Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham wants Attorney General William Barr to declassify nine sets of documents from Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s upcoming report on potential abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
“In order for the Inspector General to be able to present the most complete results of his investigation to Congress and the American people, certain documents will need to be declassified and released to the public,” Graham wrote in a newly released letter.
The DOJ and FBI made extensive use of an unverified dossier compiled by British ex-spy Christopher Steele, who made salacious allegations regarding Trump and Russia, in their requests for warrants targeting Trump campaign associate Carter Page. Steele compiled his research in 2016 at the behest of the opposition research firm Fusion GPS, which was hired by Clinton’s campaign through the Perkins Coie law firm.
Graham’s letter, made public today, told Barr that as much as possible should be declassified “to provide a complete picture of what went on.”
The South Carolina Republican listed nine records he wanted released.
Documents shared in May 2018 with the bipartisan group of senators known as the “Gang of Eight” related to the Russia investigation are the first group Graham requested, including transcripts of conversations between Trump campaign associate George Papadopoulos and confidential informants, likely a reference to Stefan Halper. The interactions Papadopoulos had with Maltese academic Joseph Mifsud allegedly led the FBI to launch the counterintelligence investigation into Trump and Russia in July 2016 after Australian diplomat Alexander Downer told the United States that Papadopoulos told him Mifsud told Papadopoulos about Russian “dirt” on Clinton. Republicans say “exculpatory” transcripts of Papadopoulos conversations exist.
The second request was for FISA filings related to Page and any other Trump associates. Four hundred and twelve pages of heavily redacted Page FISA documents were released in July 2018, and Page is the only known Trump associate surveilled through FISA. The Justice Department has resisted releasing further portions of the Page FISA filings despite White House press releases and Trump tweets urging declassification, with the DOJ arguing Friday that neither constituted official orders.
The third was for the letter the DOJ was required to send to the FISA Court under FISA rules, which say the government must immediately inform the judge if a submission contains a misstatement or omission of key facts. The DOJ and FBI submitted four applications and renewals against Page, but concealed flaws with Steele’s dossier and his Democratic funding.
The fourth was for FISA Court opinions related to the Page FISA or any other Trump-related FISA warrants. The Justice Department admitted last year no hearings were held in Page’s case.
The fifth was for a chart which allegedly shows FBI attempts to verify Steele’s allegations. This spreadsheet reportedly shows the FBI disproved or was unable to verify most allegations. By January 2017, FBI agents reportedly concluded some dossier contents may have been Russian disinformation.
The sixth was for FBI or DOJ documents related to Steele’s credibility, biases, and media contacts. Steele told State Department official Kathleen Kavalec in October 2016 he was encouraged by his client to get his research out before the 2016 election. Kavalec notated the conversation, found flaws with Steele claims, and passed her findings to the FBI. And DOJ official Bruce Ohr told the FBI in November 2016 that Steele was “desperate” that Trump lose. Steele’s explicit motivations weren’t made clear to the court. Steele, at the urging of Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson, also shared information with the media in 2016. The FBI removed him for this but continued using his information.
The seventh was for FBI interview notes by anyone at the FBI or DOJ who accepted information from Steele, Simpson, or Fusion GPS, as well as information related to the DNC, Perkins Coie, or Perkins Coie lawyer Michael Sussman, who passed information to the bureau. Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said Perkins Coie lawyer Marc Elias was receiving information from Fusion GPS or from Steele himself and periodically briefed Clinton’s campaign.
The eighth was for the FBI’s confidential human source reports on Steele. The FBI released dozens of nearly entirely redacted pages from Steele’s 2016 confidential human source file last year, showing he was paid by the FBI and was removed as an informant after leaking, but the rest was blacked out.
And the ninth was for documents related to defensive briefings given to the Clinton and Trump campaigns by intelligence officials in 2016. These briefings have been a source of controversy, as has the fact that the Trump campaign was never alerted to Russia allegedly attempting to infiltrate his campaign.
The report on Horowitz’s investigation of alleged FISA abuse, which started more than a year ago, is expected in September or early October. The DOJ watchdog’s report harshly criticizing FBI Director James Comey over the mishandling of his memos was released last week.
