Former FBI Assistant Director Says Anti-Trump ‘Cabal’ Is Evident

With a much-debated House Intelligence Committee memo on the verge of public release, it is becoming more apparent that a “cabal” in the administration of former President Barack Obama improperly targeted then-candidate Donald Trump during the 2016 election, a former FBI administrator said Wednesday.

President Trump told members of Congress on his way out of the Capitol following Tuesday’s State of the Union address that he “100 percent” would allow the declassification of the memo, which was prepared by the staff of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.). It details alleged abuses by the national security apparatus.

Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe announced his retirement on Monday, one day after FBI Director Christopher Wray read the secret memo.

[lz_ndn video=33487484]

James Kallstrom, former deputy director of the FBI, predicted on “The Laura Ingraham Show” Wednesday morning that Americans are going to recoil the more they learn about how then-CIA Director John Brennan, then-FBI Director James Comey and others arranged for the surveillance of Trump associates during the campaign.

“We’re going to see the whole breadth and scope of this cabal that, unfortunately, involves the leadership of the FBI, leadership over the Justice Department,” he said. “I’m sure that we’re going to see John Brennan and his wacky ways … It’s not gonna be a pretty picture, but it’s the kind of thing that we have to look at, and we have to straighten out.”

Kallstrom said he hopes the result is indictments of former officials who abused their power.

“The whole thing is scary, Laura. The whole thing is outrageous,” he said. “I mean, from the fact that Comey and his sycophants conducted this phony investigation — they carried it on for months and months and months. I mean, there was no grand jury. It was a farce. They shut down any investigation in the field offices. They brought it all into headquarters, you know, where they could control it.”

Indications are that the memo details the extent to which the FBI used opposition research paid for by Democrat Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee to get warrants under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to eavesdrop on conversations between Trump campaign aides and Russians.

National security officials have concluded that Russia meddled in the 2016 campaign, and special counsel Robert Mueller has been trying to find evidence of wrongdoing by the Trump campaign. Although his team has indicted four people, however, none of the charges deal directly with Russian interference in the campaign.

Kallstrom rejected arguments from congressional Democrats that releasing the memo would undermine national security by exposing secrets that could disclose sources of confidential information and methods used to gather that information.

Related: Trump’s Immigration Vision of ‘Americans Are Dreamers, Too’ Draws Praise

“It’s actually the opposite. You know, I think we shined some light on what went on in the Obama administration, you know, particularly in the last year, you know, when Donald Trump became the nominee and even before that,” he said. “And I think we’re going to see that there was just an absolute overreaction. They did not follow the rules, did not follow the law. You know, they were so confident that Hillary Clinton was going to be the president that they were willing to take these outrageous acts because they thought sun would never shine on those.”

Kallstrom also criticized Republican congressional leaders for playing along with the Russia probe and not pushing back.

“It’s just outrageous the lack of support they’ve given to the White House,” he said.

PoliZette senior writer Brendan Kirby can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter.