National Security Division Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart Evans in Washington on Sept. 14, 2016. (Credit: Zach Gibson/AFP/Getty Images)
“Stuart Evans, deputy assistant attorney general for the National Security Division’s Office of Intelligence.
Evans is one of the few government officials discussed in the IG report who raised concerns about the effort to surveil Page and the decision to rely on Steele to obtain FISAs.
Emails cited in the report show that Evans asked FBI agents to provide additional evidence to back up claims in the report.
The IG report says that Evans’s “persistent inquiries” forced the Crossfire Hurricane team to disclose potential bias in Steele’s information.
Evans “placed a temporary hold” on the initial FISA application while his office evaluated information regarding Steele.
Evans’s reluctance was offset by eagerness by Peter Strzok and Lisa Page to obtain the FISA authorization.
“According to Evans, he raised on multiple occasions with the FBI, including with Strzok, Lisa Page, and later McCabe, whether seeking FISA authority targeting Carter Page was a good idea, even if the legal standard was met,” the IG report says.
Carter Page speaks to the media after testifying before the House Intelligence Committee on November 2, 2017. (Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Evans said that he did not believe there was a compelling benefit to obtaining the warrant because Page was unlikely to put any incriminating information on email or in a telephone call.
Evans was not informed of several other red flags related to the dossier.
According to the IG report, Steele told FBI agents on Oct. 3, 2016 that he believed that a key sub-source for his dossier was a “boaster” and “egotist.” (Read more: The Daily Caller, 6/22/2020) (Archive)