GOP memo puts spotlight back on Trump campaign controversy
Close video  Trump  faith misplaced in memo reportedly focused on Carter Page Rachel Maddow notes reporting that the subject of the Nunes memo is Carter Page  who has a long history with U.S. intelligence and Russia and unfortunately for  Trump  is not a sympathetic figure for abuse of surveillance. share tweet email save Embed
Though the public hasnât yet seen the Nunes memo  by all accounts  much of its focus is on federal surveillance of Carter Page  one of only a handful of people  Donald Trump  identified as a foreign policy adviser to  his  2016 presidential campaign. This Carter Page.
 Carter Page  who served as a foreign-policy adviser to Donald Trumpâs campaign   was known to U.S. counterintelligence officials for years before  he  became a prominent figure in a dossier of unverified research about the future presidentâs ties to Russia. The White House is expected to release as early as this week a memo detailing what Republicans allege were surveillance abuses during the 2016 campaign. Republicans say the memo  written by the GOP staff on the House Intelligence Committee  shows that prosecutors used information gleaned from an ex-British spy â who was paid by a research firm hired by Democratic opponents of Mr. Trump â in their application for a secret court order to monitor  Mr. Page .
This may sound a little complicated  but itâs fairly straightforward: U.S. intelligence officials were keeping an eye on  Page ; House Republicans have a memo that suggests  Page  shouldnât have faced scrutiny. Much of their argument is based on pushback against Christopher Steeleâs Fusion GPS dossier  which Republicans reject  despite the fact that none of its central claims have been discredited.
But even putting GOP hostility toward the dossier aside  itâs not altogether relevant â because the  Page  controversy predates the dossier by several years. In fact  as Rachel explained on the show last night   Page  was targeted by a Russian spy ring several years ago  drawing FBI scrutiny.
Six months after the spy ring was broken up  Page joined the  Trump  campaign as a foreign policy adviser. A few months later  Page  newly identified by  Trump  as someone who had the Republican candidateâs ear on matters related to international affairs  traveled to Russia  met with prominent officials  and denounced U.S. sanctions against the Putin government.
It was the sort of thing that was likely to capture the interest of U.S. counter-intelligence officials â and it did. Indeed  U.S. officials obtained a warrant to monitor  Page   arguing that there was probable cause to believe he was acting as an agent of a foreign power. It was around this time that U.S. intelligence agencies briefed top members of Congress about their concerns regarding  Page  during the presidential campaign.
Then  Trump  won the election  at which point   Page  went back to Moscow for another visit  during which time he again met with leading Russian officials.
And  it âs against this backdrop that leading congressional Republicans â including Devin Nunes and Paul Ryan â are effectively asking the public  âCan you believe  Carter Page  was under surveillance?â
To which the sensible answer should be  âYes. Thatâs very easy to believe. He was a suspected agent of a foreign adversary. In fact  the surveillance began before  Donald Trump  became a candidate.â
And yet  the Republican Party and its allies are heavily invested in the idea that surveillance of  Page  is not only controversial  but evidence of systemic wrongdoing in federal law enforcement. Itâs reportedly the key point in the GOP memo thatâs likely to be released today.
Perhaps Republicans havenât fully thought this through. For one thing  judge-approved surveillance of suspected agents of foreign powers isnât terribly controversial. But even putting that aside  what the Nunes memo is actually doing is reminding everyone â the public  the press  lawmakers  international observers of every stripe â that  Donald Trump âs presidential campaign brought on a suspected Russian agent as a foreign policy adviser for reasons no one in Trump World has explained.
None of this makes the Justice Department of the FBI look worse. It does  however  make  Donald Trumpâs  political operation look worse.
Close video  Trump  faith misplaced in memo reportedly focused on Carter Page Rachel Maddow notes reporting that the subject of the Nunes memo is Carter Page  who has a long history with U.S. intelligence and Russia and unfortunately for  Trump  is not a sympathetic figure for abuse of surveillance. share tweet email save Embed
Though the public hasnât yet seen the Nunes memo  by all accounts  much of its focus is on federal surveillance of Carter Page  one of only a handful of people   [TGT]   identified as a foreign policy adviser to  his  2016 presidential campaign. This Carter Page.
 Carter Page  who served as a foreign-policy adviser to  [TGT] âs campaign   was known to U.S. counterintelligence officials for years before  he  became a prominent figure in a dossier of unverified research about the future presidentâs ties to Russia. The White House is expected to release as early as this week a memo detailing what Republicans allege were surveillance abuses during the 2016 campaign. Republicans say the memo  written by the GOP staff on the House Intelligence Committee  shows that prosecutors used information gleaned from an ex-British spy â who was paid by a research firm hired by Democratic opponents of Mr. Trump â in their application for a secret court order to monitor  Mr. Page .
This may sound a little complicated  but itâs fairly straightforward: U.S. intelligence officials were keeping an eye on  Page ; House Republicans have a memo that suggests  Page  shouldnât have faced scrutiny. Much of their argument is based on pushback against Christopher Steeleâs Fusion GPS dossier  which Republicans reject  despite the fact that none of its central claims have been discredited.
But even putting GOP hostility toward the dossier aside  itâs not altogether relevant â because the  Page  controversy predates the dossier by several years. In fact  as Rachel explained on the show last night   Page  was targeted by a Russian spy ring several years ago  drawing FBI scrutiny.
Six months after the spy ring was broken up  Page joined the  Trump  campaign as a foreign policy adviser. A few months later  Page  newly identified by  Trump  as someone who had the Republican candidateâs ear on matters related to international affairs  traveled to Russia  met with prominent officials  and denounced U.S. sanctions against the Putin government.
It was the sort of thing that was likely to capture the interest of U.S. counter-intelligence officials â and it did. Indeed  U.S. officials obtained a warrant to monitor  Page   arguing that there was probable cause to believe he was acting as an agent of a foreign power. It was around this time that U.S. intelligence agencies briefed top members of Congress about their concerns regarding  Page  during the presidential campaign.
Then  Trump  won the election  at which point   Page  went back to Moscow for another visit  during which time he again met with leading Russian officials.
And  it âs against this backdrop that leading congressional Republicans â including Devin Nunes and Paul Ryan â are effectively asking the public  âCan you believe  Carter Page  was under surveillance?â
To which the sensible answer should be  âYes. Thatâs very easy to believe. He was a suspected agent of a foreign adversary. In fact  the surveillance began before   [TGT]   became a candidate.â
And yet  the Republican Party and its allies are heavily invested in the idea that surveillance of  Page  is not only controversial  but evidence of systemic wrongdoing in federal law enforcement. Itâs reportedly the key point in the GOP memo thatâs likely to be released today.
Perhaps Republicans havenât fully thought this through. For one thing  judge-approved surveillance of suspected agents of foreign powers isnât terribly controversial. But even putting that aside  what the Nunes memo is actually doing is reminding everyone â the public  the press  lawmakers  international observers of every stripe â that   [TGT]  âs presidential campaign brought on a suspected Russian agent as a foreign policy adviser for reasons no one in Trump World has explained.
None of this makes the Justice Department of the FBI look worse. It does  however  make   [TGT] âs  political operation look worse.