South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said Saturday that if he takes over as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, as is expected, he will “get to the bottom” of whether Obama loyalists in the FBI misled the FISA court to illegally spy on the Trump campaign.
Lindsey Graham is poised to take over the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he will have oversight of the FBI, Justice Department and federal court system.
“In my view the process used to obtain a FISA warrant – and its multiple renewals – against Carter Page should disturb every American,” Graham tweeted.
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“I intend to get to the bottom of what happened if I am Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.”
In my view the process used to obtain a FISA warrant – and its multiple renewals – against Carter Page should disturb every American.
I intend to get to the bottom of what happened if I am Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) December 8, 2018
DailyCaller reports: Graham, who is the favorite to replace Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley as chairman of the all-powerful Judiciary panel, was responding to a statement that former FBI Director James Comey issued Friday after leaving a closed-door deposition before two House committees investigating possible FISA abuse.
“I have total confidence that the FISA process was followed and that the entire case was handled in a thoughtful, responsible way by DOJ and the FBI,” Comey said after his interview. “I think the notion that FISA was abused here is nonsense.”
Republicans have accused the FBI and Justice Department of misleading FISA Court judges by relying heavily on the Steele dossier in applications for four warrants to spy on Page. They assert that the dossier was unverified when the FBI cited it extensively in its warrant applications and that the bureau failed to fully disclose that the dossier was the product of an opposition research project funded by the DNC and Clinton campaign.
The dossier, authored by former British spy Christopher Steele, accuses the Trump campaign of conspiring with the Kremlin to influence the 2016 election. Page is featured prominently in the 35-page document but vehemently denies its allegations.
“I look forward to having an in-depth discussion with former FBI Director Comey about his assertion that challenges against the FISA warrant process – based on the Steele dossier – are ‘nonsense,’” Graham said Saturday in response to Comey’s statement.
I look forward to having an in-depth discussion with former FBI Director Comey about his assertion that challenges against the FISA warrant process – based on the Steele dossier – are ‘nonsense.’https://t.co/cntpzQQFE5
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) December 8, 2018
