By Byron York | Washington
Examiner
The House Intelligence Committee has released its
controversial memo outlining alleged abuses of secret surveillance by the FBI
and Justice Department in the Trump-Russia investigation.
Here are some key
points:
* The Steele dossier formed an essential part of the
initial and all three renewal FISA applications against Carter Page.
* Andrew McCabe confirmed that no FISA warrant would have
been sought from the FISA Court without the Steele dossier information.
* The political origins of the Steele dossier were known
to senior DOJ and FBI officials, but excluded from the FISA applications.
* DOJ official Bruce Ohr met with Steele beginning in the
summer of 2016 and relayed to DOJ information about Steele's bias. Steele told
Ohr that he, Steele, was desperate that Donald Trump not get elected president
and was passionate about him not becoming president.
The FBI and Justice Department mounted a monthslong
effort to keep the information outlined in the memo out of the House
Intelligence Committee's hands. Only the threat of contempt charges and other
forms of pressure forced the FBI and Justice to give up the material.
Once Intelligence Committee leaders and staff compiled
some of that information into the memo, the FBI and Justice Department,
supported by Capitol Hill Democrats, mounted a ferocious campaign of
opposition, saying release of the memo would endanger national security and the
rule of law.
But Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes never
wavered in his determination to make the information available to the public.
President Trump agreed, and, as required by House rules, gave his approval for
release.
Finally, the memo released today does not represent the
sum total of what House investigators have learned in their review of the FBI
and Justice Department Trump-Russia investigation.
That means the fight over
the memo could be replayed in the future when the Intelligence Committee
decides to release more information.
