Sidney Powell, attorney for former national security adviser Michael Flynn, told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on Sunday that the trap that FBI officials allegedly set up for Flynn was “orchestrated and set up” by former top officials in the Obama administration, and that it happened at the White House in a meeting with then-President Barack Obama.
Attorney General William Barr said last week that the FBI agents laid out a “perjury trap for General Flynn” during their interview with him on January 24, 2017. The Department of Justice tossed its case against Flynn last week because, as Barr put it, “there was not a legitimate counterintelligence investigation going on.”
“Talk to us about [the meeting in Obama’s office], Sidney, because Sally Yates was there, Jim Comey was there, John Brennan was there, James Clapper was there briefing President Obama in the Oval Office on the Russia probe,” Bartiromo said. “Joe Biden and Susan Rice were there as well. This was January 5, 2017. Walk us through it.”
“Well, the day before, Comey had found and McCabe had found the transcripts of Flynn’s call with Kislyak. And he briefed Clapper on it immediately. Clapper then immediately went and briefed President Obama on it,” Powell said. “Then they have the Oval Office meeting on the 5th. Comey admits in his testimony that the FBI are the people that unmasked General Flynn, our people, whatever that means. And at the meeting on the 5th, Sally Yates was stunned because Obama mentions to her out of the blue about the call and the transcript of the call. She knew nothing about it, because Comey hadn’t briefed DOJ.”
“So, then they dispatch Comey the very next morning to brief President Trump only on the salacious aspects of the dossier on January 6 to set the news hook for BuzzFeed and CNN to run with the dossier they knew was a lie,” Powell continued. “Then Peter Strzok is watching a CNN report on that and texts about he and Priestap sitting there watching it and using it as a pretext to go interview some people. So the whole thing was orchestrated and set up within the FBI, Clapper, Brennan, and in the Oval Office meeting that day with President Obama.”
“So, you think this goes all the way up to the top, to President Obama?” Bartiromo asked.
“Absolutely,” Powell responded.
“Who is going to be charged?” Bartiromo asked.
“I have no idea,” Powell responded. “That’s up to John Durham and Attorney General Barr.”
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TRANSCRIPT:
MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Well, General Michael Flynn greeted the news of the DOJ dismissing the charges against him by tweeting the words “Justice for all” with a video of his grandson reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
But the federal judge overseeing the case still has to sign off on this.
Joining me right now is General Flynn’s lead attorney, Sidney Powell.
Sidney, it is great to see you. Congratulations to you. You have worked hard on this.
How are — let me ask you to start off, how is General Flynn doing? What is his reaction this morning?
SIDNEY POWELL, ATTORNEY FOR MICHAEL FLYNN: His reaction at first was one of disbelief and relief at the same time.
It’s going to take a while to process it. He’s obviously very grateful to the attorney general and Mr. Jensen for having the integrity to dig for the truth and to get it out for the American people to see. And he is looking forward to spending time with his family.
I’m sure he will have a statement to make sometime in the near future.
BARTIROMO: Sidney, this is obviously a big step toward justice. And our viewers heard this here first. We knew this was coming.
But Judge Sullivan still has to sign off on this, Sidney. She’s — he’s got to sign off on the motion. When are you expecting that to happen?
POWELL: I would expect it to happen tomorrow or sometime early this week.
It’s a matter of the prosecutors’ actual discretion. Judge Sullivan, according to a couple of Supreme Court decisions, I’m sure he will follow the law there and sign off on it.
BARTIROMO: Now, I know that there were a few things that we learned in these transcripts that were released as well.
And in terms of the way they violated General Flynn’s rights, they did not mention the 1001. Tell me about Section 1001 and why that’s important, Sidney.
POWELL: Well it’s the statute that makes it a federal felony to lie to agents.
These agents specifically schemed and planned with each other how to not tip him off that he was even the person being investigated. In fact, according to Comey’s testimony that’s attached to the exhibits they filed in the motion to dismiss, they just simply said, we’d like to send a couple agents by to talk to you.
And, of course, General Flynn said sure. And he saw them as allies. They encouraged him to stay that way. They deliberately did not tell him about 1001 because they didn’t want to trigger the slightest suspicion in his mind that he was being investigated or should be concerned about anything.
So they kept him relax ed and unguarded deliberately as part of their effort to set him up and frame him. We do have the agents’ raw notes, but we don’t have the original 302.
BARTIROMO: Right.
POWELL: And we now know from additional text messages produced that there were substantial alterations to the 302s.
We have some of those changes between February 10 and 11, and those are attached as exhibits to one of our briefs that are available on my Web site.
BARTIROMO: So, Sidney, I want you to walk through this timeline for us, because they also violated White House protocol by ambushing him.
And we know that. We have played that sound bite of Jim Comey saying, oh, it was chaotic. I just sent a few agents over there, and just figured it be better to do it that way.
So let’s go through the General Flynn, Crossfire Razor timeline. And that begins on August 15, when Peter Strzok, then FBI agent, sent to his girlfriend a text saying — to the extent, saying, something like, well, I wish I could believe what you said in Andy’s office, but we need an insurance policy.
That was discussed in McCabe’s office. The following day, on August 16, they opened a Crossfire Razor probe into General Flynn. And then, on August 17, FBI agents were sent to a presidential briefing for nominee Trump.
They did so why? You think they just were trying to assess General Flynn to try to get something on him then as well in that briefing?
POWELL: Oh, that’s what one of the agents testified to, to the inspector general. It’s in his report that came out in December.
They were specifically — or he was specifically sent into that briefing to assess and gauge General Flynn’s mannerisms, to collect whatever information he could, because General Flynn was there, to notice his reaction to any mention of Russia. And that was done all expressly in case they needed to interview him later, i.e., if Trump was elected and General Flynn was put in the White House.
BARTIROMO: Unbelievable.
POWELL: General Flynn was the…
BARTIROMO: So, fast forward to January. Fast forward to January 2017, Sidney, because, this morning, President Obama is out trashing this exoneration.
He’s basically saying that the rule of law is being lost and that there’s no precedent for all of this. So, we go to January 2017 and February 2017. The morning of January 4, the FBI drafts a document to close the Flynn probe, Crossfire Razor.
They wanted to close it. They had nothing, so they want to close it. So the next day, on January — later that afternoon, Peter Strzok texts, don’t close the Razor yet. And the seventh floor is involved.
And then there’s a meeting in President Obama’s Oval Office. Talk to us about that, Sidney, because Sally Yates was there, Jim Comey was there, John Brennan was there, James Clapper was there briefing President Obama in the Oval Office on the Russia probe. Joe Biden and Susan Rice were there as well. This was January 5, 2017. Walk us through it.
POWELL: Exactly.
Well, the day before, Comey had found and McCabe had found the transcripts of Flynn’s call with Kislyak. And he briefed Clapper on it immediately. Clapper then immediately went and briefed President Obama on it.
Then they have the Oval Office meeting on the 5th. Comey admits in his testimony that the FBI are the people that unmasked General Flynn, our people, whatever that means. And at the meeting on the 5th, Sally Yates was stunned because Obama mentions to her out of the blue about the call and the transcript of the call.
She knew nothing about it, because Comey hadn’t briefed DOJ.
BARTIROMO: Of — of Kislyak.
POWELL: Yes. Yes.
BARTIROMO: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
POWELL: So, then they dispatch Comey the very next morning to brief President Trump only on the salacious aspects of the dossier on January 6 to set the news hook for BuzzFeed and CNN to run with the dossier they knew was a lie.
Then Peter Strzok is watching a CNN report on that and texts about he and Priestap sitting there watching it and using it as a pretext to go interview some people. So the whole thing was orchestrated and set up within the FBI, Clapper, Brennan, and in the Oval Office meeting that day with President Obama.
(CROSSTALK)
BARTIROMO: So, you think this goes all the way up to the top, to President Obama?
POWELL: Absolutely.
BARTIROMO: Who is going to be charged?
POWELL: I have no idea. That’s up to John Durham and Attorney General Barr.
BARTIROMO: OK.
Sidney, we got to — we got to jump, but it’s great to talk with you.
Congratulations, Sidney Powell.