Release of Carter Page Surveillance Documents Undermines Trump's Claims of FBI Bias

Yesterday the Justice Department released documents related to the FBI's FISA Court surveillance warrants on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page which were part of the federal investigation of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Donald Trump and his supporters claim that the investigation was part of a FBI plot against him and his campaign. They have also argued that the investigation was solely based on a dossier compiled by a former British intelligence officer, Christopher Steele, and that the Justice Department did not inform the FISA judges that their information came from a dossier compiled by someone paid by a political opponent of Donald Trump.

However the highly redacted documents released Saturday show that the Justice Department noted the origins of Steele’s report and that it was just one of several sources used by the FBI in determining that Page was "collaborating and conspiring with the Russian government.” The warrant applications were approved by four FISA Court judges for surveillance on Page through June of 2017. All four judges were Republican appointees. The final warrant application was signed by FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

President Trump attacked the FBI and Justice Department again last night on twitter after the release of the documents claiming the Page surveillance was part of a "witch hunt" against him. However, with the release of the warrant applications which belie the accusations of partisanship, President Trump's claims of bias are becoming harder to sustain.

Photo Credit: MSNBC

This article was updated at 4:02, 7/22/18

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