Former FBI Special Agent Asha Rangappa on Monday knocked down suggestions by Republican lawmakers that the Justice Department had acted improperly by extending surveillance on former Trump campaign operative Carter Page as a part of the Russia investigation.
According to The New York Times, a much-ballyhooed secret memo written by three Republican lawmakers takes aim at Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, who reportedly "approved an application to extend surveillance of a former Trump campaign associate shortly after taking office last spring."
While speaking to CNN's John Berman on Monday, Rangappa explained why the memo was "misleading" at best.
"This is exactly an example of how this memo is inaccurate and misleading," Rangappa said. "Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein actually doesn't have the authority to extend any kind of surveillance at all. The Department of Justice has to go into a FISA court and request an extension of any surveillance that's ongoing."
"The ultimate decision on that would be made by a judge," she pointed out. "When there is surveillance on a U.S. person, the Department of Justice has to go in every 90 days and show the court that they are getting valuable foreign intelligence information in order for that surveillance to be extended."
Rangappa noted that the surveillance of Page began in September of 2016 so the FISA warrant had already been extended at least once by the time Rosenstein began overseeing the Russia investigation in March of 2017.
"That means that a judge found that this surveillance was actually collecting valuable foreign intelligence information," Rangappa stated. "So, it was a valid FISA -- there was a reason to have it in place."
Berman remarked that Republicans may be using the FISA warrant as an excuse to attack Rosenstein because he took charge of the Russia investigation after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself.
Rangappa agreed that Trump could effectively kill the Russia probe with a "death by a thousand cuts" by replacing Rosenstein.
"I think we need to be careful about what we understand to be Rosenstein's role and how important it is," she concluded.
Watch the video below from CNN.
