Leviathan
My sense is the spying was dual purpose.
The 5Eyes partners were able to leverage the 2 hop rule of FISA to support their industrial espionage operations.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE: Parallels between Barr and Comey
Read the below and tell me it doesn't perfectly parallel with Comey exonerating Hillary.
What I don’t understand is why Barr decided to take it upon himself to make a decision hastily based on “discussions with certain [DOJ] officials” when Mueller, after spending almost two years interviewing countless witnesses and reviewing many thousands of documents, had amassed evidence on both sides.
It’s Not Too Late for an Independent Commission to Investigate Election Meddling
By PHILIP SHENON
Barr’s speedy decision that Trump did not obstruct justice perhaps is not surprising. Barr wrote a 19-page single-spaced memorandum to the Deputy Attorney General and Trump’s attorneys explaining why Trump did not obstruct justice long before he become Attorney General.
As a practicing lawyer, it would take me dozens of hours to create a 19-page single-spaced memorandum containing nuanced legal analysis on any subject. I would not do so for free unless I felt very strongly about the issue. Although Barr claims otherwise in his letter, it is hard to escape the conclusion that he prejudged the matter and let his strong feelings about the subject influence his judgment.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/03/24/mueller-report-barr-226113
Good primer on Leviathan if you haven't seen it.
Maybe this helps.
What I don’t understand is why [Comey] decided to take it upon himself to make a decision hastily based on [no reasonable prosecutor would indict]” when [the FBI], after spending almost two years interviewing countless witnesses and reviewing many thousands of documents, had amassed [so much evidence of her having confidential emails on the server].
[Comey]’s speedy decision that [Hillary] did not [commit a crime] perhaps is not surprising. [Comey] wrote a [long exoneration letter] long before [the FBI interviewed Hillary].
As a practicing lawyer, it would take me dozens of hours to create a 19-page single-spaced memorandum containing nuanced legal analysis on any subject. I would not do so for free unless I felt very strongly about the issue. Although [Comey] claims otherwise in his [letter], it is hard to escape the conclusion that he prejudged the matter and let his strong feelings about the subject influence his judgment.