Former Deputy National Security Adviser for President Trump KT McFarland talks about the appeals court reconsidering former National Security Adviser Gen. Michael Flynn case dismissal and recalls what she went through personally.
Former Trump Deputy National Security Adviser KT McFarland says not only was the FBI spying on President Trump, but they also took notes of the spying efforts.
Transcript
Elizabeth MacDonald: President Trump told Fox News Sean Hannity that yes he is considering pardoning individuals implicated in the Trump Russia probe. That could have potentially include General Michael Flynn, if a lower court judge continues without case of Michael Flynn losses. As we have more on this story, we brought you last night, a newly declassified FBI memo, written by an FBI agent in August 2016, reveals more on what we’ve been reported for several years now, that the FBI did secretly plant an FBI agent at a routine briefing with Donald Trump and general Flynn to secretly spy on them for both the FBI’s Trump Russia probe and the FBI’s new probe into a general Michael Flynn that James Comey had just opened up a day before. Let’s welcome back to the show, I know she’s fired up, former Trump Deputy National Security Advisor KT McFarland, author of the book Revolution. Great to see if KT. When you heard that, what did you think? Was this the FBI’s “insurance policy” that, you know, FBI official Peter Strzok had texted Lisa Page about to stop Trump from winning? Was that part of the insurance policy there?
Peter Strzok’s Tests to Lisa Page: “I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office — that there’s no way he gets elected — but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk,” he wrote. “It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before 40.”
KT McFarland: I think it was part of it, but I think the insurance policy was much bigger. You know, here’s the thing, Liz, not only were they spying, but they kept notes. I mean, how dumb are these FBI agents, right. They go to a briefing. There their they’re under a different purpose, I mean, a defense briefing. A defense briefing is for people who are new to classified information and it tells you things like look, here’s how people might try to recruit you to be spies. Um, don’t give your dog walker a key to your apartment because, who knows, the dog walker might be agent of the of the Russian Embassy. So, there’s all sorts of things that they show you and teach you on how to protect yourself and how to protect classified information. So in the middle of these briefings, they’ve got their own spies. So here they are supposedly telling the Trump Administration people, here’s how you got to watch out for Russian and Chinese spies, and the whole time they were spying themselves, and then they were taking notes and putting notes in the file. These guys are caught, I mean, red-handed.
Elizabeth MacDonald: You know, KT, you know, what’s really interesting too, let’s break it down. Let’s put in the context of what else was going on. In March 2016 Peter Strzok and Lisa Page texts that Trump is loathsome, that Hillary should win. August 8th Lisa Page texts “Trump’s not ever going to be president, right, and Strzok texts back, “no, he’s not, we’ll stop it.” Then a week later struck text back Lisa Page about that insurance policy, because I cannot take the risk of Trump wins. Then the next day the FBI opens a probe into General Flynn. Then the day after that the FBI uses its briefing to spy on Trump and Flynn.
April 2014: Pres Obama fires General Flynn as head of DIA after clashing over Iran, Syria ISIS
March 2016: FBI officials Peter Strzok, Lisa Page texts –
“God Trump is a loathsome human,”
OMG he’s an idiot,” “He’s awful,”
“God Hillary should win. 100,000,000-0.”
July 2016: WikiLeaks releases hacked emails form DNC, Clinton campaign manager John Podesta
July 2016: Fusion GPS, funded by Dems, Clinton team, contacted FBI about Steele dossier allegations claiming Trump-Russia ties.
Summer 2016: FBI’s Comey tells President Obama about FBI’s Trump-Russia probe.
August 8, 2016: FBI official Lisa Page:
“[Trump’s] not ever going to become president, right? Right?!”
Strzok: “No. No he won’t. We’ll stop it.”
August 10, 2016: FBI NY Field Office transfers Carter Page probe to D.C.Office.
August 15, 206: FBI”s Peter Strzok texts Lisa Page:
“I’m afraid we can’t take that risk” that trump is elected. “It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.”
August 16, 2016: FBI’s Comey, Strzok open FBI probe into General Flynn
August 17, 2016: FBI secretly uses routine briefing to surveil Trump, General Flynn for Trump-Russi, Flynn probes.
September 2, 2016: Page texts Strzok: Obama “wants to know everything we’re doing.”
September 19, 2016: FBI Trump-Russia probe gets 6 Steele reports.
In the context of that, you could see what’s going on right, KT.
KT McFarland: Sure, and, and at the same time, Liz, they were also leaking to their favorite newspaper reporters. You know, they were at, at that same period of time there were anonymous sources saying Donald Trump is an agent of the Russians, General Flynn was working with Vladimir Putin. Donald Trump never would have won the election if it hadn’t been for Russian interference. So they were working it in a lot of different ways. They were spying on the Trump people, ah, not only during the campaign, but frankly, into the Administration. They were leaking to anonymous sources and then the intelligence committee would point to those articles in the press saying, see anonymous sources, we better really investigate further. So it was like a circular thing. They planted the stories and then they use the stories to do the wiretapping, and to do the sitting in on the meeting, and and the spying. And the thing I find extraordinary, Liz, they took notes. They either thought that they were so sure the Trump wouldn’t win the they’d never be discovered, or they had, this was their own personal insurance policy, so that if it was ever uncovered and they were doing the wrong deeds, they get, they’d be able to blame the boss.
Elizabeth MacDonald: I want to ask you about that because FBI agent Joseph Pienka did the briefing with Kevin Flynn, he wrote the memo about it. Peter Strzok signed off on it so did Kevin Clinesmith. Andrew McCabe, the FBI official, says they picked Pienka because he was a top agent on both the Trump-Russian and Flynn probes. Pienka later interviews Flynn, along with Peter Strzok, trying to corner Flynn into a perjury trap, lying to the FBI. Is it your since that we’re seeing documents released and declassified now because U.S. Attorney John Durham is talking to Bianca and maybe Peter Strzok in his criminal probe?
Yes. Yeah, I mean, here’s how it works at least in my experience, because the Mueller investigating, I think that’s exactly what’s going on. These are documents being declassified and released to the public. They’re only sent out to the public once the justice department and Durham are finished with them. I think they’ve already talked to Pienka. I think they’re probably talking to Strzok and then who knows how far out the food chain it goes. But that’s how they do these investigations. They start small and then you’re supposed to plead guilty or blame your boss, and then the boss blames the boss, and it works its way up the food chain. I mean, that’s how they came after me. In our case, of course, in the Trump Administration, nobody had done anything wrong, and so it really was a lot of dead ends. In this case it looks like they’re, they’re uncovering an awful lot of stuff. I hope so.
Elizabeth MacDonald: Alright, KT MacFarlane, its great to see you.
