When 71-year-old Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions recused himself March 2, 2017 from the Russian probe into alleged Trump collusion in the 2016 election, 71-year-old Donald Trump was furious. Once Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein convinced Sessions to stay clear of the Russian probe, it’s only a matter of time before it was taken away from the Justice Department. Only two months later, Rosenstein appointed May 17, 2017 73-year-old former FBI Director Robert Mueller as Special Counsel to look into Russian meddling and alleged Trump Russian collusion. Once out of Sessions’ hands, Trump was faced with an interminable investigation parking a dark cloud over his presidency. Dualing memos from House Intelligence Committee Co-Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and Co-Chairman Adam Schiff sparked frenzied debate into whether the Obama White House illegally wiretapped the Trump campaign.
Nunes contends in his Feb. 2 secret memo shows that former FBI Director James Comey and members of Obama’s Justice Department and National Security Agency illegally wiretapped Trump campaign officials. It’s beyond ironic that Sessions was one of the victims of so-called “unmasking” during incidental surveillance of former U.N. Russian Amb. Sergey Kislyak. In his confirmation hearing Jan. 10, 2017, Sessions denied conversations with Russian officials during the campaign and transition period. Turns out former National Security Advisor Susan Rice admitted to unmasking Trump campaign officials as part of routine incidental data collection of Russian phone conversations. Sessions was embarrassed when confronted with the fact that he conversed with Kislyak during the campaign and the transition, forcing him to recuse himself March. 2.
Once Sessions recused himself, Trump had a compromised Attorney General, unable to intervene in the Russian collusion probe, including appointing a Special Counsel to look into former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s email scandal or abuses at the Obama Justice Department or FBI of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act [FISA] Court. After a year of testimony by former FBI Director James Comey in the House and Senate Intelligence Committees and Senate Judiciary Committee, it turns out that Comey went to the FISA court three times to wiretap former Trump foreign policy aid Carter Page. Nunes claims in his memo that Comey used Hillary’s paid opposition research, the so-called “dossier,” as probable cause to seek the FISA Court warrants but failed to disclose that to the judge. Democrats dispute Nunes’ claims, insisting there was plenty of reason to wiretap Page.
Announcing today that he would ask Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz to investigate alleged FISA Court abuses, Trump tweeted out his frustrations. “Why is AG Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially mass FISA abuse? Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comet etc. Isn’t the IG and Obama guy? Why not use the Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!” Trump tweeted. Trump’s upset because Sessions recused himself March 2, 2017, leaving him unable to do much with the Russian collusion investigation. Given his limitations, Sessions is taking the right step to get the IG to recommend a Special Counsel. Sessions responded to Trump’s tweets saying that he’s doing everything possible to deal with very serious allegations made by Nunes and other Republicans.
Democrats’ rebuttal memo justifies the FISA Court warrants of Page, saying he was on the FBI’s radar since 2013. Yet that same rebuttal memo mentions nothing about the FBI using the “dossier” as probable cause. If there were any real concerns about Page, he would have been charged with espionage or other crimes related to his work in Russia. Neither the FBI nor Justice Department followed up with a formal complaint against Page. “I have complete confidence in him [the IG] and hope he is give the time, the resources and the independence to complete his work,” said Sessions. Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe told Congressional investigators Feb. 2 that the “dossier” was used to get three FISA Court warrants to wiretap Page. Whether the FBI claims they used other data is anyone’s guess. What’s known for sure is that Comey used Hillary’s paid opposition research.
Trump’s frustration with the Justice Department and FBI stems from his March 4, 2017 statements that former President Barack “tapped his wires,” if not at Trump Tower then elsewhere. Faced with an avalanche of criticism from Democrats and the mainstream press, it’s turning out that Trump’s campaign was indeed wiretapped by Obama’s Justice Department, FBI and National Security Agency. Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice admitted Sept. 13, 2017 to the House Intelligence Committee that she “unmaked” conversations of Trump campaign officials with former Russian Amb. Kislyak. Former Trump National Security Adviser Gen. Michael Flynn and Sessions denied speaking with Russian officials. Trump wants to know the extent of Obama’s role in using his DOJ, FBI and National Security Agency to wiretap his campaign for the purpose of helping Hillary win the 2016 election
