Transcripts of Justice Department official Bruce Ohr’s interviews with the FBI could open the bureau to new scrutiny over claims government officials made in applications to spy on Carter Page.
During a Nov. 22, 2016 interview with the FBI, Ohr discussed meetings between dossier author Christopher Steele, Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson and Yahoo! News reporter Michael Isikoff, who two months earlier had published an article that alleged that Page was under FBI investigation for contacts in Russia.
New FBI 302s reveal Ohr and Clinton spy Steele communicated by WhatsApp. @JudicialWatch
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) August 8, 2019
The potential problem for the FBI is that the bureau said in four Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant applications against Page that investigators did not believe that Steele was a source for Isikoff’s story.
Bruce Ohr 302s show that FBI officials were out to get the President.
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) August 9, 2019
The FBI formally documents witness interviews in 302s. There’s two reasons to do this:
-To build a case against the guy you’re talking to
-Or to use it to go after someone else
We know they weren’t after Ohr!
The FBI relied heavily on Steele’s unverified dossier to argue to the FISA court that Page was working as an agent of Russia. The applications also cite Isikoff’s article and at least one other news report about Page.
“OHR met [redacted] in Washington, D.C. in late September, possibly close to the time when the Yahoo news article was published on September 23, 2016,” read the heavily-redacted Ohr notes, which were released on Thursday.
Reading through newly-released 302s on Bruce Ohr, lots of questions arising. Who was "desperate" and "passionate" to make sure @realDonaldTrump wasn't elected POTUS? Why was Steele back-channeling info to the FBI via Ohr months after the FBI fired him? 11p @FoxNewsNight
— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) August 9, 2019
- Dr E
