Thread by @EpochOpinion

Opinion💭by @SharylAttkisson

A new order by the #FISA Court sets forth and reviews specific changes in the wake of gov't #Wiretapping abuses. (Thread👇) theepochtimes.com/foreign-intell…

The most noteworthy item bars the @FBI and @TheJusticeDept officials who were involved in the controversial #Wiretaps from “drafting, verifying, reviewing, or submitting” new #FISA applications while their actions are under review.

The @JusticeOIG flagged #FISAabuse in the wiretapping of @CarterWPage. The #FISA Court and #DOJ have determined that at least 2 of the 4 wiretaps against Page were improper and are invalid.

Other actions recommended by the #FISA Court this week include training @FBI and #DOJ officials on what they should already know: That they’re required to be honest, and shouldn’t doctor documents or lie to the court explicitly or by omission.

A new #FISA Court filing on March 4 describes “myriad errors and omissions” by the gov't in the @CarterWPage applications.

The court says @FBI and #DOJ fixes discussed to date would probably “reduce inadvertent errors and omissions, and they should remind agents and other…

…responsible FBI personnel of their obligation to provide accurate and complete information.”

But one congressional critic of the reform process so far says, “The recommendations and changes do not address the obvious. The violations were not accidental.”

Below is a summary of the information contained in the new #FISA Court filing.

All of the information is according to the court.

— The court asked whether an @FBI attorney who allegedly doctored a document against @CarterWPage has been referred for disciplinary action.

“[The FBI’s] omissions of material fact were the most prevalent and among the most serious problems with the Page applications.”

— The @FBI didn’t disclose @CarterWPage’s prior relationship with US intelligence. He had been approved as an “operational contact” from 2008 to 2013.

— The @FBI didn’t disclose that @CarterWPage had reported to intelligence agency his prior contacts with certain #Russian intelligence officers. These contacts were improperly used by #FBI to justify wiretaps.

— The @FBI Office of General Counsel attorney doctored a government email to falsely indicate that @CarterWPage hadn’t been a government intelligence source.

— The #DOJ attorney responsible for preparing the @CarterWPage applications knew that Page claimed to have been a government intel source, but didn’t check out the claim or report it.

— The same attorney received documents “that contained materially adverse information,” and that information should have been included in the wiretap applications, but wasn’t.

— All 4 @FBI wiretap applications against @CarterWPage relied on information compiled by #ChristopherSteele. He worked for #FusionGPS, a firm hired by the @DNC who supported @HillaryClinton for president.

The #SteeleDossier presented to the #FISA court made the following claims:

— The @FBI didn’t disclose inconsistencies in #Steele’s reporting and sourcing.

— The #FBI didn’t disclose that Steele himself had undercut the reliability of one of his own main sources.

— The @FBI omitted and mischaracterized information about #Steele’s personal credibility and professional judgment.

— The #FBI omitted information that confirmed the political origins of Steele’s reporting and Steele’s own personal bias.

— The @FBI claimed “Page was participating in a conspiracy with Russia by acting as an intermediary for Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort,” but omitted statements that @CarterWPage made to a confidential government source that contradicted the #FBI’s theory of the case.

— The @FBI omitted other information that showed two other Trump campaign officials, and not @CarterWPage, were responsible for changing the Republican platform regarding #Russia’s annexation of part of #Ukraine.

The #FBI had claimed Page made the change at the behest of Russia.

The @FBI told the #FISA court it will now require that “all information known at the time of the request and bearing on the reliability of a [Confidential Human Source] whose information is used to support the FISA application” be included in the wiretap application.

Also, @FBI said the information now will be verified by the “handler” for the source.

However, the #FISA court noted that a revised request form it reviewed doesn’t include these requirements.

The #InspectorGeneral recommended improvements to the “Woods Form,” which was supposed to be used to ensure the @FBI has verified all information in the #FISA wiretap applications.

The improvements will:

Modified “Woods Forms” will require @FBI agents and their supervisors to verify that they have told #DOJ about anything that might question the accuracy of a #FISA application or the theory of the case.

They must also re-verify information before renewing a wiretap application.

The court stated that these measures would probably “reduce inadvertent errors and omissions, and they should remind agents and other responsible FBI personnel of their obligation to provide accurate and complete information.”

The government has agreed to have @FBI case agents, rather than supervisory headquarters agents, affirm the truth of the information in the #FISA wiretap application.

The #FBI and #DOJ told the court they have already conducted training on the new procedures.

This training, in part, emphasizes “the heightened duty of candor” to the #FISA wiretap court.

The #DOJ and #FBI will now coordinate on all training for wiretap applications and procedures.

The #InspectorGeneral recommended @FBI and #DOJ review all employees, including senior officials, regarding the improper wiretaps.

While those reviews are ongoing, the court has barred these officials from “drafting, verifying, reviewing, or submitting” wiretap application.

According to the #FISA court, “Any finding of misconduct relating to the handling of [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court] applications shall be promptly reported to the Court.”

The #FISA court asked for updates on all of this by March 27, a summary of new training courses by May 4, a description of any reviews that bear on the described fixes by May 22, and an assessment of how well the new #FISA wiretap forms are working by June 30.

Read the #FISA court decision by here. fisc.uscourts.gov/sites/default/…

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