WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee Chairman Lindsey Graham requested all proposed and final applications for surveillance warrants that the FBI reportedly sought from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections. This includes any applications submitted in the FBI’s investigation into alleged collusion between Russia and Trump campaign associates.
According to news reports, the Justice Department sought authority from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court last summer to monitor four members of the Trump presidential campaign, but the Court reportedly rejected these attempts and told the FBI to narrow its focus. Other news reports claim that the FBI sought and was eventually granted such surveillance authority for one former Trump campaign associate based on applications that relied on allegations in the unverified political opposition dossier. The FBI reportedly agreed to pay the dossier’s creator, retired British spy Christopher Steele to continue conducting research.
Full text of the Grassley-Graham letter requesting documents related the reported surveillance applications
