{UAH} THE OBAMA/BIDEN LAWYER TO PLEAD GUILITY TO FALSIFYING RUSSIA PROBE DOC
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Ex-FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith will plead guilty to falsifying Russia probe doc
FBI headquarters Getty Images
An anti-Trump former FBI lawyer will plead guilty to falsifying a record as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, officials said Friday.
The lawyer, Kevin Clinesmith, is pleading guilty to doctoring an email that the CIA used to justify a 2017 wiretap on Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser, during the Mueller investigation, said Clinesmith’s lawyer — as President Trump hailed the development at a White House press conference.
Clinesmith’s guilty plea is part of an ongoing investigation into the Russia probe by prosecutor John Durham, who is reviewing whether the Mueller investigation was improperly launched.
“The fact is, they spied on my campaign, and they got caught,” Trump said. “What happened should never happen. It’s a terrible thing.”
Clinesmith — whom Trump called a “corrupt FBI attorney” — is expected to plead guilty to one felony count of making a false statement.
A wiretap on Page — a businessman who would sometimes pass information to the CIA — had been approved in 2016 by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court because investigators suspected Russian spies might try to target him, the New York Times reported.
Page had previously passed information to the CIA about his contacts with Russia as part of his work as an energy executive, according to the report.
Attorney John Durham AP
His relationship with the spy agency may have previously kept him off the FBI’s radar as a potential cooperator with Russia’s attempt to interfere in the 2016 election. FBI officials were told of his cooperation with the CIA in a 2016 email, the Times reported.
But his relationship with the CIA was then downplayed by FBI officials who prepared documents to request he be wiretapped as part of the Russia probe.
When the agency was seeking a third renewal of the tap, an FBI official asked Clinesmith for a clear answer if Page had been a source for the spy agency, according to the Times.
Clinesmith responded that he was “never a source” and altered the CIA’s email to falsely show that, according to the Times.
His doctoring of the email was a crime, according to the prosecutor probing the Russia investigation.
The E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse AP
His guilty plea Friday was hinted at by Attorney General Bill Barr on Thursday night in an appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity.”
Barr said on the show to expect a development in Durham’s investigation Friday that would not be “earth-shattering” but would show the investigation is progressing.
“There are two different things going on,” Barr said. “I said the American people need to know what actually happened, we need to get the story of what happened in 2016 and ’17. … That will be done.
“The second aspect of this is, if people crossed the line, if people involved in that activity violated criminal law, they will be charged,” he added.
Clinesmith was removed from the Russia investigation after lead prober Mueller discovered he’d shared anti-Trump sentiments.
In text messages, Clinesmith slammed Trump and his supporters, writing to another FBI official: “I honestly feel like there is going to be a lot more gun issues, too, the crazies won finally. This is the Tea Party on steroids. And the GOP is going to be lost.”
He wrote in another, “Viva le resistance.”
EM -> { Trump for 2020 }
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