US President Donald Trump's Administration has released documents on the wiretapping of one-time adviser Carter Page. Photo / AP file
US President Donald Trump's Administration has released documents on the wiretapping of one-time adviser Carter Page. Photo / AP file
The Trump Administration has released a set of documents once deemed top secret relating to the wiretapping of a one-time adviser to Donald Trump's presidential campaign.
The New York Times reported that the documents involving former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page were released to the Times and several other mediaorganisations that had filed Freedom of Information Act lawsuits to obtain them.
The FBI later posted the documents to its FOIA website online.
The materials include an October 2016 application to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to wiretap Page as well as several renewal applications, the New York Times reported.
It is highly unusual for documents related to FISA wiretap applications to be released.
While the documents were heavily redacted in places, the Times reported that visible portions of the documents show the FBI telling the intelligence court that Page "has been collaborating and conspiring with the Russian Government."
The agency also told the court that "the FBI believes Page has been the subject of targeted recruitment by the Russian Government."
After a redaction, the Times reported that the application to wiretap Page included a partial sentence: "... undermine and influence the outcome of the 2016 US presidential election in violation of US criminal law."
The surveillance of Page became a contentious matter between Republican and Democratic lawmakers earlier this year.
Republicans alleged the FBI had abused its surveillance powers and improperly obtained the warrant, a charge that Democrats rebutted as both sides characterised the documents in different ways. The documents, meanwhile, remained out of public view.
-AP
Justice Department releases top-secret document that led to wiretap of former Trump Campaign advisor Carter Page. FBI believed Page was the "subject of targeted recruitment by the Russian government” to influence 2016 election. https://t.co/74f8k6CsFj
Carter Page FISA application concludes: "As discussed above, the FBI believes that Page has been collaborating and conspiring with the Russian Government..." pic.twitter.com/9q5d93Hapx
Making my way through the Carter Page FISA application. First thing that jumps out: They went straight for “knowingly engages in clandestine intelligence activities”; I’d thought they might have leaned on the “aids or abets” definition of a foreign agent.
In the first renewal application for Carter Page, the FBI’s description of how its relationship with Christopher Steele fractured because of the Oct. 28th Comey letter. https://t.co/OlTv6nEL5tpic.twitter.com/AOSxIx5LbK
