[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 103 (Wednesday, June 3, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2684-S2685]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Russia Investigation

  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, since the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation launched the Crossfire Hurricane counterintelligence 
investigation in July of 2016, there has been no shortage of media 
coverage of Russia's involvement in our 2016 election. For the better 
part of 3 years, there has been news; there has been speculation; there 
have been rumors; there have been partisan accusations made about that 
topic.
  Trying to keep up with the names and the dates, the allegations left 
you feeling like an old-school detective show--names and photos pinned 
to a board, with strings of yarn connecting all the pieces. Everyone 
expected the release of the special counsel's report to be the moment 
when those dots were finally connected and it explained what happened 
and who was responsible.
  It is safe to say that did not happen. Even though the Mueller report 
did not find any collusion or obstruction, there was a lot of 
information that since has been made public about its origins, its 
motivation, and the means by which that investigation occurred. In 
fact, rather than settling the matter, these revelations have prompted 
a whole new range of questions about the investigation itself.
  First of all, we had Rod Rosenstein in the Judiciary Committee. He 
was the Deputy Attorney General. I asked him whether he was aware of 
any precedent for what happened in 2016 when, at the same time, both 
major parties' political nominees for President of the United States 
were the subject of open FBI investigations. He said: No, there is no 
precedent for that.
  First, of course, it was the Hillary email scandal, after which 
Director Comey made another unprecedented move and had a press 
conference saying that even though she had been essentially grossly 
negligent in handling this private email server, he thought that no 
reasonable prosecutor would bring charges against her.
  As much as Secretary Clinton might have appreciated that 
announcement, or not, a few weeks later, the FBI Director wrote another 
letter and said: Hey, we have some Anthony Weiner emails that came up 
on his laptop, so we need to reopen the investigation just a few days 
before the general election.
  Well, you can imagine Secretary Clinton didn't appreciate that. Many 
people have said that it is because of the FBI's unprecedented 
involvement in the middle of a Presidential election that it damaged, 
if not decided, the election in 2016.
  And then, of course, there is the Trump-Russia influence 
investigation, better known as Crossfire Hurricane, leading up to the 
Mueller investigation and where we are today. In the time since the 
special counsel completed his investigation and issued his report more 
than a year ago, we have learned more about the behind-the-scenes work 
that guided the Russia probe.
  Thanks to Inspector General Horowitz and his team at the Department 
of Justice, thanks to the DNI, the Director of National Intelligence, 
and others for declassifying important information, we have a whole lot 
more insight and transparency into exactly what happened. But these 
revelations have given all of us pause for grave concern. They have 
highlighted a pattern of sloppiness and outright abuse of power at the 
highest levels of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and beyond and 
raised red flags that must be addressed.
  In the Senate, it is our duty to get to the bottom of how and why 
this happened. I can't imagine any Democrat, any Republican, any 
American saying what happened in the 2016 election to Hillary Clinton 
and to Donald Trump was OK. Our law enforcement agencies should not 
play a starring role in an election leading up to the Nation's highest 
office.
  This morning, the first step in our investigation into the origins, 
means, and methods of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation occurred in 
the Judiciary Committee. That is where we heard from Deputy Attorney 
General Rod Rosenstein. He wasn't the Deputy Attorney General until the 
spring of 2017, but he did play a key role in the investigation. He 
signed one of the applications for the Foreign Intelligence 
Surveillance Act warrant that allowed the FBI to essentially surveil an 
American citizen. He was the one who appointed Special Counsel Bob 
Mueller. He ended up being not only an investigator but also a witness 
in the process.
  His account of what happened in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation 
is important to understanding both the actions and the motivations that 
drove that investigation. In fact, he said this morning, in response to 
Chairman Lindsey Graham's question, if you knew then what you know now, 
would you have signed, sworn to this verified application for a warrant 
to surveil an American citizen, Carter Page? He said: No. To his 
credit, he said no. ``If I knew then, what I know now.''
  Some of my greatest concerns stem from the Department of Justice 
Inspector General's report about those FISA abuses, as they are 
called--Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. This is extraordinary 
authority given by Congress under very strict rules, and they are 
supervised by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which was 
established to provide oversight of these surveillance activities, 
including surveillance of American citizens under very narrow and 
restricted guardrails.
  If the U.S. intelligence authorities, or law enforcement agencies, 
believe surveillance is critical to a national security investigation, 
they submit an application to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance 
Court to receive that authorization. This is an important step in 
protecting the rights of American citizens and making sure that our 
intelligence and law enforcement authorities perform their job 
consistent with congressional intent and direction. But these verified, 
in other words, sworn documents are critical, in which accuracy is 
paramount. That is why they are required to be verified--that is, sworn 
to--by the top officials at the Department of Justice.

  We now know that the applications of the former Trump campaign aide 
Carter Page were riddled with errors. In the initial Carter Page FISA 
application, Inspector General Horowitz identified what he called seven 
mistakes. In the three renewals, he had found an additional 10. These 
weren't necessarily honest mistakes. In fact, they included significant 
and material errors, including the deliberate falsification, lying--
lying to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court about Carter 
Page's past service to the U.S. Government.
  To make matters worse, even as new and exculpatory material came to 
light, this information was not reflected in renewal applications. It 
was sort of a cut-and-paste job. Those agents who prepared those 
materials that were signed by people like Rod Rosenstein lied to 
deceive the court so they could continue to surveil, or spy, on an 
American citizen--something we do not want to happen unless they are 
truly an agent of a foreign power and there is probable cause to show 
that they are such.
  These revelations were very troubling in December of 2019, and they 
are just as troubling today. It does also raise questions about the 
motivations for the investigation, in the first place. Falsifying a 
FISA application is clearly not an action one would take if you were in 
pursuit of the truth. We need to know why the initial application and 
three renewals were riddled with lies and omissions and how these 
inaccurate applications were approved by high-ranking officials at the 
Department of Justice.
  Second, this raises serious questions about the way investigations of 
average Americans are being handled. If these agents were able to break 
every rule in the book to spy on a Presidential candidate--who 
ultimately was elected--and are facing no consequences, no 
accountability, what protections exist for the rest of us in America? 
Who is going to notice their error-ridden FISA applications if it is 
John or Jane Q. Public?
  What is even more disconcerting is, if this happened once--and it did 
happen more than once--what is to stop it from happening again? The 
American people need and deserve answers to

[[Page S2685]]

these questions, and today's hearing in the Judiciary Committee was the 
first step in getting the answers to those questions and hopefully 
corrective action.
  Chairman Graham has been clear that we will look at this 
investigation from all angles--covering the FISA abuses, unmasking 
requests, and the origins of both Crossfire Hurricane, and the 
appointment of special counsel.
  The trove of declassified transcripts that recently were released by 
the House Intelligence Committee--actually, declassified by the 
Director of National Intelligence--only underscores the important need 
for oversight by the Senate and by the Congress. In reading these 
transcripts, which were taken in secret, in a secure facility, and only 
recently made public, I have been shocked at some of the statements 
made by former Obama administration officials.
  Based on the way Chairman Schiff repeatedly claimed to have direct 
evidence, you would think these officials would provide the smoking gun 
to the committee. But no--witness after witness confirmed they had no 
evidence of collusion, coordination, or conspiracy between anyone in 
the Trump campaign and Russia. What did they do? They walked outside of 
that secure facility, and they spoke to the TV cameras assembled there, 
and they lied. They misrepresented what was said during that classified 
testimony.
  This really begs the question: Why did this investigation begin and 
how, without evidence, did it last for nearly 2 years?
  Additionally, I have a lot of questions about the sloppy and 
incomplete investigative work surrounding Crossfire Hurricane when it 
came to the use of something called a confidential human source.
  Christopher Steele, former intelligence officer from the United 
Kingdom, was hired by Fusion GPS to do opposition research against the 
Trump campaign for the Hillary Clinton campaign. Yet, at the same time, 
he was considered by the FBI as a confidential human source.
  Inspector General Horowitz's report makes clear Mr. Steele and his 
FBI handler did not even agree on the terms of their arrangement. 
Steele said: I am a businessman collecting information. The FBI said: 
Well, this is just between us, and you can't talk to the public, which 
he clearly did, and he did so at the same time he was supposed to be a 
confidential human source.
  The FBI background check into Christopher Steele was so sloppy, they 
didn't even understand that his loyalties were not with the FBI and the 
U.S. Government, they were with his paymaster--Fusion GPS, his 
employer. That is one reason there were such inaccuracies throughout 
this investigation, including in the FISA applications.

  So we need answers, and we need accountability. Based on what I have 
seen so far, one conclusion is that there was a coordinated effort to 
manipulate our intelligence community and justice system for vindictive 
and biased purposes against a Presidential candidate and elected 
President of the United States. I realize that this is a grave and 
serious charge, but I think it is one conclusion you could draw based 
on what we know.
  It is high time we learned the truth. If this kind of misbehavior and 
deception becomes routine, it will jeopardize important legal 
authorities that we rely on to protect our national security. It is 
counter to our values and is a direct blow to the foundation of our 
democracy.
  I appreciate Chairman Graham's prioritizing these oversight hearings. 
I know we have a lot of work to do in order to restore public 
confidence in our justice system as well as in our intelligence 
community--the people charged with protecting the American people. We 
need to learn what really happened so we can make sure this never ever, 
ever happens again.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and 
consent to the Tipton nomination?
  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator 
from North Carolina (Mr. Burr).
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Minnesota (Ms. 
Klobuchar), the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey), the Senator 
from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Schatz), the 
Senator from Minnesota (Ms. Smith), and the Senator from Montana (Mr. 
Tester) are necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cramer). Are there any other Senator in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 52, nays 41, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 111 Ex.]

                                YEAS--52

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Blackburn
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Braun
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hawley
     Hoeven
     Hyde-Smith
     Inhofe
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Lankford
     Lee
     Loeffler
     McConnell
     McSally
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Romney
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott (FL)
     Scott (SC)
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Wicker
     Young

                                NAYS--41

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Cortez Masto
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Gillibrand
     Harris
     Hassan
     Heinrich
     Hirono
     Jones
     Kaine
     King
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Murphy
     Murray
     Peters
     Reed
     Rosen
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Sinema
     Stabenow
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--7

     Burr
     Klobuchar
     Markey
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Smith
     Tester
  The nomination was confirmed
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to 
reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table, and the 
President will be immediately notified of the Senate's actions.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic whip.