Replies

Re: carter page

Carter Page alleges extensive contacts with alleged FBI informant, as Strzok-Page texts draw renewed scrutiny

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/carter-page-fbi-informant-peter-strzok-texts

Following President Trump’s decision to allow the declassification of key Russia records at Attorney General Bill Barr’s discretion, former Trump campaign aide Carter Page told Fox News his contact with alleged FBI informant Stefan Halper at a pivotal period in the Russia probe was more extensive than previously reported.

Separately, Fox News has learned congressional investigators have been renewing their focus on a text message sent nine days before the government’s Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) application to monitor Page, in which then-FBI agent Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page questioned “who’s playing games,” “scared” and “covering.”

Republican critics have suggested the earliest records to be declassified and publicly released could reveal so-called exculpatory evidence regarding Page and Trump aide George Papadopolous. Because the FISA court is ex parte, meaning it involves only the government providing evidence without any defense team present, the government has a unique constitutional and procedural responsibility to provide not only evidence supporting its surveillance application, but also exculpatory evidence that could undercut the application.

Some GOP lawmakers have alleged that exculpatory evidence was available but likely withheld from the court.

“There was western intelligence sent to spy on Papadopoulos and there’s a recording and transcript of the conversation,” Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz told Fox News. “And there, Papadopoulos denies any illegal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia. So, they had evidence presumably that was against Papadopoulos and for him. What they will never be able to defend is that they never presented that evidence to the FISA court.”

A previously revealed text message conversation between Strzok and Lisa Page, meanwhile, has come into focus.

The text referencing “who’s playing games” and “covering” was released last year, but Fox News recently confirmed the names hidden beneath redactions. They included a senior FBI lawyer, as well as the FBI agent “Gaeta” — believed to be a principal handler for the dossier and its author, British ex-spy Christopher Steele.

“This is why declassification is so important, so Americans can finally see for themselves all the facts about how the Russia hoax began and how it spread,” California GOP Rep. Devin Nunes told Fox News.

The Strzok-Page text was sent on Oct. 13, 2016, during a tense period eight days before the FBI and DOJ secured a surveillance warrant for Page. Hours earlier, on Oct. 12, texts exclusively obtained by Fox News showed Page complaining to her boss, then-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, about the apparent reluctance of a Justice Department official to approve the Page surveillance application.

And, within hours of that exchange, a senior state department official, Kathleen Kavalec, had emailed her FBI counterpart about information provided to her by Steele — an apparent breach of the former spy’s work as a confidential human source for the bureau. Confidential human sources ordinarily do not reach out to multiple government agencies.

In the Oct.13 text to Page, Strzok wrote: “We got the reporting on Sept 19. Looks like [Gaeta] got it early August. Looking at [Clinesmith] lync [internal messaging service] replies to me it’s not clear if he knows if/when he told them. But [Steve] and [Kate] talked with [Spencer] they’re both good and will remember. It’s not about rubbing their nose in it. I don’t care if they don’t know. I just want to know who’s playing games/scared covering. totally get it will never be provable.”

Based on Lisa Page’s 2018 closed-door congressional testimony, Gaeta is believed to be the FBI agent who met with Steele in the summer of 2016 obtaining the first memos in early July. “Clinesmith” is believed to be then-FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith.

It was not clear from the texts whether “Steve” and “Kate” refer to FBI or State Department employees.

“Spencer’s” identity is unknown but has remained of significant interest to congressional investigators who have questioned whether he operated outside of the FBI and DOJ, potentially as part of the intelligence community.

(Excerpt more at link)