October Surprise by Devlin Barrett

Author:Devlin Barrett [Barrett, Devlin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Published: 2020-09-22T00:00:00+00:00

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2016

The FBI’s relationship with the Clinton campaign had not improved; if anything it was getting worse. The glaring absence of the FBI on the official statement about Russian interference grated on those at Clinton’s campaign headquarters in Brooklyn. Earlier in the campaign, the Clinton team had declined the Bureau’s offer of a classified briefing about Russian hacking. The Clinton team had asked for an unclassified version instead, but the FBI refused. Neither side trusted the other. The FBI agents wanted to keep the campaign from blabbing whatever they were told about the investigation. The campaign staffers, including John Podesta, felt like a classified briefing was a trap; if any of the information leaked later, congressional Republicans or maybe even the FBI would accuse them of being the leakers, and they’d be right back in the same kind of mess as the email investigation.

That weekend, Podesta traveled to St. Louis, Missouri, to prepare for the upcoming presidential debate there. An FBI agent called and left a message for him. “You may not know this,” the agent said, “but you’ve been the subject of a hack.”

“I’m very well aware of this,” said the exasperated Podesta, given the seemingly endless headlines about his hacked emails. The agent didn’t offer anything in the way of new information; he seemed to mostly be trying to open a line of communication. That night Peter Strzok tuned in to the presidential debate. He saw Donald Trump trying to turn the story back to the Clinton emails.

“Trump saying agents at FBI are furious at the MYE [Midyear Exam] outcome and he’s getting a special prosecutor,” Strzok texted Page. She immediately replied, “I’m not watching.” “I am. Just getting aggravated,” Strzok answered.

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