Breaking down the Grassley/Graham memo

Mollie Hemingway writes at The Federalist,

A criminal referral from top Senate investigators confirms explosive charges in last week’s House Intelligence Committee memo regarding abuse of surveillance authorities at the FBI and Department of Justice. It also reveals a host of problems arising from the bureau’s cooperation with foreign investigator Christopher Steele, who was working on behalf of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. The eight-page memo from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) includes underlying evidence to support the claims.

“It appears the FBI relied on admittedly uncorroborated information, funded by and obtained for Secretary Clinton’s presidential campaign, in order to conduct surveillance of an associate of the opposing presidential candidate. It did so based on Mr. Steele’s personal credibility and presumably having faith in his process of obtaining the information. But there is substantial evidence suggesting that Mr. Steele materially misled the FBI about a key aspect of his dossier efforts, one which bears on his credibility,” Sens. Graham and Grassley wrote.

Here are Mollie’s headings under which she explains in detail.

Comey On Dossier’s Lack Of Meaningful Corroboration

Dossier Formed ‘Bulk’ Of FISA Application

Isikoff’s Yahoo Article Cited In Place Of Corroboration

Political Basis Mentioned Only ‘To A Vaguely Limited Extent’

Application Claimed Steele Had Nothing To Do With Yahoo Article

Even After Terminating Steele For Unauthorized Contacts With Media, FBI Claimed He Hadn’t Talked To Yahoo

Steele Was So Political He Flagrantly Violated His FBI Agreement Over Reopening Of Clinton Investigation

Even After Steele Publicly Admitted In Court To His Media Operation, The FBI Hid It

Court Wasn’t Told Steele Was ‘Desperate’ To Keep Trump From Being Elected

Why Steele’s Alleged Lies Matter

The More Steele Blabbed, The More The Kremlin And Others Could Manipulate Him

Steele Took Info From Clinton Pals (Reported Elsewhere To Be Close To Sidney Blumenthal)

Steele’s Known Behavior Contradicts The FBI’s Assertions To The Court

FISA Application Relied More On Steele’s Supposed Credibility Than Independent Verification Or Corroboration

Read more here.