With one simple announcement, President Trump did what he’s famous for — evoking reactions in equal measure smug and apoplectic.
The major announcement was that Trump is directing the FBI (my former employer) and Justice Department to declassify Russia-related documents; certain texts from James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, and Lisa Page; and other related materials. Trump teased his plan in a Monday morning tweet:
Immediately after Comey’s firing Peter Strzok texted to his lover, Lisa Page “We need to Open the case we’ve been waiting on now while Andy (McCabe, also fired) is acting. Page answered, “We need to lock in (redacted). In a formal chargeable way. Soon.” Wow, a conspiracy caught?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 17, 2018
Trump has long opined about declassifying a sensitive and politically polarizing FISA application that famously targeted a one-time Trump campaign aide, Carter Page (no relation to Lisa Page). In innumerable tweets and speeches, he has chided Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and the Justice Department, to investigate the investigators in the case targeting Russian state actors who conspired to meddle in the 2016 election. The president (as well as roughly one-half of our divided nation) has long felt that the appointment of a special counsel to investigate this was simply a partisan effort to undermine his lawful and legitimate election victory.
I communicated with Page, the unfortunate target of the questionable FISA, last night after his appearance on Fox News’ show “Hannity,” where he frankly discussed the president’s decision to release the application. He had tracked me down after reading a column I had drafted of my “cautious skepticism” related to the collusion case. If there are any clear-cut victims in this entirely sad episode of sworn nonpolitical actors acting “political” at the FBI and DOJ, it is Page, a 1993 graduate of the United States Naval Academy.
Here’s what he told me:
Trump’s decision will make for impassioned debate, some on both sides of the partisan divide will earnestly argue that these releases will, once again, endanger “sources and methods” — a reference to the practice of intelligence collection and analysis.
We have heard that shrill warning from the Left’s national security folks before. Recall the wails, lamentations, and gnashing of teeth over Rep. Devin Nunes’ decision to “release the memo”? Yeah, me too. Good times. That “unconscionable breach of security” was treated as if it would lead to public executions of U.S. sources in Red Square. To be fair, the GOP touted it inaccurately as “a bombshell.” Truth be told, its release landed with a barely perceptible “pfffft.” No analyst in good faith could suggest now that anything contained within it endangered anyone or anything.
But, still, we are awaiting the same impasse now. When the FISA application targeting Page is released — along with the attendant communications between the FBI and DOJ cabal who were called out and admonished in the June inspector general’s report — neither side will admit defeat. Personally, having experience working outside the country and overseeing criminal, counterterrorism, and counterintelligence matters for the FBI as part of my duties as the FBI’s senior official in Mexico, I do not feel this declassification and release will endanger any “sources and methods.”
I am also not certain there will be any “there” there, in regards to a “smoking gun” that indicates any criminal activity by DOJ or FBI employees. I surmise — having had many Title III affidavits during a 25-year FBI career “kicked back” by a judge demanding more supporting evidence to approve — that we may simply witness “sloppy work,” a rush to validate their presuppositions; the very dangerous malady, in investigative realms, of confirmation bias.
However, Chuck Ross at the Daily Caller has done some fine investigative reporting on the dossier and matters related to the Clinton server and Trump-Russia investigations. Ross says a source familiar with the Page FISA application claims that on a scale of 1-10, the embarrassment for the FBI will be somewhere between a 7 or 8. Embarrassment does not always equate to criminality. But the continued tarnishing of the badge does the FBI no favors.
And it, no doubt, irks me that some continue to dismiss my criticisms of certain FBI senior executives’ malfeasance as indicative of an “anti-FBI” bias. That is laughable on its face. Comey, McCabe, Strzok, and DOJ employees Lisa Page and Bruce Ohr have done irreparable damage to the FBI I love and devoted fully one-half my life to. Make no mistake about it – I am criticizing certain employees, and not the agency, or its 35,000 mostly amazing public servants.
But this document dump will certainly not aid in repairing the FBI’s image with the public. In an April PBS NewsHour, NPR, and Marist poll, sadly, only 54 percent of Americans said they were confident in the FBI. And when queried as to whether the FBI was just doing its job or purposely biased against the Trump administration, there was a 10 percent drop in confidence (from 71 percent to 61 percent) from February.
Carter Page is an eternal optimist, who says the FBI will “soon shine bright as an indispensable force for good once again.” But it’s about to get a lot worse before it gets better.
James A. Gagliano (@JamesAGagliano) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He worked in the FBI for 25 years. Gagliano is a law enforcement analyst for CNN and an adjunct assistant professor in homeland security and criminal justice at St. John’s University.
