02-04-2018, 04:11 PM
Republican congressman Trey Gowdy, former prosecutor and hero to some Republicans for driving the many Clinton Benghazi investigations which resulted in no charges, appeared on Face The Nation today.
He expressed his opinion that Carter Page, who Trump denies knowing but served as an advisor to the Trump campaign, would never have been under FISA surveillance without the Steele dossier.
However, soon-to-be-retired Gowdy, who is the only Republican on the House Intelligence Committee who has seen the actual FISA warrant applications, emphasized that The Memo does not discredit special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling and any ties to Trump associates.
When asked to clarify if he thought the dossier or The Memo discredits the Mueller investigation, Gowdy said, "not to me, it doesn't, and I was pretty integrally involved in the drafting of it (memo) -- there IS a Russia investigation without a dossier."
The dossier has "nothing to do" with the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting involving Donald Trump Jr., Trump son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, and a Russian lawyer, Gowdy noted. Gowdy also said the dossier did not form the basis for the case against George Papadopoulos, the former Trump campaign aid who has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about foreign contacts.
The dossier has nothing to do with obstruction of justice, Gowdy noted. "So there's going to be a Russia probe, even without a dossier," he said.
He expressed his opinion that Carter Page, who Trump denies knowing but served as an advisor to the Trump campaign, would never have been under FISA surveillance without the Steele dossier.
However, soon-to-be-retired Gowdy, who is the only Republican on the House Intelligence Committee who has seen the actual FISA warrant applications, emphasized that The Memo does not discredit special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling and any ties to Trump associates.
When asked to clarify if he thought the dossier or The Memo discredits the Mueller investigation, Gowdy said, "not to me, it doesn't, and I was pretty integrally involved in the drafting of it (memo) -- there IS a Russia investigation without a dossier."
The dossier has "nothing to do" with the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting involving Donald Trump Jr., Trump son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, and a Russian lawyer, Gowdy noted. Gowdy also said the dossier did not form the basis for the case against George Papadopoulos, the former Trump campaign aid who has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about foreign contacts.
The dossier has nothing to do with obstruction of justice, Gowdy noted. "So there's going to be a Russia probe, even without a dossier," he said.