FBI brass were ‘fired up’ about now-debunked Trump-Russia ties: texts, testimony
FBI leaders, including then-Director James Comey, were “fired up” about a potential connection between the Trump campaign and Russia — which ultimately was proven false, text messages and court testimony revealed Tuesday.
On Sept. 21, 2016, two days after Hillary Clinton campaign attorney Michael Sussmann gave then-FBI General Counsel James Baker info about a supposed digital back channel between the Trump Organization and Moscow-based Alfa Bank, agent Joe Pientka texted colleague Curtis Heide: “People on 7th floor to include Director are fired up about this server.”
The “7th floor” refers to the most senior FBI agents and officials, who have their offices on the seventh floor of bureau headquarters in Washington.
“Did you guys open a case? Reachout [sic] and put tools on?” Pientka asked. “If not I will call Dan as Priestap says its [sic] not an option – we must do it.”
Bill Priestap was the assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division at the time.
“[R]oger,” Heide replied. “we are opening a [counterintelligence] case today.”
Later in the day, Pientka told Heide that a unit would be assigned to the case shortly, adding, “go forth and conquer.” He then referred Heide to FBI agent Nate Batty, who Pientka said was in possession of thumb drives handed over to Baker by Sussmann.
“[C]an you hit him up?” Pientka asked.
“[A]lright,” Heide answered, “we’ll get him to push them to us … he’ll know how to do that.”
“[W]ord,” Pientka responded, later adding in subsequent messages: “[S]weet. [T]hanks from us to all.”
“[N]ah,” Heide responded, “just what we can.”
Two days later, Heide and fellow FBI agent Allison Sands drafted an electronic communication to investigators incorrectly stating the Justice Department had referred the matter to the FBI on Sept. 19, the day Sussmann met with Baker.
Sussmann is charged with lying to the FBI when he met with Baker and turned over a “white paper” that showed the purported tie between the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank.
Sussmann said he was providing the information on his own when, according to prosecutors, he was working on behalf of the Clinton campaign and another client, tech executive Rodney Joffe.
Despite the enthusiasm of their bosses, rank-and-file agents quickly became convinced the data handed over by Sussmann was worthless. Last week, FBI supervisory agent Scott Hellman testified of the white paper: “I thought perhaps the person who drafted this document was suffering from a mental disability.”
By Sept. 26, one week after Sussmann met with Baker, Heide said his team was leaning toward the conclusion that the allegations were “bunk.”
When asked by prosecutor Jonathan Algor why he kept up with the investigation if he believed there was no evidence to back it, Heide answered: “Headquarters told us that not investigating the matter was not an option.”
Sussmann’s defense had raised the messages in an attempt to show the FBI opened a full investigation into the Alfa Bank allegation, but went no further than they would have under a “preliminary investigation.”
