According to Fox News, former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith will be pleading guilty for lying in U.S. Attorney John Durham’s probe of the origins of the Trump-Russian collusion investigation.
“Clinesmith was referred for potential prosecution by the Justice Department’s inspector general’s office, which conducted its own review of the Russia investigation,” Fox News reports. “Specifically, the inspector general accused Clinesmith, though not by name, of altering an email about former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page to say that he was “not a source” for another government agency. Page has said he was a source for the CIA. The DOJ relied on that assertion as it submitted a third and final renewal application in 2017 to eavesdrop on Page under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.”
The news comes after Attorney General Bill Barr teased a development in the case on Fox News on Thursday evening.
There will be “a development” Friday in Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham’s investigation into the origins of the Russia investigation, Attorney General William Barr told Fox News’ Sean Hannity in an exclusive interview Thursday.
Barr said that the development would not be “earth-shattering,” but would be “an indication that things are moving along at the proper pace as dictated by the facts in this investigation.”
“There are two different things going on, Sean,” Barr said. “I said the American people need to know what actually happened, we need to get the story of what happened in 2016 and ’17 out. That will be done.
“The second aspect of this is, if people crossed the line, if people involved in that activity violated criminal law, they will be charged. And John Durham is an independent man, highly experienced, and his investigation is pursuing apace. There was some delay because of COVID, but I’m satisfied with the progress and I’ve said there are going to be developments, significant developments, before the election.
“But we’re not doing this on the election schedule,” Barr added. “We’re aware of the election. We’re not going to do anything inappropriate before the election. But we’re not being dictated to by this schedule.
partial transcript via Real Clear Politics:
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS: All right, as we continue our exclusive interview with the attorney general of the United States, Attorney General Barr.
Mr. Attorney General, the president commented. You were very clear.
By the way, you — let me first say, you had the patience of Jobe on steroids and human growth hormone when you went before that clown show in Congress. God bless you for it, because I don’t think I have the patience you do. And it was really pretty despicable to me.
The president weighed in on Durham. You were very clear in your testimony. The president doesn’t tell you what to do. You’re independent.
The president said today that he hopes that the Durham report and that you, as attorney general, won’t be politically correct.
I hope that too. Mr. Attorney General, I have spent three years unpeeling the layers of an onion, in terms of premeditated fraud on a FISA court. You have deleted subpoenaed e-mails. You have knowledge we know that they were warned in August of 2016 not to trust that dossier, which was the bulk of information for the FISA warrants.
The sub source in January 2017 confirms, none of that was true, and it was bar talk.
I guess, just as the wheels of justice turn slowly, I feel impatience over it. Can you give us any update?
ATTORNEY GENERAL BILL BARR: Yes, Sean.
Well, first, as to the political correctness, if I was worried about being politically correct, I wouldn’t have joined this administration. As I made clear…
HANNITY: That’s actually a good line, too. OK.
BARR: Yes.
Well, as I made clear, I’m going to call them as I see them. And that’s why I came in. I thought I’m in a — I think I’m in a position to do that.
There are two different things going on, Sean. One, I have said that the American people need to know what actually happened. We need to get the story of what happened in 2016 and ’17 now out. That will be done.
The second aspect of this is, if people cross the line, if people involved in that activity violated the criminal law, they will be charged.
And John Durham is an independent man, highly experienced. And his investigation is pursuing apace. There was some delay because of COVID. But I’m satisfied with the progress.
And I have said there are going to be developments, significant developments, before the election. But we’re not doing this on the election schedule. We’re aware of the election. We’re not going to do anything inappropriate before the election.
But we’re not being dictated to by this schedule. What’s dictating the timing of this are developments in the case. And there will be developments. Tomorrow, there will be a development in the case.
You know, 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.
HANNITY: Mr. Attorney General, you once said this isn’t about a report. This is a criminal investigation. You were very clear that they spied. The president of the United States was spied on deep into his presidency, you said.
Now, based on what we know — and Andrew McCabe said it, and Sally Yates said it, and Rod Rosenstein and Sally Yates would not sign those warrants today. We know that they — the FBI knew, beyond any doubt, that not only was that dossier — without the dossier, Yates and McCabe both say, there is no FISA warrant, that they knew it was false.
They were told it was false. The law even requires them, as soon as they know that it was false, to go back to the FISA court.
Based on what we know on the record, I just see premeditated fraud against the court. And I wouldn’t even lie before Judge Judy, Mr. Attorney General, because I think they would throw away the key in my case.
BARR: Well, when we feel we can prove a crime beyond a reasonable doubt, it will be charged. I can tell you that.
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