Well, well, well…
It turns out, the man who could soon be running the FBI was once targeted by the FBI when the agency was trying to find a congressional leak.
I am speaking, of course, about Kash Patel.
Spying
The information came to light via a Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General’s (IG) report.
The internal investigation was checking a “compulsory process to obtain non-content communications records of Members of Congress, congressional staffers, and reporters at CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post to attempt to identify the sources of leaked classified information that had been published in news articles in 2017.”
Patel is not actually mentioned by name in a report, but it seems quite clear that the individuals who were being surveilled were Patel and Reps. Schiff (D-CA) and Swalwell (D-CA), all of whom played a role in the FISA narrative.
If you recall, then-Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) had released a memo outlining various problems during the Russian collusion investigation, including FISA abuse. It was reportedly Patel who authored the report.
Schiff then came out to say that everything the Nunes memo was made up, only it wasn’t.
It was Schiff’s memo that held nothing but untruths inside of it.
Erica Knight, a communication strategist, responded, “Andrew McCabe, who abused his power to spy on Kash Patel, now claims Patel is unqualified to lead the FBI. Hypocrisy much?
“The same McCabe who lied, leaked, and trampled civil liberties is worried about accountability under Patel. The swamp is nervous.”
The DOJ responded, “As the Report sets out, the OIG found no indication in its review that the investigative steps of the career prosecutors in any of these cases were pursued for improper reasons or based on party affiliation or status.”
Having said that, the report also concluded that the investigation was “at a minimum, the appearance of inappropriate interference by the executive branch.”
I don’t believe they were ever able to prove that the leak came from Schiff’s office, but I have always believed that either Schiff gave the order to leak the information or someone in his office went rogue and released the information.
Needless to say, I trust Schiff about as far as I can throw him, so it will be really entertaining to see what the GOP does when it comes time for Schiff to get his committee assignments in the Senate.
I have to think there will be significant resistance to him being put on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
