President Trump on Monday ordered the declassification of several key documents related to the FBI investigation of Russian actions during the 2016 presidential election, including 21 pages of an application for a renewed surveillance warrant against former campaign aide Carter Page, and text messages from disgraced FBI figures Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump had ordered the documents released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the Justice Department “[a]t the request of a number of committees of Congress, and for reasons of transparency.”
The documents to be declassified also include all FBI reports on interviews with Justice Department official Bruce Ohr and all FBI reports of interviews prepared in connection with all other applications to surveil Carter Page.
Trump also ordered the Justice Department to release text messages from a number of the key players in the Russia investigation “without redaction” — including Ohr, Strzok, Lisa Page, former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
The 21 pages only make up a small part of the 412 pages of FISA applications and warrants related to Page released by the FBI earlier this year in heavily redacted format. The June 2017 application was the last of four filed by the Justice Department in support of FISA court orders allowing the monitoring of Page for nearly a year. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]In the wake of newly released text messages between fired FBI agent Peter Strzok and former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, former federal prosecutor Joe diGenova said he believes “the walls are closing in” on Obama-era FBI and Department of Justice Department officials.
Damning new texts obtained by Fox News this week show former FBI lovebirds Strzok and Page talking about government employees “leaking like mad” and media outlets competing for scoops in the run-up to the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
“The walls are closing in, but they’re not closing in on the president. They’re closing in on the FBI and the Department of Justice under President Obama,” diGenova said on Fox News’ “Hannity” Thursday night.
He explained that the new Strzok-Page texts exposed a strategy to “illegally and criminally” release Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant information, including releasing the name of a U.S. citizen caught up in the surveillance abuse.- READ MORE