Top Republicans are outraged after former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith received parole and no prison sentence after pleading guilty to making a false statement to a special attorney appointed by the former president’s Department of Justice (DOJ) Donald Trump to investigate the origins of the investigation in Russia.
EX-FBI LAWYER KEVIN CLINESMITH PROVED PROBATION AFTER GUILTY PLEA IN JOHN DURHAM’S PROBE
“This punishment trivializes what I believe to be an impressive breach of duty to the Court and to the American people,” wrote Senator Lindsey Graham on Twitter.
Clinesmith was sentenced to 12 months probation and 400 hours of community service on Friday after changing an email about former Trump campaign advisor Carter Page to say he “was not a source” for another government agency when Page said he was working for the CIA.
The email was used to support an application under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), giving the FBI permission to spy on Page as part of a broader effort to prove that the Trump campaign was in collusion with Russia to interfere in 2016 presidential election.
“They clearly altered documents and hid defense information from the FISA Court to continue a false narrative against an American citizen: Carter Page,” said Graham. “This sentence will only further undermine the confidence of the American people in the DOJ and the FBI, after they have done justice with their own hands.”
Senator Chuck Grassley, R-IA, expressed similar anger over the sentence.
“Very rare that ‘ONLY WE’ department [sic] recommend jail time 4 one of their own But they did 4 Clinesmith, a former FBI lawyer who faked 2spy paperwork [sic] in the Trump + campaign, support a false collusion investigation + violate Carter Page’s civil liberties The outrageous DC judge has NOT given time in prison, “he wrote.
Clinesmith told the court on Friday that he was “deeply ashamed” and regretted his actions.
District of Columbia District Judge James Boasberg, in his sentence, was wrong to be lenient, saying that Clinesmith had suffered from losing his job and getting in the eye of a hurricane in the media.
After special attorney Robert Mueller ended the lengthy investigation of Trump, then attorney general William Barr appointed another special attorney – John Durham – to investigate the origins of Mueller’s investigation.
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Clinesmith is the first and only criminal charge stemming from the Durham investigation, which began in May 2019.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.