Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., called for increased attention to what former FBI attorney Lisa Page told congressional investigators last year about an “insurance policy” against President Trump.
In a tweet Wednesday, Paul also stressed how Page said she knew of “almost no evidence of collusion” in the federal Russia investigation as late as May 2017.
“This deserves more attention!” Paul said. “FBI Mistress, Lisa Page, confirmed to House Judiciary, there was an anti-Trump Insurance Policy and it’s the fake Russian investigation! She admits there was almost no evidence on collusion, yet they continued with WITCH HUNT!”
This deserves more attention! FBI Mistress, Lisa Page, confirmed to House Judiciary, there was an anti-Trump Insurance Policy and it’s the fake Russian investigation! She admits there was almost no evidence on collusion, yet they continued with WITCH HUNT! https://t.co/vCIikT4tyr
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 13, 2019
During Page’s July 2018 testimony before the House Judiciary and Oversight committees, Page was questioned about a series of text messages she exchanged with then-FBI special agent and lover Peter Strzok concerning an “insurance policy” against then-candidate Donald Trump. Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz discovered the texts in 2018 and criticized the exchange between the two former FBI officials as exhibiting bias.
Page admitted the texts were referring to the Russia investigation but said it was a “continuing check-in” to decide how quickly to proceed with the investigation based on the outcome of the election.
“[W]e don’t need to go at a total breakneck speed because so long as he doesn’t become president, there isn’t the same threat to national security, right?” Page told then-Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C.
Gowdy, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, engaged in a series of questions with Page referring to the text message sent to her by Strzok, which read: “I want to believe the path you threw out in [former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s] office — that there’s no way he gets elected — but I’m afraid we can’t take the risk. It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.”
“But if he becomes President, that totally changes the game because now he is the President of the United States,” Page continued. “He’s going to immediately start receiving classified briefings. He’s going to be exposed to the most sensitive secrets imaginable. And if there is somebody on his team who wittingly or unwittingly is working with the Russians, that is super serious.”
Page said evidence of Trump campaign collusion was scant, saying the FBI “knew so little” about whether the allegations were true or not. However, Page testified that “it is entirely common, particularly in a counterintelligence investigation, that you would only have — you would have a small amount of evidence.”
The Russia investigation, which was turned into a criminal inquiry when taken over by special counsel Robert Mueller in May 2017, is looking into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.
