Memo Controversy: Andrew C. McCarthy Is Asking The Right Questions

From Release the Memo: Let’s See What’s in It

Andrew C. McCarthy writes:

… First, the main questions that we need answered are:

• Were associates of President Trump, members of his campaign, or even Trump himself, subjected to foreign-intelligence surveillance (i.e., do the FISA applications name them as either targets or persons whose communications and activities would likely be monitored)?
• Was information from the Steele dossier used in FISA applications?
• If Steele-dossier information was so used, was it so central that FISA warrants would not have been granted without it?
• If Steele-dossier information was so used, was it corroborated by independent FBI investigation?
• If the dossier’s information was so used, was the source accurately conveyed to the court so that credibility and potential bias could be weighed (i.e., was the court told that the information came from an opposition-research project sponsored by the Clinton presidential campaign)?
• The FBI has said that significant efforts were made to corroborate Steele’s sensational claims, yet former director James Comey has acknowledged (in June 2017 Senate testimony) that the dossier was “unverified.” If the dossier was used in FISA applications in 2016, has the Justice Department — consistent with its continuing duty of candor in dealings with the tribunal — alerted the court that it did not succeed in verifying Steele’s hearsay reporting based on anonymous sources?

These are not questions that call for nuanced explanation. These things either happened or didn’t … (read more)

Source: National Review