Former top FBI lawyer James Baker subject of criminal media leak probe, transcript reveals
www.foxnews.com
The former top lawyer at the FBI has been under federal investigation for leaking to the media, a letter from House Republicans revealed Tuesday.
The letter from GOP Reps. Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows cited the transcript of a congressional interview with former General Counsel James Baker and his lawyer last fall, where the probe conducted by seasoned U.S. Attorney John Durham was confirmed.
“You may or may not know, [Baker has] been the subject of a leak investigation … a criminal leak investigation that’s still active at the Justice Department,” lawyer Daniel Levin told lawmakers, as he pushed back on questions about his client’s conversations with reporters.
Jordan and Meadows’ letter was sent to Durham, the U.S. attorney for Connecticut, and requested additional information about the probe later this month.
"As we continue our oversight and investigative work, we felt it prudent to write to you seeking an update. Without being apprised of the contours of your leak investigation and Baker’s role, we run the risk of inadvertently interfering with your prosecutorial plans," they wrote.
James A. Baker, former general counsel for the FBI, was revealed to be the subject of a leak probe. (Michigan Law)
The transcript of the closed-door interview and the letter do not include details explaining why the investigation is being led out of the Connecticut office. The status of the investigation is not publicly known.
But the disclosure marks the latest confirmation of a leak investigation involving FBI figures who have since left the bureau.
Last year, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe saw his leak case referred to the U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. McCabe was fired for lying to federal investigators about his role in a media leak regarding the Clinton Foundation on the eve of the 2016 presidential election.
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Baker subject of media leak... by on Scribd
The letter from the GOP lawmakers cited other concerns that arose as part of their own investigation when Republicans controlled the House:
"The Committees learned that in some instances, high-ranking DOJ and FBI officials, including the FBI General Counsel James Baker and DOJ Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr, took the self-described ‘unusual’ step of inserting themselves into the evidentiary chain of custody."
Documents reviewed by Fox News indicate that Ohr became the back-channel between Christopher Steele, author of the controversial and unverified anti-Trump “dossier,” and the FBI after he was fired by the bureau for lying about his contact with the media. According to a January 2018 memo by House Intelligence Committee Republicans on government surveillance practices, "Steele was suspended and then terminated as an FBI source for what the FBI defines as the most serious of violations -- an authorized disclosure of his relationship with the FBI in an October 30, Mother Jones article.”
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According to the DOJ website, Durham is a seasoned prosecutor who has been tapped by Republicans and Democrats to handle high-profile, national controversies.
Durham has held various positions in the District of Connecticut for 35 years, prosecuting organized and violent crime, as well as public corruption. From 2008 to 2012, he also served as the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, where he investigated the destruction of CIA interrogation tapes of senior Al Qaeda operatives and, prior to that, he reviewed alleged criminal wrongdoing by FBI personnel in Boston connected to the Whitey Bulger case.
Fox News is reaching out to FBI and Baker, as well as the U.S. Attorney’s office in Connecticut, for comment on the new letter.
Fox News’ Jake Gibson contributed to this report.
If this bothers you, wait till you hear what’s going on with Trump! You’ll be enraged!!!
Comey, Strzok, Page, McCabe and many others and now Baker.
The corruption of Obama’s FBI senior level officials was deep and despicable.
Even better a Federal Judge has now ordered Obama's national security adviser Susan Rice and former deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes to provide written answers on questions about Benghazi and as part of discovery also ordered depositions of Jacob Sullivan, Clinton's former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff, and Justin Cooper, a longtime Bill Clinton aide who helped arrange the setup of Hillary Clinton's private email address and server.
Why is Trump letting corrupt Hillary and corrupt Obama walk free? Where are Trump’s guts?
Like any citizen, if he did the crime, he has to do the time.
Yawn. This investigation was opened years ago. The only news is that someone asked for an update. Baker has been in government service since 1990 under both Republican and Democratic administrations.
Wait, now we're spinning James Baker, - George HW Bush's Secretary of State, Reagan's Secretary of the Treasure, Advisor to George W Bush) - as an "Obama official" just because he's under investigation as General Councel to the FBI? Uh, ok...
Wait, now we're spinning James Baker, - George HW Bush's Secretary of State, Reagan's Secretary of the Treasure, Advisor to George W Bush) - as an "Obama official" just because he's under investigation as General Councel to the FBI? Uh, ok...
No. THAT James Addison Baker is 88 years old. This is some lawyer who works in government. It's a nothing story designed to stir the pot.
Wait, now we're spinning James Baker, - George HW Bush's Secretary of State, Reagan's Secretary of the Treasure, Advisor to George W Bush) - as an "Obama official" just because he's under investigation as General Councel to the FBI? Uh, ok...
No. THAT James Addison Baker is 88 years old. This is some lawyer who works in government. It's a nothing story designed to stir the pot.
That's what I thought, since he was besties with HW. Yeah, moving on...
If this bothers you, wait till you hear what’s going on with Trump! You’ll be enraged!!!
Interesting that the same people that think leaking is the crime of the century are the same ones who wet themselves each time Wikileaks released something about Hillary or the DNC. Heck, Trump even asked the Russians on television to hack Hillary's emails and leak them. Yawn
He said "leak". LOL
This keeps getting better.
The corrupt Obama/Comey FBI lawyer Baker was the lead in compiling the false documents for the FISA warrant application.
Baker now becomes the fifth corrupt Obama DOJ/FBI official to get in line for criminal prosecution.
Doubt it. Sounds exactly the same as your many other posts predicting so and so will get busted for this or that, and it never happens.
Baker now becomes the fifth corrupt Obama DOJ/FBI official to get in line for criminal prosecution.
Obama - 5
Trump - 36 and counting
Trump wins again!
