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The embattled bureau tried to hide its misconduct by redacting information about its actions under the guise that it involved sensitive intelligence information. RCI has learned that at least some of the redacted material, included in a "Classified Appendix" to Special Counsel John Durham's final report, has nothing to do with protecting "sources and methods" and other "sensitive" investigative techniques.

Instead, it covers up additional improper behavior by the FBI brass, which initiated and signed off on all four of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act applications to spy on former Trump adviser Carter Page and his contacts within the Trump campaign and presidency in 2016 and 2017.

For example, the FBI tried to justify continuing to spy on Page in early 2017 by indicating to the secret FISA court that it had verified a rumor aboutPage receiving dirt on Hillary Clinton from the Russian government and facilitating a "well-developed conspiracy of cooperation" with the Kremlin to swing the 2016 election in Trump's favor.But the bureau had corroborated no such thing. Its source was a front-page report in the Washington Post -- one the newspaper later retracted after determining it was false,according to two formerU.S. officials who have seen the original, unredacted FISA applications and described the passages to RCI.

The embarrassing revelation hasn't been previously reported thanks to redactions blacking out references to the Washington Post article in the still-partially classified applications. The officials confirmed to RCI that the censored section covers up the FBI's reliance on the bogus Post story,published in March 2017, as purported evidence supporting probable cause to continue spying on Trump's former aide.In the sections of the FISArenewal applications blacking out references to the Post, the officials said the FBI claimed the underlying text was "sensitive information."

The officialsspoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss still-classified sections of the FISA warrant affidavits.

The FBI's references to the Post story are contained in the April and June 2017 FISA applications. These applications were so tainted by badinformation, politics, and glaring exculpatory omissions that after an inspector general's probe, the Justice Department years later had to secretly concede to a federal surveillance courtthat they were "insufficient" to establish probable cause to spy on Page and therefore"were not valid."

FBI Director Christopher Wray recently told Congress he has instituted a number of reforms in response to the FISA surveillance abuses, yet at the same time, he appears to have tried to hide the full extent of those abuses under redactions.

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Sid Farkas said:

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Confirmed abuse by Federal Law Enforcement. How many is that now?

Who has been held accountable?

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