FBI agents working on the Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Trump campaign and administration officials allegedly bought liability insurance protection against potential lawsuits.
The text messages, dating back to late 2016 after the election of President Trump, were revealed on Thursday in federal court filings from Sidney Powell, the attorney of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. Flynn is currently facing prosecution for making alleged false statements to the FBI. The court documents were first reported by The Federalist.
The 13-page court filing reveals a trove of messages between unnamed FBI agents involved in the agency’s investigation of Trump’s alleged ties to Russia. Some of the messages give insight into the state of the FBI after former FBI special agent Peter Strzok, acting on orders from FBI leadership, propped open an investigation into Flynn on Jan. 4, 2017, after agents working the case moved to close it.
The next day, former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden met with then-FBI Director James Comey, then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, and then-National Security Advisor Susan Rice in the Oval Office and discussed aspects of the FBI investigation into Flynn. Unnamed FBI agents discussed Strzok’s interference in the Flynn investigation as well as the Oval Office meeting later that day, according to messages made public in the court filing.
As The Federalist reports:
“So razor is going to stay open???” an agent wrote on Jan. 5.
“[Y]ep,” another FBI agent responded. “[C]rimes report being drafted.”
“F,” the first agent wrote back.
“[W]hat’s the word on how [Obama’s] briefing went?” one agent asked, referring to the Jan. 5 meeting.
“Dont know but people here are scrambling for info to support certain things and its a mad house,” an FBI agent responded.
“[J]esus,” an agent wrote back. “[T]rump was right. [S]till not put together….why do we do this to ourselves. [W]hat is wrong with people[?]?
The unnamed agent mentioning Trump was likely referring to a Jan. 3, 2017, tweet from the president: “The ‘Intelligence’ briefing on so-called ‘Russian hacking’ was delayed until Friday, perhaps more time needed to build a case. Very strange!”
The "Intelligence" briefing on so-called "Russian hacking" was delayed until Friday, perhaps more time needed to build a case. Very strange!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2017
On Jan. 10, days after the exchange in which one FBI agent admitted that FBI officials were “scrambling,” an unnamed FBI agent said that many in the bureau involved in Crossfire Hurricane had purchased liability insurance to protect themselves against potential lawsuits.
“[W]e all went and purchased professional liability insurance,” one agent said, according to the filing.
The conversation continued. As The Federalist reports:
“Holy crap,” an agent responded. “All the analysts too?”
“Yep,” the first agent said. “All the folks at the Agency as well.”
“[C]an I ask who are the most likely litigators?” an agent responded. “[A]s far as potentially suing y’all[?]”
“[H]aha, who knows….I think [t]he concern when we got it was that there was a big leak at DOJ and the NYT among others was going to do a piece,” the first agent said.
1/10/17: FBI analysts discuss getting "professional liability insurance" over Flynn investigation. pic.twitter.com/rWgto5PyXZ
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) September 24, 2020
After years of pursuing Flynn over alleged false statements to the FBI, the Department of Justice dropped its case on May 7 after U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri Jeff Jensen uncovered exculpatory evidence in the case. Jensen was handpicked by Attorney General William Barr to review the DOJ case against Flynn.
The case is ongoing as federal trial Judge Emmet Sullivan has refused to dismiss the case against Flynn, even going to the extent of appointing another prosecutor to the case.