The Senate on Monday released 500 pages of documents, including text messages between demoted counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok and his paramour, former FBI lawyer Lisa Page. One of the formerly redacted texts suggests that the FBI may have been snooping into the Trump campaign way earlier than previously believed. Without mentioning any campaign specifically, the December 2015 text message refers to “oconus lures,” which is FBI lingo for spies outside the continental United States. Strzok was leading the Clinton investigation at the time and would go on to play a central role in the Trump/Russia probe. It is being assumed that the pair was referring to the FBI’s efforts to bait & hook unsuspecting Trump campaign officials overseas.
https://twitter.com/Nick_Falco/status/1003673455496052736
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The FBI’s “Crossfire Hurricane” counterintelligence operation didn’t officially begin until July 31, 2016.
President Trump referred to the text message in a tweet Tuesday evening:
Wow, Strzok-Page, the incompetent & corrupt FBI lovers, have texts referring to a counter-intelligence operation into the Trump Campaign dating way back to December, 2015. SPYGATE is in full force! Is the Mainstream Media interested yet? Big stuff!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2018
Strzok’s supervisor, Bill Priestap, was interviewed behind closed doors on Tuesday as part of an ongoing joint investigation by the House Judiciary and Oversight committees. According to a Fox News source on Capitol Hill, Priestap was “a very cooperative witness,” although there were still unanswered questions regarding Priestap’s overseas travel.
One line of questioning Tuesday concerned a by Priestap in May 2016 and whether it was connected to the Russia case. The trip was referenced by Strzok in a May 4, 2016, text message to FBI lawyer Lisa Page that said “Bill” would be “back from London next week.”
In the spring of 2016, two Trump campaign advisers, Carter Page and Stephen Miller, were invited to attend a July event at the University of Cambridge, where “Spygate” allegedly originated. Page attended the three-day conclave and struck up a friendship with Stefan Halper, a former Cambridge professor who was allegedly working as an informant for the FBI as part of the counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign. Miller, who currently serves as a senior policy advisor for President Donald Trump, did not attend the event. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was reportedly a keynote speaker.
According to the Daily Caller, Miller received his invitation to attend the event in May of 2016, a month after Page received his invitation from a graduate assistant of Halper.
Judicial Watch’s Chris Farrell told Fox Business’ Lou Dobbs Tuesday that the latest texts show that there was a concerted effort by FBI agents as far back as December of 2015 “to apply intelligence tradecraft … against candidate Trump and now President Trump.”
Farrell explained that the FBI’s use of “intelligence tradecraft” against a candidate to steer an election was a violation of the law.
“It’s indisputable,” he said.
#DeepStateObstruction– @JudicialWatch’s Chris Farrell: There was a concerted effort by FBI agents to attack & undermine candidate @realDonaldTrump. It’s indisputable & violation of law. #MAGA #TrumpTrain #DTS #Dobbs pic.twitter.com/jGjezDThe9
— Lou Dobbs (@LouDobbs) June 5, 2018
The clearly exercised president commented on the interview Tuesday night:
Great interview by @LouDobbs with Chris Farrell of Judicial Watch concerning the governments counter-intelligence operation into the Trump Campaign. SPYGATE at the highest level. Who would believe?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2018
Chris Farrell, Judicial Watch. “They were running an operation to undermine a candidate for President of the U.S. These are all violations of law. This is intelligence tradecraft to steer an election. There’s nothing more grave when it comes to abuse of our intelligence system…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2018
…This is a level of criminality beyond the pale. This is such a grave abuse of power and authority, it’s like nothing else we’ve seen in our history. This makes the Nixon Watergate burglary look like keystone cop stuff
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2018
….The greatest Witch Hunt in political history!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2018
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