It's a bit bemusing to note that it was 10 years ago, now, that the entire "Russian collusion" thing sprang up around the 2016 election: Democrats, panicked by the ascent of Trump, pulled out all the stops, including the accusation of then-candidate Trump being a Russian stooge. That's rather ironic, since Russia, a geopolitical rival, would almost certainly have preferred the weak and yet self-centered and arrogant Hillary Clinton in the White House, rather than Donald Trump, who was at that time an unknown quantity. One of the worst accusations resulting from this episode involved the FBI allegedly lying to the FISA court to obtain warrants.
Now, some chickens may be coming home to roost. FBI Director Kash Patel is looking to get to the bottom of this.
FBI Director Kash Patel accused the FBI of lying to obtain surveillance warrants to illegally spy on President Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign and subsequent first term.
Trump has long accused his 2016 opponent, Hillary Clinton, and former President Barack Obama of being ringleaders in an alleged spying conspiracy against his campaign, an allegation both have denied. Patel detailed the yearslong federal investigation into the alleged surveillance on the latest episode of "Hang Out with Sean Hannity."
"It took me two years of my life to prove the following: that a political party in the United States of America in the 21st century would go overseas and hire some bogus intelligence asset to manufacture fraudulent, fake, unverified information, funnel that to not just the intelligence community, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation," he said.
The warrants obtained by the FBI were later rescinded after a federal investigation. They are, though, part of a disturbing trend.
Patel's comments come as scrutiny intensifies over the federal government’s use of spying power and following Congress’ renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for 45 days.
Section 702 of FISA permits authorized U.S. officials to collect phone calls and text messages of foreign targets, but in doing so can also capture Americans’ communications – a piece of legislation Trump strongly opposes.
Patel told Fox News that FISA warrants – some signed by former FBI Director James Comey – were used to illegally spy on Trump and top officials, including himself, during the 2016 campaign and in years that followed.
Politics is a dirty business, but this is some stuff that would have given Machiavelli pause.
Read More: Dan Bongino Dishes on the 'Two FBIs,' Reveals the Genius Tactic He Used to Expose the Rats
Some will say the 2016 election is over. Despite the best efforts of Democrats and leftist partisans, Donald Trump won that election. They threw everything they had at him, and he still won. He won again in 2024, again after the left threw everything they had at him, and he sits in the White House today.
But corruption like this can't go unanswered. Some of the Swamp's members are being brought to account for various misdeeds already. We need to see more. People have to understand that there are consequences for these kinds of tactics, legal consequences, involving indictments, trials, and, if found guilty, prison terms. Unless that happens, the left will try this again - and again - and again.
So, let's see some more of those chickens coming home to roost, Director Patel. Bawk bawk.
Editor's Note: The Trump administration is exposing Barack Obama and his administration's Russian Collusion Hoax.
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