Will the US try to dismiss the Carter Page lawsuit?
A recent DOJ might reveal the government's strategy
Background
On November 27, 2020, Carter Page filed a lawsuit seeking over $75 million in damages for the “unjustified and illegal actions” relating to the “submission of four false and misleading warrant applications to engage in electronic surveillance of Dr. Page, ostensibly pursuant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).”
He has sued the following individuals/institutions. Click their names for brief background info (many thanks to the researchers and writers who have also kept up on FISA abuse):
Joe Pientka, III. Pientka was promoted after the FBI learned of FISA abuse. I hear he sits at his desk and checks for his name on Google.
Stephen Somma. Per Conservative Treehouse: “Stephen Somma had the responsibility to verify the accuracy of information underpinning in the FISA application.” He also was the FBI handler of Stefan Halper.
Brian Auten. The FBI agent who interviewed Steele Primary Subsource Igor Danchenko. Read this thread from Stephen McIntyre on why that matters.
Department of Justice.
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
United States of America.
Jane/John Does (named just in case Page’s attorneys determine other parties were involved in misconduct).
Case Developments - and What the Government has Planned
So far, none of the Defendants have answered Carter Page’s lawsuit. We expect the answers to be filed by next week for at least some of them.
But today, the “Government Defendants” - the United States, the DOJ, the FBI - filed this motion to extend the deadline to file their response to Carter Page’s lawsuit until May 18, 2021. The motion is relatively typical - it’s standard practice for a party to explain to the court their reasons for requesting an extension.
Something stands out, however. In explaining the need for an extension, the Government Defendants (the US, DOJ, and FBI) stated “the need to coordinate multiple components of the Department of Justice to provide input on a motion to dismiss claims presenting multiple complex legal issues related to national security.”
This might come to a shock to some readers (those not yet jaded by their own government), but the Government Defendants in the Carter Page lawsuit aren’t interested in restoration or compensation or justice. Instead, and as revealed by today’s filing, they’ll likely seek to dismiss Carter Page’s case on national security grounds or various other technical reasons.
Your government chooses this course of action despite the following (a short list which could be much, much longer):
(1) FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith altered a CIA email to further surveillance;
(2) The Government has concluded at least two of the Carter Page FISA warrants were “invalid.”
(3) IG Horowitz review of the Carter Page FISA application and renewals found lies and omissions.
What this Case is Really About
When we talk about FISA abuse it’s important that we discuss what it really is. It’s a civil rights violation. It is the government’s unauthorized, and therefore illegal, spying of a United States citizen after the government had deceived a secret court to which it had a duty of absolute candor.
And if the FISA abuse is about a civil rights violation, then this case is about accountability. When the Government Defendants seek dismissal, it is communicating one important thing:
The FISA court can condemn us for our misrepresentations, the IG can discovery and publish our lies, our employees can commit crimes, and you have no civil remedy in the federal courts.
This is dirty play. Unfortunately not surprised.
This is stinking as much as the government's response to Sharyl Attkisson's suit. Justice seems to not exist anymore.