🚨Flynn update - Interview 302 from FBI Agent William Barnett
"BARNETT believed the prosecution of FLYNN by SCO (Team Mueller) was used as a means to 'get Trump'"
Thread.
Agent Barnett was assigned to Crossfire Razor (the Flynn counter-intel investigation).
Barnett was later assigned to the Special Counsel team.
Barnett: the predication for the Flynn investigation was "not great"
Crossfire Hurricane source (likely Halper) accused Flynn of leaving a 2014 event with an undisclosed person.
Perhaps @RealSLokhova
FBI assessed this information to be not accurate
The Flynn (Razor) investigation lingered - leadership didn't ask Barnett to do much on it.
FBI agent Barnett didn't see the point of the Flynn investigation.
Another agent thought it was "an exercise in futility"
As the Flynn investigation wound down, Agent Barnett suggested interviewing Flynn and closing the case.
The request for the interview was denied.
"there was nothing left to do in the case"
Late December 2016 - Strzok orders the Flynn case closed
1/4/2017 - Strzok tells Barnett to keep the Flynn case open
The Flynn case wasn't kept open for the broader Russia investigation - it was due to a Logan Act violation that Barnett thought was questionable.
Agent Barnett: the Flynn case "was 'top down,' meaning direction concerning the investigation was coming from senior officials.
The intensity of the FBI leadership Flynn investigation was spurred by the leak of the Flynn/Kislyak call.
FBI Agent Barnett had been on the Flynn case since the beginning.
He was not notified of the FBI's 1/24/17 interview of Flynn.
Barnett believes he was "cut out" of the interview.
How abusive was the Flynn investigation?
It was so bad that Agent Barnett told his boss he wanted off the cases.
Why?
"Barnett believed the [Flynn] investigation was problematic and could result in an IG investigation"
Wow -
Kevin Clinesmith (charged for falsifying docs) was involved in the Flynn National Security Letters (NSL).
This curious quote:
"Barnett thought at the time the NSLs were legally justified" 🤔
Barnett briefed Special Counsel Rhee on the Flynn case.
He told Rhee there was "no evidence of a crime."
Barnett believed Rhee "had an agenda" and told her they wouldn't be working together.
A dig at Andrew Weissmann:
Weissmann was convinced there was "proof of collusion, quid pro quo" from a meeting on a yacht near Greece.
Within a day or two the information was not substantiated.
This was a DOJ submission to the Court.
You can read the full FBI Agent William Barnett interview 302 here:
scribd.com/document/47742…
Also, great work Flynn attorneys - follow @jbinnall and @SidneyPowell1 and @molmccann
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