The FBI attorney who altered an email as part of the process to obtain a secret court warrant to spy on a former Trump campaign adviser admitted to one count of making a false statement on Aug. 19 before a federal judge in Washington.
Former FBI assistant general counsel Kevin Clinesmith made the plea as part of a deal with prosecutors, who agreed to propose a sentencing range of zero to six months. Judge James Boasberg set the sentencing hearing for Dec. 10.
At the opening of the hearing, Boasberg noted that he’s the head judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), which signed off on the warrant application cited in the charge against Clinesmith. The judge said he didn’t see any issues with the overlap, but offered the parties to call for his recusal because the FISC could be viewed as a victim. The government and Clinesmith declined the offer.
Clinesmith’s guilty plea is the first secured as part of an investigation by special attorney John Durham, who is investigating whether the FBI’s probe of the Trump campaign was conducted lawfully and free of improper motive. President Donald Trump has long claimed that the Obama administration weaponized government surveillance against his campaign.
As part of the plea agreement, Durham’s team agreed not to prosecute Clinesmith for any of the conduct described in the 10-page statement of offense, which wasn’t public at the time of the hearing. The prosecutors also agreed not to modify the conditions of Clinesmith’s release.
Although the government proposed a sentencing range of up to six months, Boasberg may still sentence Clinesmith above the proposed range, depending on the review of the case…
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