Comey to Congress: It was “Not Necessary” to Validate Sources in Dossier
Former FBI Director James Comey told Congress on Friday that it was “not necessary” to validate the sources in the anti-Trump dossier before citing the document in an application to obtain a FISA warrant to spy on former Trump campaign volunteer Carter Page.
The Daily Caller reports:
According to a transcript of Comey’s testimony released on Saturday, the former FBI chief also asserted that it was “not necessary” for the FBI to assess the sources that dossier author Christopher Steele used to compile his report, which was funded by the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign.
“I think I’ve dealt with warrants where you just identify that your primary [confidential informant], or primary source, has subsources, and so long as the court is aware of that phenomenon and that you’re speaking to the reliability of the primary source, to my mind, that’s a totally legit warrant application,” he said.
Comey told lawmakers that “work was ongoing” by the time he was fired on May 9, 2017, to “to replicate, either rule in or rule out” as much of the dossier as possible.
He said that by the time he was fired on May 9, 2017, he “still didn’t know whether there was anything to it,” referring to the investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Kremlin.
Comey agreed on Dec. 2 to testify behind closed doors after initially filing a lawsuit to avoid the questioning because he believed his testimony would be “selectively leaked.”
Comey told lawmakers that Steele was a “reliable source with a track record” and left him with little concern as to how the former British spy gathered his information.
In the interview, Congressman John Ratcliffe (R-TX) told Comey about testimony from Justice Department attorney Salley Moyer, who asserted there was a 50-50 change that the FISA warrants on Page would not have been approved without the dossier.
“If she testified — and I’ll represent to you that she testified that the FISA court — it was 49-51, maybe 50-50, that the FISA court would have approved the warrant without the Steele dossier.”
Comey also said he had no concerns about the process in which the Page FISA warrant was obtained.
“Did you then or do you now have any concerns about the process that occurred around the Carter Page FISA?” a Democratic lawmaker asked Comey.
“I do not,” he replied.
Comey said during another line of questioning that the FBI placed heavily emphasis on Steele’s track record as a longtime source for the FBI. That Steele gathered his information about Trump associates through intermediaries was of little concern to Comey.
“It was coming to us from a reliable source with a track record, and it’s an important thing when you’re seeking a [probable cause] warrant,” Comey said, referring to Steele as the source.
“But what I understand by verified is we then try to replicate the source information so that it becomes FBI investigation and our conclusions rather than a reliable source’s,” he said. “That’s what I understand it, the difference to be. And that work wasn’t completed by the time I left in May of 2017, to my knowledge.”
https://bongino.com/comey-to-congress-it-was-...n-dossier/
Former FBI Director James Comey told Congress on Friday that it was “not necessary” to validate the sources in the anti-Trump dossier before citing the document in an application to obtain a FISA warrant to spy on former Trump campaign volunteer Carter Page.
The Daily Caller reports:
According to a transcript of Comey’s testimony released on Saturday, the former FBI chief also asserted that it was “not necessary” for the FBI to assess the sources that dossier author Christopher Steele used to compile his report, which was funded by the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign.
“I think I’ve dealt with warrants where you just identify that your primary [confidential informant], or primary source, has subsources, and so long as the court is aware of that phenomenon and that you’re speaking to the reliability of the primary source, to my mind, that’s a totally legit warrant application,” he said.
Comey told lawmakers that “work was ongoing” by the time he was fired on May 9, 2017, to “to replicate, either rule in or rule out” as much of the dossier as possible.
He said that by the time he was fired on May 9, 2017, he “still didn’t know whether there was anything to it,” referring to the investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Kremlin.
Comey agreed on Dec. 2 to testify behind closed doors after initially filing a lawsuit to avoid the questioning because he believed his testimony would be “selectively leaked.”
Comey told lawmakers that Steele was a “reliable source with a track record” and left him with little concern as to how the former British spy gathered his information.
In the interview, Congressman John Ratcliffe (R-TX) told Comey about testimony from Justice Department attorney Salley Moyer, who asserted there was a 50-50 change that the FISA warrants on Page would not have been approved without the dossier.
“If she testified — and I’ll represent to you that she testified that the FISA court — it was 49-51, maybe 50-50, that the FISA court would have approved the warrant without the Steele dossier.”
Comey also said he had no concerns about the process in which the Page FISA warrant was obtained.
“Did you then or do you now have any concerns about the process that occurred around the Carter Page FISA?” a Democratic lawmaker asked Comey.
“I do not,” he replied.
Comey said during another line of questioning that the FBI placed heavily emphasis on Steele’s track record as a longtime source for the FBI. That Steele gathered his information about Trump associates through intermediaries was of little concern to Comey.
“It was coming to us from a reliable source with a track record, and it’s an important thing when you’re seeking a [probable cause] warrant,” Comey said, referring to Steele as the source.
“But what I understand by verified is we then try to replicate the source information so that it becomes FBI investigation and our conclusions rather than a reliable source’s,” he said. “That’s what I understand it, the difference to be. And that work wasn’t completed by the time I left in May of 2017, to my knowledge.”
https://bongino.com/comey-to-congress-it-was-...n-dossier/
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