The biased FBI agents at the heart of the conspiracy to frame President Donald Trump on claims of Russian collusion also pushed investigations into Trump’s anti-Obama tweets according to a conservative accountability watchdog.
Judicial Watch announced its latest Freedom of Information lawsuit had yielded 323 pages of emails between FBI lovebirds Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.
Despite the agency’s effort at foot-dragging on the processing of the FOIA-requested emails, the new break could continue to add to the build up of public outrage as the Justice Department prepares for the imminent conclusion of a criminal probe by US Attorney for Connecticut John Durham.
It is not presently known whether Strzok or Page is a subject of that investigation or whether either has cooperated as witnesses in it.
After then-candidate Trump issued a series of tweets on March 4, 2017 that he suspected the Obama administration had wiretapped him, three of the lead officials involved with the “Crossfire Hurricane” sting operation into Trump’s Russia contacts discussed “[d]oing some research” into the tweets.
Officials publicly denied the wiretapping, and some in the Obama administration and its leftist media allies mocked him for his paranoia, but the suspicion was later validated that the FBI was spying on at least one of his campaign officials, Carter Page—and likely many others.
The correspondence among the top officials reflects their awareness at the time of the “sensitivity” of the spying.
On March 22, in response to a CNN correspondent’s remark, “When this eventually becomes public, it will be more picked over than even the Clinton investigation was” Strzok, who oversaw both operations, confirmed “He’s right.”
In fact, the email correspondence shows the agents’ deep reliance on the media—in particular outlets like CNN and the New York Times—which they were proven to have used in a sort of symbiotic manner, feeding the reporters selective leaks that the reporters would then use to further justify their pursuit of the investigation as a matter of public interest.
The agents frequently fretted over inaccuracies in the reporting while discussing briefings with key senators like Richard Burr, R-NC, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee; and former Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who was a liaison to the agency.
After one error-ridden story in March, Strzok wrote to Page: “I believe [FBI public affairs flak] Mike [Kortan] already discussed with Lisa the need to bring the NYTs back in today for a short meeting.”
