Meanwhile, the OI unit chief said Steele’s reports were “what kind of pushed it over the line.” There’s no FISA warrant without Steele. But after getting the reports, the OGC unit chief said, “receipt of the Steele reporting changed her mind on whether they could establish probable cause.” The report describes how, prior to receiving Steele’s reports, the FBI General Counsel (OGC) and/or the National Security Division’s Office of Intelligence (OI) wouldn’t budge on seeking FISA authority. We determined that the Crossfire Hurrican e team’s r ece ipt of Steele’s election reporting on Septemplayed a centra l and essent i al role in the FBI’ s and Department’s decision to seek the FISA order. Press figures have derided the idea that Steele was crucial to the FISA application, with some insisting it was only a “ small part” of the application. The so-called “Steele dossier” was, actually, crucial to the FBI’s decision to seek secret surveillance of Page. There are too many to list in one column, but the Horowitz report show years of breathless headlines were wrong. Not only did obtaining a FISA warrant allow authorities a window into other Trump figures with whom Page communicated, they led to a slew of leaked “ bombshell” news stories that advanced many public misconceptions, including that a court had ruled there was “probable cause” that a Trump figure was an “ agent of a foreign power.” Likewise, the use of reports by ex-spy/campaign researcher Christopher Steele in pursuit of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) authority had far-reaching ramifications.
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