What happened to Kevin Clinesmith?

Former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith will plead guilty to falsifying a document used to obtain a FISA warrant on former Trump-campaign adviser Carter Page. Clinesmith was charged in Washington, D.C.,…

Who is the judge who ordered the Clinesmith case?

Clinesmith pleaded guilty before federal Judge James Boasberg, who sits on the bench in the District of Columbia, and also serves as a presiding judge on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), the court that received the inaccurate FISA application involving Clinesmith.

Why did Clinesmith change an email from the CIA?

Clinesmith is set to admit that he altered an email from the CIA in order to renew the FISA warrant against Page in 2017. That email stated that Page had worked as a source for the CIA, but Clinesmith changed the reference to state that Page was not a source.

Did Clinesmith mislead FBI agents?

Clinesmith had asked to be spared from a prison sentence, acknowledging he had committed a crime but did not mean to mislead FBI agents. His attorneys argued that when he informed the FBI agent and others that Page was not a source for the CIA, he “genuinely believed he was conveying accurate information,” according to court papers.

What is the case against John Clinesmith?

The case against Clinesmith was the first to be brought by federal prosecutor John Durham, who was appointed by former Attorney General William Barr to review the origins of the FBI’s Russia investigation. Barr later named Durham special counsel, a move that ensures the politically charged probe will continue during the Biden administration.

Is Clinesmith’s admission not an earth-shattering development in the Russia investigation?

“It’s not an earth-shattering development, but it is an indication that things are moving along at the proper pace, as dictated by the facts in this investigation,” Barr said. Clinesmith is set to admit that he altered an email from the CIA in order to renew the FISA warrant against Page in 2017.

Why was page monitored by the FBI in 2016?

Page was monitored as part of the FBI’s investigation into alleged collaboration between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russian operatives. The FBI agents who opened the investigation, including Joe Pientka, gave Trump his first intelligence briefing as presumptive Republican nominee.