A top FBI special agent admitted to House committees last week that bureau officials were known to leak information to the press and then use the resulting articles to help obtain surveillance warrants.
Special Agent Jonathan Moffa, who worked with controversial former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, testified last Friday behind closed doors before the House Judiciary Committee and House Oversight Committee.
A source with knowledge of his testimony confirmed to Fox News that Moffa said FBI personnel would use media reports based on information they leaked to justify applications for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrants.
The source told Fox News that Moffa acknowledged this âhad been a practice in the past.â
Republicans have long questioned to what extent leaked information, related to the unverified anti-Trump dossier, was used as a basis for surveillance warrants against former Trump adviser Carter Page in 2016 -- when the bureau was led by James Comey and deputy Andrew McCabe.
The source told Fox News that Moffa did not specifically confirm the practice of using leaked information to bolster warrant applications was employed with regard to the dossier.
But, when pressed by the committees on whether this was common practice at the FBI, Moffa acknowledged the FBI had at least engaged in this activity in other cases.
The FBI did not immediately respond to Fox Newsâ request for comment.
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, R-N.C., told Fox News on Tuesday that the committee had evidence of the FBIâs practice that would be âhard to refute.â
âWe know that some people at the Department of Justice and the FBI actually gave information to the media, then the stories were reported. Then they used those reports to justify further investigations,â Meadows said on âAmericaâs Newsroomâ Tuesday. âYou know, thatâs like saying, weâre going to incriminate on one hand, and be the jury on the other. It just doesnât work that way.â
Meadows had tweeted late Monday night in reference to the Moffa statements, without naming him: "We've learned NEW information suggesting our suspicions are true: FBI/DOJ have previously leaked info to the press, and then used those same press stories as a separate source to justify FISA's."
We've learned NEW information suggesting our suspicions are true: FBI/DOJ have previously leaked info to the press, and then used those same press stories as a separate source to justify FISA's
Unreal. Tomorrow's Bruce Ohr interview is even more critical. Did he ever do this?
â Mark Meadows (@RepMarkMeadows)
August 28, 2018
on the specifics of Moffa's claims.
The Trump dossier, which contained salacious allegations about the then-presidential candidate, was compiled by ex-British spy Christopher Steele. Steele, who was also working as an FBI source, had been hired by research firm Fusion GPS to compile details for the dossier, which was funded by the Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee.
The source familiar with Moffa's testimony told Fox News that his statements raise concerns that the bureau indeed used this practice with the dossier, referencing an article written by Yahoo! Newsâ Michael Isikoff.
The Isikoff article was published on Sept. 23, 2016, focusing on Pageâs July 2016 trip to Moscow. According to a
House GOP memoearlier this year, the Isikoff article did ânot corroborate the Steele dossierâ as the article was âderived from information leaked by Steele himself to Yahoo News.â Yet the subsequent FISA application to spy on Page cited the Isikoff article, among other pieces of evidence.
âThe [Carter] Page FISA application incorrectly assesses that Steele did not properly provide information to Yahoo News,â the memo read. âSteele has admitted in British court filings that he met with Yahoo Newsâand several other outletsâin September 2016 at the direction of Fusion GPS.â
Moffa served on the FBIâs âMid-Year Exam,â the code name for the bureauâs investigation into Hillary Clintonâs handling of classified information and use of a private email server while secretary of state.
Moffaâs name often appeared in text message conversations between former FBI officials Strzok and Page, who came under scrutiny for their anti-Trump and politically charged exchanges. One text message exchange between the two on July 24, 2016 discussed their need to read âMoffaâs thing,â referencing an FBI â302ââwhich is an interview or witness deposition in an FBI investigation.
DOCUMENTS SUGGEST POSSIBLE COORDINATION BETWEEN CIA, FBI, OBAMA WH AND DEM OFFICIALS EARLY IN TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE: INVESTIGATORS
Another reference was on Aug. 8, 2016.
âHey no update yet, waiting on Moffa, heâs in with Dina at mtg scheduled to end at 11,â Strzok texted Page. An hour later, he added: âHey, talked to him, will let him fill you in. Internal joint cyber cd Intel piece for D, scenesetter for McDonough brief, Trainor [head of FBI cyber division] directed all cyber info be pulled. Iâd let Bill and Jim hammer it out first, though it would be best for D to have it before the Wed WH session.â
In the texts, âDâ referred to former FBI Director James Comey, and âMcDonoughâ referred to former chief of staff for former President Barack Obama, Denis McDonough, according to GOP investigators.
Page left the bureau in May, and Strzok was fired earlier this month.
On Tuesday, House lawmakers have the chance to question Justice Department senior official Bruce Ohr on the same FBI practice, as Ohr testifies behind closed doors.
Ohr had frequent contact with Steele before and after the publication of the dossier, and the FBIâs ultimate decision to cut ties with the ex-British spy. Ohrâs wife, Nellie Ohr, worked for Fusion GPS at the time of the creation of the dossier.
