US News

Wray: FBI Agents Involved In FISA Debacle Have Been Referred To Bureau’s Disciplinary Office

FBI Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday that the FBI agents involved in the surveillance of Carter Page who are still at the bureau have been referred to the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility for possible disciplinary action.

During a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Wray noted that most of the FBI officials who oversaw Crossfire Hurricane, which involved surveillance of Page, have left the bureau and are no longer subject to disciplinary review. He said that the FBI personnel who worked on that probe and who still have jobs at the FBI are mostly line-level agents.

“Those people have all been referred to our disciplinary arm,” Wray testified, referring to the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).

Republicans on the committee pressed Wray over the Justice Department inspector general (IG) report released on Dec. 9 that found that the FBI misled the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) in four applications to surveil Page.

The report found 17 “significant” errors and omissions in the FBI’s submissions to the FISC. Agents failed to disclose exculpatory information related to Page, as well as derogatory information related to the Steele dossier. The FBI extensively cited information from the dossier in its surveillance applications.

The report is particularly harsh towards an FBI counterintelligence agent identified only as Case Agent 1.

“Case Agent 1 was primarily responsible for some of the most significant errors and omissions in the FISA applications,” the report said.

The agent drafted the initial surveillance request on Page, and conducted interviews with the former Trump aide in March 2017. He was also involved in an interview with a source for dossier author Christopher Steele, who disputed many of the allegations in the dossier.

The agent failed to disclose that source’s remarks to the FISC.

A now-former FBI attorney, Kevin Clinesmith, is also reportedly under criminal investigation for allegedly altering an email regarding Page that was part of the FBI’s investigation.

The FBI did not return a request for comment about how many FBI agents have been referred to OPR.

Wray said throughout the hearing that the FBI conduct laid out in the IG report was “unacceptable.” He has submitted 40 proposed reforms to how the FBI handles and vets information in its wiretap requests.

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org

Chuck Ross

Share
Published by
Chuck Ross

Recent Posts

Greg Abbott Pardons Army Vet Convicted Of Shooting Armed BLM Rioter

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas on Thursday pardoned an Uber driver who shot and…

15 hours ago

New Report Reveals Just How Energy Rich America Really Is

A new report by the Institute for Energy Research (IER), a nonprofit dedicated to the study of…

15 hours ago

Trump’s Attorney Made Swiss Cheese Out Of Michael Cohen’s Testimony, Raising Questions Of Perjury

Former President Donald Trump’s defense attorney rebutted Michael Cohen’s testimony during a brutal cross-examination Thursday,…

15 hours ago

Biden’s Climate Agenda Is Running Headfirst Into A Wall Of His Own Making

President Joe Biden’s administration unveiled tariffs this week aimed at boosting domestic production of green…

15 hours ago

Biden Demands Debates, Are You Kidding

I am not convinced these debates will happen, but how can Joe Biden demand debates…

15 hours ago

At All Cost

AG Garland says, “I will protect this building (DOJ) and its people,” but he says…

16 hours ago