Throughout the Obama Administration, any real news was handed out in the Friday afternoon news dump. Well, the FBI and DOJ quietly dropped a 412 page set of mostly unclassified documents on us late last night in response to a FOIA lawsuit by the New York Times and multiple media outlets. 

“As discussed above, the FBI believes that Page has been collaborating and conspiring with the Russian government,” reads the initial FISA application, dated Oct. 21, 2016. The Justice Department and FBI obtained three additional FISAs in January, April and June 2017.

The application also says that the FBI had probable cause to believe that Page engaged in “clandestine intelligence activities” and is an agent of a foreign power.

I’m sure many didn’t bother to read further as that statement could be taken as a ‘SEE I TOLD YOU SO!’ Collusion, Trump, Putin, Eleventy!

Sorry guys, that’s not going to work. You see, this 412 page document dump has some info in it that is, quite frankly, embarrassing to the Obama-led DOJ and FBI.

Two key items jump out upon reading the documents – which you can read in full here.

1. Even though the FBI KNEW that the Steele dossier was a piece of trash, they used it as “verified” evidence to obtain all three FISA warrants against Carter Page
2. The FBI used multiple media stories as “verified” evidence to support their premise.

Did you get that? The FBI and the DOJ used gossip and media stories as evidence that Carter Page was a Russian spy and the judges agreed!

10) The FBI believes Source #1 is credible, even though he's working for someone whom the FBI 'speculates" is trying to discredit Trump. 11) The FBI has paid Steele. 12) Steele said Page and Divyekin discussed possible 'kompromat' on Hillary Clinton. 6/14

— Byron York (@ByronYork) July 22, 2018

13) In July 2016, Josh Rogin of the Washington Post wrote that the Trump campaign worked to make sure the GOP platform did not call for arms to Ukraine. (For the whole story, see here: https://t.co/K80McqlN3w ) 7/14

— Byron York (@ByronYork) July 22, 2018

14) In August 2016, Michael Crowley of Politico wrote that Trump adopted a 'milder' tone on Russia's annexation of Crimea, which could have possibly, maybe been the influence of Page. 8/14

— Byron York (@ByronYork) July 22, 2018

17) The FBI does not believe Source #1 [Steele] 'directly provided' the information to Isikoff. 18) Isikoff wrote that Page's role in the campaign is 'unclear.' 19) On September 25, 2016, Kellyanne Conway told CNN Page was 'not part of the campaign I'm running.' 10/14

— Byron York (@ByronYork) July 22, 2018

Yet the FBI and DOJ claimed the dossier and media reports were factual!

I agree with John Hindraker of Powerline blog. The information used by the FBI and DOJ to obtain these FISA warrants is truly pitiful at all levels. So pitiful that it moves beyond embarrassing.

Oh, and as for James Comey’s strident assertions that he did everything by the book and wasn’t in the tank for Obama and Hillary? If he did so, then why the hell did he and Sally Yates sign off on these warrants??!!

Do not tell me that wasn’t a partisan move.

If I were the judge(s) who signed off on the warrants, I would be pissed off at having been used as a weapon like this.

BREAKING: Newly declassified FISA application on Carter Page reveals FBI never told the court that its main source — Steele — was paid through the Clinton campaign. It merely says he was hired by a "business associate" and a "law firm," which it never ID's as Clinton/DNC lawyer

— Paul Sperry (@paulsperry_) July 22, 2018

Furthermore, this calls into question the veracity of ALL the FISA warrants obtained by the Obama Administration during this time period. Meanwhile, Carter Page issued the following statement. 

Reached for comment shortly after The Times published the FISA applications, Page told TheDCNF: “I’m having trouble finding any small bit of this document that rises above completely ignorance and/or insanity.”

Yet there are folks out there who are ramping up the Excuses bus and it’s backfiring spectacularly.

Well i certainly hope you had higher standards for FISA apps when you ran the office than this indicates. Either way we need a dramatic overhaul if things have gotten this bad. Thank God for some sunlight. https://t.co/WZTEjWAs3I

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) July 22, 2018

Exactly. What is irresponsible is using a highly dubious dossier and media speculation to make their case.

NEW: In newly-declassified FISA materials, the FBI said it believed Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 election "are being coordinated with" Carter Page, "and perhaps other individuals" associated with President Trumps's campaign. pic.twitter.com/OSvkgHxruL

— Brad Heath (@bradheath) July 21, 2018

In a nutshell, we have a hyper partisan group at the Obama led DOJ and FBI putting together a case built upon a sand dune of speculation all in an effort to GET TRUMP! All involved should be embarrassed and if any involved in that investigation are still at the DOJ and FBI, they should be summarily fired.