04/12/2017 / By JD Heyes
While the disgusting ‘mainstream media’ focused on comments made by White House spokesman Sean Spicer during his daily press briefing Tuesday, the Washington Post actually ran a bombshell story that proves once and for all that, contrary to all the Obama administration’s denials, at least one member tangentially connected to Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign was surveilled under the authority of a FISA court warrant.
The Washington Post’s story, which was largely ignored by the discredited establishment media, noted that Carter Page, who acted only as an informal foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign, was targeted by the FBI and the Justice Department as a possible foreign agent, working in collusion with Russia. Page had previously worked for Merril Lynch in Moscow, 10 years prior to joining the Trump team, and he also had investments in the Russian energy giant Gazprom. His role on the Trump campaign team was minor, and though he often sought an audience with the then-GOP nominee, he was never granted one.
The Post’s report, which was again based in large part on anonymous sources within government familiar with the FISA warrant, also noted that Page submitted some policy memos to the campaign, but that he never rose in status. “He was one of the more active ones, in terms of being in touch,” a former Trump campaign advisor told the paper.
The paper said that at some point the FBI believed that Page might have been working as an agent of Russia, and that’s what triggered – and ultimately justified – a rare FISA warrant authorizing electronic surveillance on an American citizen. (RELATED: Trump: ‘Nobody believes Susan Rice’)
Here’s where the story really gets interesting, other than the fact that it completely justifies Trump’s March 4 allegations that he was under surveillance by the Obama administration.
Not only is Page not suspected of having committed any crimes, FISA applications have to be approved at the highest levels of the Justice Department and FBI, meaning, of course, that FBI Director James Comey and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch knew about it. And if Lynch knew, former President Obama had to have known.
There is also this: The original 90-day FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) court warrant has been renewed more than once, meaning the investigation into Page’s “alleged” improper Russia contacts continued for months. It may still be ongoing, in fact.
For his part, Page has not only denied any wrongdoing, but he has requested he be called before the House and Senate intelligence committees that are also currently investigating Russian “interference” in the U.S. election, so he can clear his name. And he’s not seeking immunity.
“This confirms all of my suspicions about unjustified, politically motivated government surveillance,” Page said in an interview with the Post Tuesday. “I have nothing to hide”
You may recall that last month former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, in an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” said there were no FISA orders allowing U.S. law enforcement agencies to monitor Trump, either as a candidate or as president-elect. But he conspicuously did not say there were no FISA orders at all to monitor any Trump campaign officials, no matter how obscure or junior.
That non-disclosure got the attention of Andrew McCarthy, a senior policy fellow at the National Review Institute and a former federal prosecutor of national security cases. Shortly after Clapper’s interview, he wrote a piece that dissected the former DNI’s statements, concluding that his denial, while perhaps factually true, was not the final word on the scandal:
…[W]hat Clapper said is far from a wholesale rejection of the allegations. To be sure, General Clapper’s statements convincingly shoot down the claim that Trump himself was wiretapped by the government. But to my knowledge, no one has made that claim other than President Trump, in a series of controversial tweets on Saturday morning. Clapper’s statements do nothing to undermine the overarching allegation that the Obama Justice Department investigated associates of Trump who had varying connections to his campaign. [Emphasis added]
Great instincts from a great prosecutor who also knows how the intelligence community game is played. (RELATED: If Trump Is A Putin Stooge, Then How Come Russia Benefitted So Much During The Obama Presidency?)
While the Post attempted to frame its report as “the clearest evidence so far that the FBI had reason to believe during the 2016 presidential campaign” that Team Trump “was in touch with Russian agents,” what it really amounts to is yet another vindication of the president’s original claim that he and his team were indeed under surveillance by the Obama administration. And another nothingburger.
During Comey’s appearance before the House Intelligence Committee, Democrats repeatedly singled out Page and his Russia contacts as though they were earth-shattering and of major concern. Turns out, they were neither.
One thing is for certain: Had Page been a major foreign policy player for Trump and had he been charged with violations of law, this story would be wall-to-wall in the ‘mainstream’ media, and for weeks. Instead, they are choosing to ignore the biggest political scandal in decades because…Democrats.
J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel.
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Tagged Under: Carter Page, FBI, FISA court, James Clapper, surveillance, Team Trump