Dec 16, 2021 · Former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith, who altered an email during the Russia investigation that was used to justify the surveillance of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, has been reinstated as a member "in good standing" to the District of Columbia Bar Association, reports Real Clear Investigations. Clinesmith pleaded guilty in August 2021 to …
Nov 23, 2019 · News headlines today: Dec. 23, 2020 Catch up on the developing stories making headlines. The Associated Press WASHINGTON -- An FBI lawyer is suspected of altering a document related to surveillance of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, a person familiar with the situation said Friday.
Nov 22, 2019 · Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz has found evidence that an FBI lawyer manipulated a key investigative document related to the FBI's secretive surveillance of a former Trump...
Aug 20, 2020 · Charging documents filed Friday say Clinesmith altered an email he received in June 2017 from another government agency to say that Page was “not a source” for that agency, then forwarded it along to a colleague. The document does not say which agency, but Page has publicly said that he had worked as a source for the CIA.
The 2016 messages, sent between Lisa Page and then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, also revealed that bureau brass circulated at least two anti-Trump blog articles, including a Lawfare blog post sent shortly after Election Day that called Trump possibly "among the major threats to the security of the country.".
Fox News is told the texts were connected to the ultimately successful Page application, which relied in part on information from British ex-spy Christopher Steele – whose anti-Trump views are now well-documented – and cited Page’s suspected Russia ties. In its warrant application, the FBI inaccurately assured the FISA court on numerous occasions that media sources independently corroborated Steele's claims, and did not clearly state that Steele worked for a firm hired by Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
The "lengthy" draft report "concerns sensitive national security and law enforcement matters, " Horowitz wrote in the letter, adding that he anticipated "the final report will be released publicly with few redactions."
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz has found evidence that an FBI lawyer manipulated a key investigative document related to the FBI's secretive surveillance of a former Trump campaign adviser -- enough to change the substantive meaning of the document, according to multiple reports.
Newly released text messages involving text messages between Strzok and former FBI lawyer Lisa Page revealed that Page -- who was not present for the Flynn interview -- had apparently made "edits" to the so-called "302" witness report in the case, which was key to Flynn's prosecution on a false statements charge. Page told Strzok on February 10, 2017 that she “gave my edits to Bill to put on your desk.”
Clinesmith was assigned to provide legal support to FBI personnel working on Crossfire Hurricane, and he assisted FBI personnel with applications prepared by the FBI and the Justice Department’s National Security Division to conduct surveillance under the FISA.
On June 19, 2017 , Clinesmith altered the email he received from the OGA Liaison by adding the words “not a source,” and then forwarded the email to the FBI SSA. Relying on the altered email, on June 29, 2017, the SSA signed and submitted the fourth FISA application to the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
government, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of up to $250,000.
On July 31, 2016, the FBI opened a Foreign Agents Registration Act investigation, known as “Crossfire Hurricane,” into whether individuals associated with the Donald J. Trump for President Campaign were coordinating activities with the Russian government.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between July 2015 and September 2019, Clinesmith was employed with the FBI as an Assistant General Counsel in the National Security and Cyber Law Branch of the FBI’s Office of General Counsel in Washington, D.C.
The FBI agents who opened the investigation, including Joe Pientka, gave Trump his first intelligence briefing as presumptive Republican nominee. A memo with a summary of the briefing was approved by former agent Peter Strzok as well as Clinesmith.
The probe is being led by prosecutor John Durham, who was appointed to the task by Attorney General William Barr. Barr hinted at a development in the Durham probe in comments to Fox News on Thursday night.
Something went wrong. Please try again later. Former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith will plead guilty to falsifying a document used to obtain a FISA warrant on former Trump-campaign adviser Carter Page. Clinesmith was charged in Washington, D.C., on Friday with one felony count of making a false statement, and will plead guilty in a plea deal ...
Clinesmith was charged in Washington, D.C., on Friday with one felony count of making a false statement, and will plead guilty in a plea deal with prosecutors conducting a criminal probe of the Russia investigation, the New York Times reported. The probe is being led by prosecutor John Durham, who was appointed to the task by Attorney General ...
Clinesmith is set to admit that he altered an email from the CIA in order to renew the FISA warrant against Page in 2017. That email stated that Page had worked as a source for the CIA, but Clinesmith changed the reference to state that Page was not a source.
Horowitz turned over evidence on the allegedly altered document to John Durham, the federal prosecutor appointed early this year by Attorney General William Barr to conduct a broad investigation of intelligence gathered for the Russia probe by the CIA and other agencies, including the FBI.
The alterations were significant enough to have shifted the document’s meaning and came up during a part of Horowitz’s FISA review where details were classified, according to the sources.
Horowitz report. Horowitz is expected to release his report on December 9 and testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee two days later. The internal, independent investigator so far, over several reports, has criticized top members of the FBI for their actions leading up to and during the Russia investigation.
Attorney General William Barr participates in a press conference at the Department of Justice along with DOJ officials on February 10, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Biden invited members of the group of 21 Republican and Democratic senators to discuss the infrastructure plan. A former FBI lawyer is under criminal investigation after allegedly altering a document related to 2016 surveillance of a Trump campaign adviser, several people briefed on the matter told CNN.
Former Vice President Mike Pence rebuked former President Donald Trump on Thursday night on the question of overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election. President Joe Biden, with a bipartisan group of senators, speaks Thursday June 24, 2021, outside the White House in Washington.
The New York Times, CNN and other outlets have reported that Durham’s investigation had become a criminal investigation. UPDATE: This story has been updated to reflect the official is a lawyer who is no longer with the FBI. It has also been updated with information about the impact of the matter under investigation.
Last month, former Attorney General Bill Barr appointed Durham as special counsel to continue investigating the origins of the Russia probe through the Biden Administration. Barr notified the Senate and House Judiciary Committees, in a letter dated Dec. 1 obtained by Fox News, that Durham would be special counsel.
It is unclear, at this point, who those prosecutors are. Fox News reported in May that Jeff Jensen, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri who was tapped by the Justice Department in February to review the case of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, was helping with Durham’s investigation.
Boasberg gave him 12 months probation, 400 hours of community service, and no fine. Government prosecutors had been asking for Clinesmith to spend several months in jail, but Clinesmith's defense had been advocating for probation only. " [He] lost his job, and his government service is what has given his life much of its meaning," Boasberg said ...
Former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith was sentenced to 12 months probation and 400 hours of community service Friday after pleading guilty to making a false statement in the first criminal case arising from Special Counsel John Durham’s investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe. Clinesmith in August pleaded guilty to "one count ...
government, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of up to $250,000.".
He may be disbarred or suspended from the practice of law, you may never be able to work in the national security field again . These are substantial penalties.". Boasberg added: "What is more, he went from being an obscure career government lawyer to standing in the eye of a media hurricane.
President Trump pardoned Flynn last month. Also in May, Fox News reported that now former acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Timothy Shea was also assisting with components of Durham’s investigation.