It appears that yet another shoe has dropped in the ongoing scandal involving Donald Trump’s connections to Russia and whether his campaign worked with Moscow to influence the 2016 presidential election.
According to a new Washington Post story that broke Tuesday, the FBI obtained a secret FISA warrant to monitor communications between Trump adviser Carter Page and Russia in the midst of the campaign.
More from the report:
The FBI and the Justice Department obtained the warrant targeting Carter Page’s communications after convincing a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge that there was probable cause to believe Page was acting as an agent of a foreign power, in this case Russia, according to the officials.
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This is the clearest evidence so far that the FBI had reason to believe during the 2016 presidential campaign that a Trump campaign adviser was in touch with Russian agents. Such contacts are now at the center of an investigation into whether the campaign coordinated with the Russian government to swing the election in Trump’s favor.
As the Post also noted, Page has not been accused of any crimes and it’s not clear whether he or any other Trump officials will ultimately face charges, but it’s evident that there was probable cause for the FBI to monitor this Trump associate for his contact with Russian agents.
It also means that it’s quite possible – probable even – that other members of the Trump team were under legal surveillance during the campaign for their ties to Moscow, and whether Russia and the Trump campaign colluded.
No matter how many times this administration tries to distract from this scandal, or how many bombs they drop on the Middle East, it’s clearly not going away anytime soon.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
