"On March 17, 2017, Brian Dugan picked-up a copy of the Carter Page FISA application from the FISA Court. He personally delivered that “read and return” copy to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Security Director James Wolfe. Shortly after 4:02 pm that same day, Vice-Chairman Mark Warner reviewed the FISA in the senate “scif”.
It is not known if any other SSCI committee member viewed that FISA (there is a great deal of circumstantial evidence to indicate only Wolfe and Warner saw it); however, what is factually certain – is that on the same day as Wolfe and Warner reviewed the FISA, Security Director James Wolfe leaked it to journalist Ali Watkins.
Both the New York Times and Washington Post began reporting on the FISA application.
As soon as Ms. Watkins wrote an article for Buzzfeed, April 3, 2017, outlining Carter Page as “person one” in the application, Dugan knew the FISA had been leaked.
Dugan tells us in the Wolfe indictment how the leak took place. The original FISA application is 83 pages with two mostly blank pages. Wolfe sent Ali Watkins 82 text messages (pictures), and later that evening had a lengthy phone call about it. Dugan put Wolfe under physical surveillance for several months as he gathered more information.
Dugan obtained enough evidence surrounding Watkins participation to gain a search warrant for her email, electronic communication and phone records. At the same time it appears Dugan obtained the text messages between Chris Steele’s lawyer, Adam Waldman, and Vice-Chairman Mark Warner. The dates of both captures are very similar.
After more investigative paths were followed; and after more surveillance was conducted; eventually Wolfe was confronted. He lied three times over two dates until eventually Dugan put the direct evidence in front of him, and on December 15, 2017, Wolfe admitted to the leak. He was fired from the SSCI.
Sometime around mid-January 2018 Dugan wrapped up his investigation. However, because the special counsel held investigative authority over everything Trump-Russia, which included the FISA application, Dugan’s entire investigative file had to transfer over to the special counsel for review before going to the DC U.S. Attorney for a grand jury. That moment is when things get really troublesome.
Dugan’s delivery of the investigative file to Main Justice (mid January ’18) was the first time the special counsel knew of the totality of the investigation, and the issues with a trail of evidence going back to a serious SSCI compromise. The special counsel group took the Dugan file apart and began providing cover for their political allies. That’s why the Mark Warner text messages were released on February 9, 2018.
The Wolfe leak was toxic to the purpose of the special counsel. There were also serious issues with an intelligence compromise, a national security compromise, an SSCI compromise, a gang-of-eight compromise, and a compromise between the legislative and executive branches of government. The special counsel was in damage control mode.
Despite recommendations and normal procedures, “Top FBI leadership”, including FBI Director Chris Wray, made decisions not to do a national security damage assessment based on the identified intelligence compromises. The ramifications are rather stark. Everyone was in cover-up mode.
The transfer of the investigative file into Main Justice is how the special counsel gained custody of the exact March 17, 2017, version of the FISA application which they released on July 21, 2018. Additionally, only nine days earlier, July 12, 2018, the special counsel was telling the FISA court the Carter Page FISA application was adequately predicated.
When the Brian Dugan investigative file was returned, the evidence of the Wolfe leak was scrubbed. Wolfe was only charged with lying three times to investigators. Absent the indictment for the leak Wolfe’s lawyers knew they had leverage; they threatened to subpoena the SSCI senators (remember, it’s likely only Warner was a participant in the March 17th FISA review – so the real target of that threat was Senator Mark Warner).
After the threat DC U.S. Attorney’ Office, Jessie Liu, agreed to a plea deal. They dropped the three counts of lying to federal investigators down to one count while simultaneously the media ran from the story.
On December 14, 2018, WFO Special Agent Brian Dugan filed an attachment, Government Exhibit 13, to the final sentencing recommendation – and in that two page sworn statement, under penalty of perjury, SSA Brian Dugan attested to Wolfe leaking the FISA application for the final time.
Everyone ignored it.
The cover-up was complete."
Sauce,
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/08/22/my-discussion-with-john-durhams-lead-investigator-william-aldenberg/