The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Source:
Posted: Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:36 PM
President Trump Blasts AG Sessions For Hiring "Obama Guy" To Investigate FISA Abuses
The president was reacting to Sessions revealing a day earlier that the Justice Department’s inspector general will investigate the allegations, in light of memos released on Capitol Hill about FBI and DOJ efforts to obtain FISA warrants to spy on a former Trump campaign adviser.
“Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse. Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc. Isn’t the I.G. an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!” Trump wrote.
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse. Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc. Isn’t the I.G. an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!
9:34 AM - Feb 28, 2018
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Sessions confirmed on Tuesday, in response to a question from Fox News’ Catherine Herridge, that the abuse accusations would be investigated at the IG level.
“The inspector general will take that as one of the matters he'll deal with,” he said, in reference to DOJ IG Michael Horowitz.
Horowtiz for months has been investigating
the FBI and DOJ’s actions related to the probe of Hillary Clinton’s
private email use while secretary of state.
A final report is expected soon, though Trump seemed to complain
Wednesday about the amount of time it has taken.
SESSIONS: DOJ IG TO PROBE FISA ABUSE
Horowitz was confirmed to the post during the Obama administration, in
2012. However, while Trump labeled him as an “Obama guy,” he also served
as commissioner on the U.S. Sentencing Commission during the George W.
Bush administration. His generally enjoys a solid reputation – though
his work on the Clinton case, and now surveillance abuse, could make him
a target for both sides of the aisle.
Trump’s tweet reflected apparent impatience about taking surveillance
abuse claims to the next level.
For the past several weeks, lawmakers on Capitol Hill have been at war
over those allegations.
Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee released a memo in early
February detailing the surveillance of Trump campaign adviser Carter
Page, saying an infamous, unverified dossier funded by Democrats "formed
an essential part" of the application to spy on him.
Democrats released a rebuttal memo on Saturday, downplaying the role of
the dossier.
The White House responded to the GOP memo by saying it “raises serious
concerns about the integrity of decisions made at the highest levels of
the Department of Justice and the FBI to use the government’s most
intrusive surveillance tools against American citizens.”
PRIEBUS DISHES ON WHITE HOUSE CHAOS
Sessions said earlier this month on Fox News’ "Sunday Morning Futures"
that that there would be an investigation into how the FBI used the
dossier to secure the surveillance.
“Let me tell you, every FISA warrant based on facts submitted to that
court have to be accurate,” he said. “That will be investigated and
looked at, and we are not going to participate at the Department of
Justice in providing anything less than the proper disclosure to the
court before they issue a FISA warrant.”
The involvement of the IG was not clear until Tuesday.
This is hardly the first time Trump has gone after his attorney general,
who was among Trump’s earliest supporters during the 2016 presidential
campaign.
An updated edition of the book, “The Gatekeepers: How the White House
Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency,” revealed that former Chief of
Staff Reince Priebus had to intervene last year to dissuade Sessions
from resigning.
This was reportedly after Trump personally excoriated Sessions, calling
him an “idiot” and blasting him for recusing himself from the Russia
investigation.
Sessions ultimately stayed on.
Fox News’ Catherine Herridge and Alex Pappas contributed to this report.
