Out of all of the figures who appear in the overwhelmingly large portrait of Trump-Russia ties, former Trump campaign advisor Carter Page behaves like the shiftiest player of all. Although he can no longer deny his meeting with a Russian spy, he insists that the Trump campaign knew nothing of this sketchiness. A few days ago, the Washington Post revealed that the FBI secured a FISA warrant to monitor Page after successfully arguing that there was probable cause that he acted as an agent for a foreign power.
Now, CNN reveals that the notorious “Golden Showers” Russia dossier (yes, it’s back!) helped them nail down the FISA warrant. This was only possible, of course, because U.S. intelligence worked to corroborate aspects of the file that are relevant to Page’s Russian ties. Here’s more:
The FBI last year used a dossier of allegations of Russian ties to Donald Trump’s campaign as part of the justification to win approval to secretly monitor a Trump associate, according to US officials briefed on the investigation.
This includes approval from the secret court that oversees the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to monitor the communications of Carter Page, two of the officials said. Last year, Page was identified by the Trump campaign as an adviser on national security.
It’s no wonder that the feds pursued Page, given that he delivered a July 2016 speech in Moscow (funded by the Trump campaign) to argue for improved U.S.-Russia relations. He also met with the CEO of Russian gas giant Rosneft, who offered him a 19% share in the company (on the condition that Page would push for the U.S. to lift existing Russian sanctions).
Oh, and LawNewz reports that Page now wants to sue Obama officials over the FISA warrant. He’s attempting to invoke the “somewhat outdated” Privacy Act of 1974 to demand justice for what he calls a “civil rights” violation, but he’s not making much sense in his argument.
Meanwhile, CNN says that U.S. officials declined to specify which portions of the dossier have been corroborated as they relate to the entire Trump-Russia ties investigation. However, these officials noted that FBI Director James Comey is using the dossier to brief Congress during the ongoing probe into Trump-Russian ties. The FBI certainly can’t use the information before substantiating it through an agency investigation, so it sounds like more of the dossier is being proven true with each passing week.
(Via CNN, LawNewz & Justice.gov)