The Trump administration sought dismissal Tuesday of a federal lawsuit filed by Jerome Corsi, a material witness in special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing Russia probe.
Attorneys defending the U.S. Department of Justice, FBI, CIA, National Security Agency and Mr. Mueller in the suit asked a judge in D.C. federal court to dismiss Mr. Corsi’s complaint for raising claims they called “patently frivolous” and based on “pure speculation.”
Mr. Corsi, a 72-year-old conservative author and conspiracy theorist, revealed late last year that he was questioned at length by Mr. Mueller’s team as part of the special counsel’s investigation into Russia’s involvement in the 2016 elections. He has since identified himself as “Person 1” in the government’s criminal indictment charging Roger Stone, President Trump’s former campaign adviser, who is accused of lying to Congress about his conversations during the race involving the theft and disclosure of stolen Democratic Party documents.
In a lawsuit filed in December and in an amended complaint the following month, Mr. Corsi alleged through his lawyer that he was subjected to warrantless surveillance by federal authorities; that the special counsel’s office illegally leaked details about secretive court proceedings to reporters; and that defendants threatened to sabotage his “business and contractual relationships” unless he perjured himself in the Russia probe.
Replying in a 29-page memorandum in support of the government’s motion, the Justice Department said all of Mr. Corsi’s claims should be dismissed on account of being “facially deficient.”
Neither Mr. Corsi nor his attorney, Larry Klayman, immediately answered requests for comment. They have until April 2 to respond to the government’s motion, according to the filing.
Mr. Stone, 66, was indicted in February on seven counts of obstruction, witness tampering and lying to Congress and has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Federal prosecutors allege that he misled lawmakers when he testified on Capitol Hill about his conversations involving WikiLeaks, a website that published stolen Democratic emails during the race alleged sourced by suspected Russian state-sponsored hackers, because he failed to mention messages he exchanged about the matter with Mr. Corsi.
Mr. Corsi previously gained notoriety for his role in peddling the “birther” theory that raised questions about former President Barack Obama’s birth certificate. More recently he served as the D.C. bureau chief for Infowars, a controversial website run by fellow right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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