The FISA Scandal Is about Corruption, Not ‘Sloppiness’
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Let’s remember that in December, Senator Ted Cruz asked Horowitz: “A lawyer at the FBI creates fraudulent evidence, alters an email that is in turn used as the basis for a sworn statement to the court that the court relies on. Am I stating that accurately?”
Horowitz answered: “That’s correct.”
Let’s remember also that Horowitz told the Senate that the FISA warrants relied “entirely” on the fictitious Steele dossier, a document featuring “intelligence” gleaned from foreign powers, and paid for by the political party running against the campaign under investigation.
Even if we lay the culpability on sloppiness, it is still a massive scandal of ineptitude. If the Justice Department acts this recklessly when investigating a presidential campaign, just imagine how abusive they are when investigating ordinary Americans.
Apologists for the FBI will question the patriotism of those who are critical of potential domestic spying. They have plenty of fodder. We now know that FBI lawyers manufactured evidence to spy on a political campaign. We know that some of the FBI agents involved promised to “stop” the president. We know that top FBI leadership, the people who have been lecturing us about patriotism and loyalty, have lied. And not just James Comey and Andrew McCabe. Onetime CIA director John Brennan spied on the legislative branch and lied about it to the American people. Onetime director of national intelligence James Clapper spied on the American people through a domestic surveillance program and lied about it to Congress.
Now, I realize it’s somewhat of a cliché to say this, but can you imagine the storm accompanying this kind of abuse if it had it emanated from the Trump administration and was aimed at Joe Biden, or from the Bush administration aimed at Barack Obama? And really, what stops the GOP from cooking up a dossier and then having some partisan FBI lackey spy on Joe Biden? Surely such an investigation would be, rightly, viewed as abuse of power.
But “sloppiness?” Color me skeptical.
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