The former Department of Justice official chosen to oversee the FBI’s surveillance reforms is a Republican critic who defended the bureau’s spying of former Trump campaign aide, Carter Page.
Former assistant attorney general for national security David Kris was chosen by Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) Judge James E. Boasberg as amicus curiae to review of the FBI’s botched surveillance of Page.
The Daily Caller points out that Kris served at the DOJ in the Obama Administration from 2009 to 2011 and is a critic of Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) and other Republicans who dared to call out the FBI for its corrupt handling of its FISA applications for Page.
In a March 2018 article for left-wing blog, Lawfare, Kris claimed that the Nunes memo “tried to deceive the American people in precisely the same way that it falsely accused the FBI of deceiving the FISA Court.”
He wrote, “Had the FBI done in its FISA applications what Nunes did in his memo, heads would have rolled on Pennsylvania Avenue. It’s disturbing that Page met that legal standard and that there was probable cause to conclude he was a Russian agent.”
Kris continued, calling the Nunes memo “dishonest” and wrote, “if it is allowed to stand, we risk significant collateral damage to essential elements of our democracy.”
President Trump reacted to the appointment of Kris yesterday, writing on Twitter, “You can’t make this up! David Kris, a highly controversial former DOJ official, was just appointed by the FISA Court to oversee reforms to the FBI’s surveillance procedures. Zero credibility. THE SWAMP! @DevinNunes @MariaBartiromo @FoxNews.”
You can’t make this up! David Kris, a highly controversial former DOJ official, was just appointed by the FISA Court to oversee reforms to the FBI’s surveillance procedures. Zero credibility. THE SWAMP! @DevinNunes @MariaBartiromo @FoxNews
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2020
Nunes also reacted to the news of Kris, telling the Daily Caller that the FISC choice was “shocking and inexplicable.”
“It’s hard to imagine a worse person the FISC could have chosen outside Comey, McCabe, or Schiff,” said Nunes.
Page also spoke to the Daily Caller about Kris, saying his appointment “extinguished” any real hope for reforming the FISA warrant process.
“Nobody trying to fix the rampant abuse and coverup plaguing the entire FISA process would have picked Kris,” said Page.
“Instead, you appoint Kris for only one reason: you don’t want the system fixed. You just want it to look like you do.”
Dan slammed the appointment of Kris for the court’s FISA abuse evaluation, and pointed to a tweet from the former DOJ official where he said the IG report “repudiates” claims by President Trump and his supporters of the existence of a deep-state coup.
“THIS is the guy you choose to evaluate FISA abuse?” Dan wrote. “This must be a joke. Folks, the deep state is very real and they’ll do anything to keep on deep statin’. This is a joke. More on my show on Monday.”
In early December, 2019, DOJ Inspector General Horowitz’s report discovered 17 “significant errors” in the FBI’s FISA applications for spying on Page.
“We identified at least 17 significant errors or omissions in the Carter Page FISA applications, and many additional errors in the Woods Procedures,” states the report.
“These errors and omissions resulted from case agents providing wrong or incomplete information to OI and failing to flag important issues for discussion,” the report continues.
