Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s defense attorney Sidney Powell on Thursday blasted the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for approving a warrant she said is based on flimsy evidence presented a dossier cobbled together by an ex-British spy.
Ms. Powell — a fierce critic of special counsel Robert Mueller and the investigation into allegations the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 election — slammed the court in a speech before the Fund for American Studies, an educational nonprofit.
Ms. Powell said it was “beyond an outrage” the court would approve a warrant to spy on Trump campaign figure Cater Page and others based on the so-called Steele dossier, a collection of unverified and salacious rumors compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele.
“You couldn’t get a search warrant for a known crack house down the street on the basis of information like that, but [the FISA Court] used it to obtain the most intrusive information against at least four people,” she said.
She called for more oversight of the FISA Court, noting that defendants cannot even bring a lawyer into the court because its proceedings are so secretive.
“Look at the Steele dossier and all that crap that has made its way into the FISA application that was supposedly verified as true, but bears no resemblance to reality whatsoever,” Ms. Powell said.
Flynn, who pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI about his communications with the Russian ambassador to the U.S., fired his legal team last month, replacing them with Ms. Powell.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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