INTERVIEW – JOE DIGENOVA – legal analyst and former U.S. Attorney of the District of Columbia — discussed the latest on President Trump’s battle with the DOJ and FBI.
- The Justice Department asks its watchdog to look into alleged wrongdoing in the FBI’s investigation of Russia interference in the 2016 election after President Trump orders a review into whether agents infiltrated his campaign
- FBI UNDER INVESTIGATION: The Justice Department asked its watchdog to look into any alleged “impropriety or political motivation” in the FBI’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, the DOJ said Sunday night — hours after President Trump ordered a review looking into whether federal agents infiltrated or surveilled his campaign for political purposes … She also released a response from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein: “If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action.” Trump, late last week, began accusing the Justice Department of trying to frame him by planting a spy in his campaign — an allegation his own lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said might not be true.
- Trump puts pressure on DOJ, FBI to release documents amid spying claims (Fox News) – President Trump on Saturday said it would be “a really big deal” if the FBI and Department of Justice infiltrated his campaign during the 2016 election campaign, and he called for the DOJ to release documents being requested by Republican lawmakers’ regarding the Russia probe.
- Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump If the FBI or DOJ was infiltrating a campaign for the benefit of another campaign, that is a really big deal. Only the release or review of documents that the House Intelligence Committee (also, Senate Judiciary) is asking for can give the conclusive answers. Drain the Swamp!
- SCHIFF: Trump’s claim of an embedded “spy” is nonsense. His “demand” DOJ investigate something they know to be untrue is an abuse of power, and an effort to distract from his growing legal problems. Never mind that DOJ has warned that lives and alliances are at risk. He doesn’t care.
- Chuck Schumer tells GOP to beware: Pursuit of FBI informant’s identity comes close to crossing legal line
- JUST IN: DOJ asks Inspector General to investigate possible political motivation during the origin of Russia probe.
- @realDonaldTrump 17h17 hours ago: I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes – and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!
- F.B.I. Used Informant to Investigate Russia Ties to Campaign, Not to Spy, as Trump Claims (NY Times) —.WASHINGTON — President Trump accused the F.B.I. on Friday, without evidence, of sending a spy to secretly infiltrate his 2=16 campaign “for political purposes” even before the bureau had any inkling of the “phony Russia hoax.” In fact, F.B.I. agents sent an informant to talk to two campaign advisers only after they received evidence that the pair had suspicious contacts linked to Russia during the campaign. The informant, an American academic who teaches in Britain, made contact late that summer with one campaign adviser, George Papadopoulos, according to people familiar with the matter. He also met repeatedly in the ensuing months with the other aide, Carter Page, who was also under F.B.I. scrutiny for his ties to Russia.
- Nunes: I won’t meet with Justice Dept until I get info on FBI source who met with Trump officials (The Hill) — House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said on Sunday that he will not meet with officials from the Justice Department (DOJ) until he receives documents connected to an FBI source who met with Trump campaign aides in 2016 over alleged contacts between members of the campaign and Russia. Nunes accused someone in the DOJ of leaking the information after he and Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) did not agree to Justice officials’ offer to answer questions from lawmakers in a briefing.
- Special Counsel Robert Mueller tells Trump’s legal team he could wrap up his Russia investigation by Sept. 1 if he is able to interview the president by mid-July, Rudy Giuliani tells Fox News
- MUELLER SETTING NEW TRAP FOR TRUMP?: Special Counsel Robert Mueller has told President Trump’s legal team he should be able to wrap up the Russia investigation by Sept. 1 if he is able to interview Trump by mid-July, Rudy Giuliani told Fox News on Sunday ... Giuliani said he and Mueller spoke about an end date to the investigation approximately two weeks ago. During that conversation, Giuliani told Mueller that any interview of Trump by the special counsel would be contingent on knowing when the probe would wrap up. Giuliani added that he wants Mueller’s investigation wrapped up by Sept. 1 so that it doesn’t affect Republican chances in November’s midterm elections. He said the date refers only to aspects of the investigation related to Trump, as opposed to court cases involving former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former campaign manager Paul Manafort and others
- HALPER OVERSAW SPY OPERATION IN 1980 CAMPAIGN: Four decades ago, Halper was responsible for a long-forgotten spying scandal involving the 1980 election, in which the Reagan campaign – using CIA officials managed by Halper, reportedly under the direction of former CIA Director and then-Vice-Presidential candidate George H.W. Bush – got caught running a spying operation from inside the Carter administration. The plot involved CIA operatives passing classified information about Carter’s foreign policy to Reagan campaign officials in order to ensure the Reagan campaign knew of any foreign policy decisions that Carter was considering.
