More proof @RepAdamSchiff's FISA memo was deliberately misleading about "narrow use" of the Steele dossier to spy on @carterwpage

Also EXCLUSIVE: the FBI/DOJ FISAs *heavily relied* on reporting attributed to "Source E" / "Person 1" (Sergei Millian) for probable cause

THREAD

Let's compare yesterday release of a more declassified set of @carterwpage FISA warrant applications with Adam Schiff's memo again

Reminder: Schiff and staff had full, clear text access to all the unredacted FISAs before they wrote their memo in Jan 2018

Schiff's memo claimed the FISAs:

"only made narrow use of information from Steele's sources about Page's specific activities in 2016, chiefly his suspected July 2016 meetings in Moscow with Russian officials"

"Narrow use" of Steele's sources, and just for the Moscow trip

Schiff also claimed that only a "specific sub-section" of the FISA applications referred to "Steele's reporting" (the section that discusses the allegation that Page met secretly Igor Sechin and other Russian officials in Moscow in July 2016)

This "specific sub section" of the FISA starts at p.15 (Section III,B)

This is where the FISA first *appears* to mention Steele, and rely on his dossier reporting about Page's alleged meetings in Moscow with Igor Sechin and others - or the "narrow use", according to Schiff

Until yesterday's release, it was hard to 100% disprove Schiff's memo just from the FISA itself. You could rely on the 2019 IG report, but Schiff can claim he didn't know the IG's findings when he wrote his memo

Not true: Schiff knew he was lying at time, in Jan 2018

Section II, p.10 of the FISA was partially redacted in the original release in July 2018. But Schiff knew what was under these black lines - he had full access at the time he wrote his memo. Okay, what do they say?

The latest declassification reveals *for the first time publicly* that Section II, p.10 said that:

"[Carter] Page...has been identified by source reporting as an intermediary with Russian leadership" in "a well-developed conspiracy of co-operation" to influence the 2016 election

A "well-developed conspiracy of co-operation" with Page and "Russian leadership" is **literally cut and pasted from the Steele dossier**

And specifically, the source is "Source E", referred to as "Person 1" by the IG report (referring to Sergei Millian).

That's a major problem for FBI/DOJ:

—FBI/DOJ submitted this FISA, which relies on Person 1 as a key source, on Oct 21 2016

—The FBI had opened a counterintelligence case on Person 1 for their alleged links to Russian intel *before* the FISA, likely between Oct 3-12 2016

You read that right.

The FBI claimed a Collusion "conspiracy" between the Trump campaign and Russia in a secret FISA warrant application relying on a source they were supposedly investigating for having links to Russian intelligence.

Which they didn't disclose to the court.

SUMMARY (1/2)

—Schiff knew in Jan 18 the FISA relied on the Steele reporting to claim a "conspiracy of co-operation" between the Trump campaign (using Page) & Russia

—Schiff made up a claim of "narrow use" and hid this fact

—FBI/DOJ also hid the evidence that could refute this

SUMMARY (2/2)

—The FBI/DOJ used Steele's "source reporting" to claim a "conspiracy" between the Trump campaign and Russia, relying on Source E/Person 1/Millian

—At the time they wrote this FISA they now claim they also had a CI investigation into Source E/Person 1/Millian

Oh, and this is now the second time it's been proven that the FBI/DOJ literally *cut and pasted* entire phrases and sections out of the Steele dossier and put them into the Page FISA warrant applications. So much for "narrow use": https://twitter.com/JohnWHuber/status/1205249450123415552?s=20

And of course, the media almost entirely bought into Schiff's spin about "narrow use" of the dossier

Example from NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/24/us/politics/takeaways-democratic-memo.html

MSNBC: https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/967511869652168705?s=20

Yet more examples from "fact checkers":

FactCheck dot org: https://www.factcheck.org/2018/02/trumps-spin-democratic-memo/

Politifact: https://www.politifact.com/article/2018/feb/28/democrats-memo-pushes-back-gop-claims-about-russia/

Steele defender @DavidCornDC weighed in of course

None of these guys have corrected their prior reporting, or more importantly, questioned whether they should rely in the future on documented fraudster and liar Adam Schiff for information, given his clearly intentional misrepresentations about the FISA warrants

/ENDS

SOURCES

Schiff FISA memo (Jan 2018): https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4387026/Unclassified-Schiff-Memo.pdf

Steele Dossier (2016): https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3259984/Trump-Intelligence-Allegations.pdf

Original Page FISA (July 2018): https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4614708/Carter-Page-FISA-Application.pdf

More unredacted Page FISA (April 2020): https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/FISA%20Warrant%20Application%20for%20Carter%20Page.pdf

UPDATE (1/4): Case Agent 1 is in a lot of trouble

In this Oct 2016 FISA, the FBI alleged there was a "well developed conspiracy of co-operation", involving Carter Page working with Paul Manafort to collude with Russian leadership (sourced to Person 1/Millian from the dossier)

UPDATE (2/4): At the time this FISA was written, Case Agent 1

—Helped draft that FISA

—Knew an FBI CI case was open on Person 1

—Knew Page was on tape to Halper wired up saying he "literally never met" or "said one word" to Manafort (& he was Halper's longtime handler!)

UPDATE (3/4)

—The CI case on Person 1 wasn't disclosed to the court

—Page's denials to Halper about knowing Manafort or ever speaking to him weren't disclosed to the court

UPDATE (4/4)

—After the FISA was granted (lacking those disclosures), the FBI then looked at "past communications" of Page and found no substantive comms between Page/Manafort, meaning there almost certainly couldn't be a "conspiracy"....

....and didn't disclose that either!