A former top FBI official who was involved in the surveillance of former President Donald Trump’s campaign admitted that there were “mistakes” that were made in the warrant that was used to target his former aide.
During a segment on CNN, former FBI Acting Director Andrew McCabe was asked about a recent Truth Social post made by the former president in which he called on House Republicans to reject a measure to “kill FISA” because it was used illegally to spy on his campaign in 2016, referring to a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant that was issued to surveil former Trump aide Carter Page over alleged ties to the Russian government.
Mr. McCabe was involved in opening the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane probe into President Trump’s 2016 campaign and has publicly defended the bureau’s process, signing off on the Page warrant.
“He may be referring to the FISA that was obtained surveil Carter Page. We now know there were many mistakes in that FISA. Those are all regrettable,” Mr. McCabe said during the CNN program.
However, the former FBI official asserted that President Trump is “totally wrong” in calling for House Republicans to block reauthorization of the FISA provision in a bill that is being considered in Congress this week.
“It’s not surprising that Donald Trump is against surveillance capacity and authority for the FBI, because he is someone who’s been investigated by the FBI,” Mr. McCabe said. “But nevertheless, he is absolutely wrong on this count.”
Even though “mistakes” were made in the Page FISA warrant, Mr. McCabe added that Republicans are considering a “totally different thing,” saying the warrant wasn’t involved in FISA’s Section 702, which is being considered in the House.
On Friday, the House voted to reauthorize the FISA Section 702 program, which was slated to expire next week. It will now be considered by the Senate.
Section 702 allows federal government agencies to collect electronic communications of non-American citizens outside the United States without the use of a warrant. The measure has been criticized by civil liberties groups for allegedly allowing the U.S. government to collect data on Americans who have contact with individuals who aren’t American citizens living outside the country and who are being surveilled.
A previous version of the bill with a five-year term foundered in the House on Wednesday after Democratic and Republican critics said it gave the government too much power to spy on American citizens.
FBI Director Christopher Wray this week pressed lawmakers to renew Section 702, calling it an indispensable tool against U.S. adversaries. “It’s critical in securing our nation, and we are in crunch time,” Mr. Wray told lawmakers.
Mr. McCabe was fired in 2019 by the bureau after an internal Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation found he made “an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor—including under oath—on multiple occasions.” Before, he was named head of the FBI for a brief period after then-FBI Director James Comey was fired.
During a Congressional hearing in 2020, he was asked by lawmakers about signing off on the warrant to surveil Mr. Page. “If you knew then what you know now would you have signed the warrant application in June of 2017 against Carter Page?” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) asked him at the time. “No, sir,” responded the former FBI official.
“Who is responsible for ruining Mr. Carter Page’s life?” the senator asked, noting that the warrant was “completely devoid of the truth.” Mr. McCabe responded: “I think that we are all responsible for the work that went into that FISA.”
