Well this is it. This is what the Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee said would prove that Carter Page was surveilled for political reasons and not with national security intentions.
Here’s the Carter Page FISA application, partially redacted.
Carter Page FISA docs posted here, 412 pages, partly redacted. https://t.co/0IMXDopZ7B pic.twitter.com/F89vKZ8Psn
— Orin Kerr (@OrinKerr) July 21, 2018
412 pages??! Ugh. Someone read this and get back to me with the relevant details please.
The New York Times has some assessment of the document:
On Saturday, those materials — an October 2016 application to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to wiretap Mr. Page, along with several renewal applications — were released to The New York Times and several other news organizations that had filed Freedom of Information Act lawsuits to obtain them.
“This application targets Carter Page,” the application said. “The F.B.I. believes Page has been the subject of targeted recruitment by the Russian government.” A line was then redacted, and then it picked up with “undermine and influence the outcome of the 2016 U.S. presidential election in violation of U.S. criminal law. Mr. Page is a former foreign policy adviser to a candidate for U.S. president.”
And more:
Visible portions showed that the F.B.I. in stark terms had told the intelligence court that Mr. Page “has established relationships with Russian government officials, including Russian intelligence officers”; that the bureau believed “the Russian government’s efforts are being coordinated with Page and perhaps other individuals associated with” Mr. Trump’s campaign; and that Mr. Page “has been collaborating and conspiring with the Russian government.”
The spectacle of the release was itself also noteworthy, given that wiretapping under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, is normally one of the government’s closest-guarded secrets. No such application materials had apparently become public in the 40 years since Congress enacted that law to regulate the interception of phone calls and other communications on domestic soil in search of spies and terrorists, as opposed to wiretapping for ordinary criminal investigations.
People are going nuts tweeting it:
Yeah... this Carter Page FISA application isn’t exactly what Trump defenders wanted to have the public see... its not exactly new informations, but having it spelled out like this is quite something. pic.twitter.com/WIp2Buxzba
— Aaron Booth (@ActorAaronBooth) July 21, 2018
The conclusion of the FISA application @Charlie_Savage shook loose on Carter Page. h/t @maddezmom pic.twitter.com/Th94ybfqtP
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) July 21, 2018
I’ll update with any important conclusions.
UPDATE:
Former FBI Agent Asha Rangappa says there’s no there there:
The release of the FISA application against Carter Page is mostly useless in terms of offering new information, considering 90% of it is redacted. I also don’t see how this helps the WH/Nooney Tunes narrative given that:
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) July 21, 2018
1. Support for probable cause that Page was engaging in clandestine intelligence activities is explained in two sections: One regarding his connections to Russia and another regarding specific coordination in election interference;
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) July 21, 2018
2. In both sections there is clearly information the government provided separate and apart from “Source #1” (Steele) and open source info — and that fact that all those paragraphs are redacted suggests supporting info from OTHER sensitive methods and sources;
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) July 21, 2018
And there’s this:
This won’t help either: pic.twitter.com/ByfSraSb72
— Mr. Fun Guy (@Mister_Fun_Guy) July 21, 2018
You can download the entire document here.