In a rare public order issued Tuesday, the chief judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court openly rebuked the FBI for abuses committed in its process of securing warrants to surveil Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, giving the bureau until January 10 to explain what steps it was taking to prevent such lapses in the future.
The surprise order comes one week after the release of Inspector General Michael Horowitz's report, which detailed 17 "significant errors and omissions" in the warrant application to wiretap Page, and two days after former FBI Director James Comey admitted that his team made errors in the FISA process, which he attributed to "real sloppiness."
Some highlights from the FISA court order:
- "The frequency with which representations made by FBI personnel turned out to be unsupported or contradicted by information in their possession, and with which they withheld information detrimental to their case, calls into question whether information contained in other FBI applications is reliable."
- "The [FISA court] expects the government to provide complete and accurate information in every filing with the court. Without it, the [FISA court] cannot properly ensure that the government conducts electronic surveillance for foreign intelligence purposes only when there is a sufficient factual basis."
- "The FBI's handling of the Carter Page applications, as portrayed in the [Office of Inspector General] report, was antithetical to the heightened duty of candor described above."
- "Therefore, the Court orders that the government shall, no later than January 10, 2020, inform the Court in a sworn written submission of what it has done, and plans to do, to ensure that the statement of facts in each FBI application accurately and completely reflects information possessed by the FBI that is material to any issue presented by the application."
The entire order can be read here.
The FBI responded in a statement, saying:
"The Inspector General's report describes conduct by certain FBI employees that is unacceptable and unrepresentative of the FBI as an institution. The Director has ordered more than 40 corrective steps to address the Report's recommendations, including some improvements beyond those recommended by the IG. FISA is an indispensable tool in national security investigations, and in recognition of our duty of candor to the Court and our responsibilities to the American people, the FBI is committed to working with the FISA Court and Justice Department to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the FISA process."
