THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FISA WIRETAPS BEING USED AGAINST US CITIZENS…IT’S FRAUGHT WITH PERIL FOR THE AFFIANTS!
Let me say this first…Federally, there are major, legal differences between criminal investigations inside the United States, against US citizens, and outside the US. For example, the FBI is charged with investigating crimes within the US and prohibited, by law, from conducting investigations outside the US. Similarly, the CIA is prohibited, by law, from conducting investigations within the US and must, by law, restrict their investigations to outside the US.
There are different laws to protect the rights of US Citizens regarding how investigations must be conducted inside the US. If either a Title 3 or FISA Wiretap is deemed illegal, insufficient or otherwise flawed, it becomes the “Poison Tree” and everything and anything derived from that “tree” are equally illegal and will become “fruits of the poison tree”. I’m uncertain of the details for the initiation of the Roger Stone case or Manafort case, but what they were convicted of does not matter. If those cases were started by information from the Page wiretaps…they are “fruit of the poison tree”! If they got onto Manafort’s phone, records, emails through Carter Page’s wire and that investigation led to something, anything, that he was either convicted of or plead to, his chances are excellent of getting all charges dismissed and may have grounds for civil legal action that could result in triple damages!
“Re-ups” 3 and 4 of the Carter Page FISA wiretap warrants have already been determined, inadequate by the FISA courts. I predicted years ago, before any convictions, that any cases derived from the Carter Page FISA warrants would be illegal, and still say, “all” will be dismissed…as “fruits of the poison tree”.
My opinion was based, at that time, on the total lack of PC that Page was a Foreign Agent. It was/is totally inadequate and would never get by any Federal Judge for a Title 3. That’s why Comey ordered McCabe and Strzok to do it, by FISA, my opinion! “It’s not a Title 3”, you say…well read on. Understand, I know Probable cause and know exculpatory evidence , enough to have been saying ever since I read the FISA evidence against Page, for a wiretap and heard that Clinton paid for the Steele Dossier which was used as PC …that alone poisoned the entire case…absolutely, positively, no doubt!
Title 3 versus the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA); This law was enacted in 1978 and updated specifically to allow specific surveillance techniques (wiretaps) of non U S Citizens, in the US without having to prove Probable Cause (PC), that a crime was committed, in the traditional sense. PC has to exist that a person /persons are/were conducting covert actions against the US as foreign Agents.
The FISA Act specifically, clearly and irrevocably prohibits the wiretapping of US Citizens. There is an exception, however… there are rigorous elements that must be proven and minimization requirements that absolutely must be followed, to protect the Rights of US Citizens. Failure to follow the requirements is a Felony…allowing severe Criminal AND Civil penalties for violation!
Abuses of the FISA wiretap process has become flagrant according EPIC.org! “A report from the Department of Justice’s Inspector General has uncovered widespread abuse of FISA surveillance authority by the DOJ. “BT” (before Trump), the Inspector General identified apparent errors or inadequately supported facts” in each of the 25 surveillance applications it reviewed”.
I would say that is very significant and not a “political” observation. Why would that happen…the answer is simple… a Title 3 is extremely difficult to obtain, cumbersome to justify, manpower ,time ,money eating , and such a risk to the Agents working the case, we would rather use conventional means, good old fashion leg work to solve cases…our success rate was unbelievable. On both of the NY Heavy Squads I was on, we testified in court many times as witnesses to the Crimes we were investigating and they were Kidnapping, Armed Truck Hijacking, Bank Robbery and Bomb cases. We witnessed them all by good surveillance some Title 3s…but we hated them!
Apparently FISA warrants were easy to obtain, especially if you knew the Judge! You are seeing the results!
I never worked a FISA case, however I worked every aspect of many Title 3 search warrants (a Title 3 is a search warrant). I’ve read the FISA law and I am not an expert but do understand that there are similarities and major differences.
In every single Search Warrant, especially in wiretaps, the 4th Amendment Rights guaranteed by our Constitution as well as all the other Amendments, must be followed to prevent “illegal Search and Seizure” or other Rights’ violations.
In a Title 3, there must be PC that a crime is involved and all other sources and methods have been exhausted and the wiretap is our last hope to prove the case. It cannot be the first or only thing an investigator does…it must be “last resort”.
In a FISA (wiretap), against that same U S Citizen (Carter Page, for example) there must be substantial, verified, PC, that he is a Foreign, unregistered Agent, acting against our Republic AND it must also be the last resort and all other sources and methods have been exhausted…again…”the last resort”. Proof (PC) of a crime, is not necessary…but…a single comment by anybody that Carter Page spoke to or even admitted to, that he’s a Foreign Agent…even if that source was Jesus Christ himself …is not enough. For example, if Adam Schiff had a revelation that Christ told him that Page is a Foreign Agent , that is not enough…even if Jerry Nadler says he saw the meeting…it’s still not enough, that is… according to our laws. In “Fantasy Land” it may be good enough!
In Title 3 cases and FISA cases, there are always “minimization Court Orders”. In Title 3, they are called, “minimization orders” and may vary case to case but must be adhered to. A good example would be, “You must not monitor any conversations between the subject and his attorney”.
To violate that order is a Felony. All Agents working the Title 3 must sign off that they have read the Title 3 Application and all minimization orders and are familiar with all aspects of the investigation and have provided any exculpatory evidence and have read all other orders unique to that wiretap. It’s a major risk to withhold any information or to even try to deceive the court. Anyone who does faces total bankruptcy, loss of career, and jail time because these are all Federal Felonies and not just DOJ or FBI policies and everyone working the case knows that!
In FISA minimization orders, in US Citizen cases, don’t vary and are referred to as “masking and unmasking” regarding the US Citizen… his identity must be protected according to the FISA ACT itself , and rigorous procedures must be followed. Access just to the Citizens name, like Carter Page or Mike Flynn, is limited to high ranking government officials who have demonstrated a need to know. Leaking of the identity (as was done in both the Page and the General Flynn cases) is a 10 year Felony, as is the mere unmasking!
Here’s an interesting point, for those of you who claim the Flynn “guilty reversal” is a political ploy by our Republican President. Democrat President, Hussein Obama, by Executive Order and a pen and his cell phone, intentionally undermined National Security, the FISA Act and the Constitution, in his LAST DAYS as President, by opening up access of raw, protected intel, including the unmasking of FISA intel, to virtually all Agencies!
That’s an act of Treason by your former President if ever there was one and you are correct…it was for Political reasons by a President…but you have the wrong President!
Look at the list and timing of the unmasking of General Flynn’s name and answer this question…Why? What “need to know “would the U N Ambassador have to unmask some 300 times in the last year of Obama’s administration versus hardly ever during the previous 7 years, by her and various other Ambassadors?
Could it have been to spy on the Trump campaign or for National Security…?
Regarding General Flynn’s conviction, even though he entered a plea, there must be a way for the Chief Executive Officer of DOJ, the President, to stop what Sullivan is doing. He is by- passing DOJ. A Judge cannot try a case if the Prosecutor says he won’t prosecute! The DOJ won’t prosecute the Guilty Plea as perjury because he lied to the FBI about not doing something that even if he did do it…it wasn’t a freaking crime!!!
The President must be able to Order that the case be reviewed by another Jurist if the President believes Judge Sullivan has indicated a bias, which he did, and force him to either recuse himself or the President will. Then get the case transferred to an unbiased Judge. The President has the final say on justice for all!
I strongly recommend to the President that he not Pardon Flynn which is what this corrupt Judge Sullivan is trying to get the President to do but instead…commute his sentence to time served and direct AG Barr to recommend to Flynn’s Attorney that based upon new evidence ,Flynn move to have his conviction and plea removed. The President can… if that fails for whatever reason…pardon the General after the election!