The FBI Spied On Fox News, Recorded Phone Call Between Fox Exec And George Papadopoulos, New Texts Show

The Federalist ^ | 12/18/2020 | Tristan Justice

[SeekAndFind]

New text messages released Thursday show FBI officials spied on a Fox News executive over the course of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation that targeted President Donald Trump as a secret Russian agent who illegally stole the election from Hillary Clinton in 2016. The FBI surveilled and recorded a phone call between former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos and an unnamed vice president at Fox News, according to a text message sent to fired former FBI official Peter Strzok just weeks before Trump was inaugurated as president in 2017.

Agents were targeting former Trump campaign foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos, who later pleaded guilty to making false statements to FBI agents during the Russian collusion investigation. The FBI used the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, as a legal pretext to investigate and spy on Papadopoulos, as well as former White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, and former Trump affiliate Carter Page.

“I know you’re not point on this anymore, but [George Papadopoulos] got a call from the VP at Fox News yesterday, who advised that the government was conducting ‘checks’ on him a few months back,” an unidentified individual whose name is redacted in the report texted to Strzok on January 12, 2017. “I haven’t listed to the exact audio, but I’m guess[ing] that’s the FARA checks that we did with DOJ on our 4 main guys; especially given the article that you pushed yesterday.”

Neither the individual who sent the message to Strzok nor the Fox News executive was named in any of the text messages released on Thursday by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc. Strzok was fired from the FBI in 2018 after text messages surfaced showing that he used the Russia collusion investigations as an “insurance policy” to get rid of Trump in the event he became president. The FBI named its investigation of Papadopoulos “Crossfire Typhoon.”

Because the Obama DOJ never received a warrant to spy on Papadopoulos, it is likely that the FBI used a so-called National Security Letter to spy on Papadopoulos and Fox News. By using a National Security Letter, a demand sent to telecommunications firms to provide communications information about a specific federal target, Obama’s DOJ and FBI were able to avoid legal requirements to receive a court-approved warrant to secretly spy on an American citizen.

Papadopoulos did not respond to The Federalist’s request for details about the phone call.

The Obama administration previously targeted former Fox News Washington Correspondent James Rosen in 2010, falsely claiming the Fox reporter was a potential terrorist co-conspirator in order to track Rosen’s movements, telephone records, and personal e-mails. According to Fox News, the Obama White House even seized records containing the phone numbers of Rosen’s parents over the course of the federal inquisition into Rosen. The Obama DOJ falsely accused Rosen of violating the Espionage Act, suggesting that he was a traitor to the United States in order to get access to his phone calls and e-mails.

Although members of the corporate media repeatedly claimed that Trump’s criticism of journalists on Twitter constituted a violent attack on the First Amendment and the free press, no corporate media outlets have criticized the Obama administration for secretly recording phone calls with a cable news network executive without even bothering to seek a warrant.

[texanyankee]

dismantle the whole agency.

[jpp113]

Why isn’t this POS Strozk in jail yet? Hello, Trump? You listening?

[Lockbox]

Obviously they studied under Hermann Göring.

[1Old Pro]

Our government is out of control, and there is zero concern and accountability on the part of the GOP in the Senate who have the power to do something, and our DOJ, and our FBI.

JAIL.

[sauropod]

Great.

FIB needs serious reform or outright disbanding!

[RckyRaCoCo]

"...to protect and serve".

It's a cookbook.

[odawg]

And we wonder why our entire security system was hacked. The FBI had bigger fish to fry, it seems, than just protecting the security of the nation.

[eyeamok]

Mr President,

YOU NEED TO De-Classify the whole damned thing and Personally Release it to the Public, and TODAY Please.

[dforest]

Probably what happened to Tucker’s missing envelope.

[SmokingJoe]

OAN and Newsmax and Parler and Rumble etc had better obtain the strongest encryption software they can for all their emails, phone calls, texts etc.
The FBI is 100% certain to be spying on them or trying to spy on them as we speak.
In addition, every single FR member should use strong VPN, firewall, etc as much as is possible.

[Cboldt]

By using a National Security Letter, a demand sent to telecommunications firms to provide communications information about a specific federal target, Obama's DOJ and FBI were able to avoid legal requirements to receive a court-approved warrant to secretly spy on an American citizen.

Heheheh. But a NSL does not provide the "get out of jail for unconstitutional and illegal spying" card that a FISA warrant provides.

Law is ZERO impediment to the government. ZERO. Penalty for government not following the law? Rhetorical question.

Add to that, it is perfectly legal for the government to lie to and to withhold information from the public.

[Don Corleone]

The FBI is basically a criminal organization or an organization of criminals.

[PghBaldy]

How does a POTUS try, convict & sentence someone, without any assistance from his own DoJ?

[jdsteel]

If Trump,was more like Obama he’d have been spying on Biden already.

[jdsteel]

If Trump,was more like Obama he’d have been spying on Biden already.

[texanyankee]

I’ve always had this innate distrust of the Federal government, but it’s gotten beyond that point with all
that’s transpired & been revealed in the past 4 yrs.
FBI, CIA, ATF, NSA, Legislative Branch, Judicial....on & on & on....

then there’s the media....nothing more than another Pravda.

I’m beyond disgusted & angry....

[Cboldt]

-- I'm beyond disgusted & angry... --

I float between extremes that way.

It's a sad state, but the people are largely to blame, lazy and trusting makes the public easy mark. Government are inherently evil, the founders understood that. The public has been fed and accepts so many myths (emperor's clothing). "Objective press" (hahahah), but even that the press has a duty to objectivity is a myth designed to make people trusting and lazy, and there you go, you are a mark again.

We're governed by organized criminals, but for the fact that they write the laws that make them "not criminals."

Today I am mostly sanguine about it all. The US and every country or regime is destined to fall. Such is the way of the world. Look not to man for salvation, there is a bigger prize and it is not on earth.

Plus I'm temporarily out of my bad procrastination habit, and making really good progress on tardy assignments. I'm finding more enjoyment being preoccupied with work, helping clients (it helps a lot to view then as genuine friends, and one does not put off helping genuine friends), and accepting the fact that I can't make the slightest dent in fixing our broken, corrupt, dishonest and harmful government. All the damage they have done and are doing is on them, not on me.

[Scrambler Bob]

If Trump,was more like Obama he’d have been spying on Biden already.
= = =

Biden?

There’s nothing to spy on with him.

Today’s report is another blank page, sir.

[MonicaG]

Using android samsung smartphone - is it possible to have privacy from big tech & our corrupt government? I am looking at the three sixes in the Chrome logo (someone on FRrecently pointed out it has three numbers) and feeling sick...