Memo alleges FBI spied on Page prior to dossier

Schiff says review uncovered no abuses by law enforcement

Democrats, in a rebuttal to a controversial GOP memo released Saturday, argue that the Justice Department and the FBI did not abuse their powers when they spied on former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.

The GOP memo, assembled by the staff of House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, alleged the FBI and Justice Department officials relied on an unsubstantiated dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele to get a warrant to conduct surveillance of Page.

The dossier was funded by the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign to look into Trump’s ties to Russia; the GOP memo alleged that the FBI knew of the partisan agenda behind the dossier but did not alert the surveillance court.

But the Democrats, who have said the GOP document was released earlier this month to divert attention away from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, countered that in their own 10-page, partially redacted memo, saying Page had already been assessed to be an “agent of the Russian government” prior to the FBI receiving the dossier.

Per the timeline provided in the Democratic memo, the FBI decided to start its investigation into Carter in late July 2016. It received Steele’s dossier in midSeptember, more than six weeks later.

Additionally, the memo said the initial FISA application in October 2016 and its subsequent renewals provided the rationale behind surveilling Page, who no longer worked with the Trump campaign.

It said it made “narrow use” of Steele’s investigation into Page, specifically about Page’s suspected meetings with Russian officials in July 2016.

It contends that the Justice Department “repeatedly” informed the surveillance court about Steele’s background, credibility and potential bias and was transparent about Steele’s sourcing. It also states that the department never paid Steele for the dossier. The Justice Department had used Steele as an informant before, which he had received compensation for, but that was for information “unrelated to the FBI’s Russia investigation.”

The release comes after weeks of back and forth over how much of the document would be redacted. The White House on Feb. 9 objected to its release, citing national security concerns. That sent the Democrats back to negotiations with the FBI over how much of the memo needed to be blacked out.

“DOJ met the rigor, transparency and evidentiary basis needed to meet FISA’s probably cause requirement by demonstrating: contemporaneous evidence of Russia’s election interference; concerning Russian links and outreach to Trump campaign officials; Page’s history with Russian intelligence; and (redacted) Page’s suspicious activities in 2016, including in Moscow,” the memo read.

Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said that the Democratic response should put to rest “any concerns” people have about the FBI and DOJ.

“Our extensive review of the initial FISA application and three subsequent renewals failed to uncover any evidence of illegal, unethical, or unprofessional behavior by law enforcement and instead revealed that both the FBI and DOJ made extensive showings to justify all four requests,” the California Democrat said in a statement.

Nunes, who was speaking at the annual Conservative Political Action Committee, said that he wanted the memo to be released. Indeed, the intelligence panel voted for its release; it was blocked two weeks ago by President Trump.

“We wanted it out because we think it is clear evidence that the Democrats are not only trying to cover this up, but they are also colluding with parts of the government to help cover this up,” the California Republican said.

He also charged that the Democratic memo was full of “personal attacks” on him and Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C.