, as well as Wilson Miller, contributed to this report.
