Rep. Matt Gaetz said “compelling evidence” the FBI hid crucial information from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance court is coming out in a matter of days or weeks.
“I believe we are days if not weeks away from the most compelling evidence in the biggest political scandal in American history,” Mr. Gaetz, Florida Republican, said in an interview Monday night with Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
The congressman said unreleased transcripts involving former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos reveal that he denied there was a conspiracy between the campaign and Russia. The FBI did not include that information in a warrant it obtained to spy on campaign members, Mr. Gaetz said.
When law enforcement applies for a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant it must disclose all evidence, including information showing a person may not have committed a crime.
Mr. Gaetz said there “is no excuse” for not disclosing evidence weighed in Papadopoulos’ favor to the FISA court, adding the FBI only presented details that would cast him in “a bad light.”
“They had evidence presumably that was against Papadopoulos and for him. What they won’t be able to defend is that they never presented that evidence to the FISA court,” Mr. Gaetz said.
Mr. Gaetz’s comments come as Attorney General William P. Barr tapped U.S. Attorney John Durham to review the origins of the Trump-Russia conspiracy. Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz is working on a separate but related probe into whether the FBI abused their authority to obtain the FISA probe.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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