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Originally Posted by Damien
I'm not a lawyer and even if I was I wouldn't know the inner workings of FISA courts but according the the CBS link above it doesn't allege a federal crime. Maybe it's not illegal to omit things in warrant applications just bad behaviour?
All this is also if we're taking the Republicans at their word that the memo doesn't exclude anything. If, for example, the warrant contained other information then the circumstances might change.
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As it is now common knowledge that the FISA application was based on the Steele dossier then we are talking about mass bad behaviour or an orchestrated campaign.
Once the FBI had conducted all it's checks and balances the application is then passed to the DOJ.
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The FISA application then travels to the Justice Department where attorneys from the National Security Division comb through the application to verify all the assertions made in it. Known as “Woods procedures” after Michael J. Woods, the FBI Special Agent attorney who developed this layer of approval, DOJ verifies the accuracy of every fact stated in the application. If anything looks unsubstantiated, the application is sent back to the FBI to provide additional evidentiary support – this game of bureaucratic chutes and ladders continues until DOJ is satisfied that the facts in the FISA application can both be corroborated and meet the legal standards for the court. After getting sign-off from a senior DOJ official (finally!), a lawyer from DOJ takes the FISA application before the FISC, comprised of eleven federal district judges who sit on the court on a rotating basis. The FISC reviews the application in secret, and decides whether to approve the warrant.
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The Steele dossier is unverified and uncorroborated and formed the basis for the FISA application.
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