Welcome, everybody. I think we have some leadership, about the theyll be coming in. Can you see, can you hear me . Is it working . Well, the election is over. Theyre still counting the votes and making legal challenges, and once all the legal challenges are made and the votes are counted, well have that done. Weve still got two outstanding races in georgia to determine the control of the senate and the committee will keep moving forward doing its work. We have next week social media oversight. I cant wait to have the social media ceos come to the committee and explain themselves about their platform, thats the 17th. I think theres a lot of bipartisan support to take a hard look at social media platform. The act is still business pending before the committee and after the hearing well have markup. But today we have mr. Mccabe, the number two at the fbi during the hurricane. I think hes going to appear remotely, so i appreciate him coming. And what ill do is make a brief Opening Statement. Has been looked at in many fashions. The Inspector Generals report found 17 policy violations regarding the way the crossfire hurricane operation was performed. The fisa court basically rebuked the fbi and the department of justice regarding the warrant application made against carter page. Every person we talked to has been able to get ahold of has said then if i know now wouldnt have signed the carter page warrant application. Well take that topic up with mr. Mccabe. And counterintelligence investigations of the political people that the committee needs to look long and hard at creating some new rules of the road, this wont be the last time a Foreign Government has tried to interfere in our election, and the russians did for sure. Try to interfere in the 2016 election. Well see what happened in 2020. Also, you have to make sure those involved in investigating campaigns have an even hand about it and that whatever biases they have dont seep into the system so that one candidate gets treated differently than the other. And were going to talk about that today with mr. Mccabe. That every allegation of a campaign being involved with foreign entities or trying to create an impression of involvement with foreign entities needs to be looked at, not just one side of the ledger. And i look forward to asking mr. Mccabe, did the fbi live up to that when it came to crossfire hurricane and try to find out how the system got so off the rails when it came to mr. Page and the warrant application. So with that i will turn it over to senator feinstein. Thanks very much, mr. Chairman. I appreciate your comments on the election. I think we should all be heartened by the record participation and the dedication of our poll workers and state Election Officials and certainly on this side of the aisle. And i hope on the other side, too, in the results. We thank you for calling this hearing. Its part of your examination of crossfire hurricane, and thats the fbi investigation into rush than interference in the 2016 election. Special counsel mueller took control of that investigation when he was appointed in 2017. He concluded there was foreign interference in the 2016 election. He found that russia interfered, quote, in sweeping and systematic fashion, end quote. He also uncovered numerous contacts between members of the Trump Campaign and individuals linked to russia. And he determined that the campaign knew about, welcomed and, quote, expected it would benef benef benef benefit electorally. The Senate Committee confirmed muellers findings in a bipartisan report. The report details russias 2016 inteefrs and how Trump Campaign members were involved. That included Campaign Manager paul manafort, whose ties to russia made him, in the committees words, quote, a grave counterintelligence threat. These investigations make clear that the fbi was right to investigate Russian Election interference and the Trump Campaign ties. Michael horowitz also confirmed that the fbi was right to investigate. After a twoyear investigation, he concluded that the fbi was justified in opening crossfire hurricane and that there was no evidence that the political bias impacted the bureaus work. None of the 14 witnesses the committee has heard from during the chairmans investigation have provided evidence to the contrary. So, where are we . More than four years have passed since the fbi opened crossfire hurricane and multiple investigations have confirmed that the fbi was correct to do so. So, i think, mr. Chairman, its time to turn the page on crossfire hurricane. Im thankful to fbi director wray and career men and women of the fbi who worked hard to secure our country and its elections. They include fbi Deputy DirectorAndrew Mccabe, who i look forward to hearing from today. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Thank you very much, senator feinstein. Mr. Mccabe, are you im sorry, were not getting any sound. Bear with us, mr. Mccabe. Well see if we can fix this. Hello. Can you hear me now . Yes, thank you very much. Very much. Loud and clear, please. Could you raise your right hand. Raise your yes, sir. Do you solemnly swear the testimony youre about to give to this committee is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you god . I do. Would you like to say anything or yes, sir. I have an Opening Statement i would like to read. Please, go ahead. Okay. Chairman graham, Ranking Member feinstein and distinguished members of the committee, thank you for giving me the opportunity to testify today. I had the privilege to serve as an fbi agent for over 21 years. For my first assignment working russian organized crime in new york city to the last years i spent as Deputy Director at fbi headquarters, i worked with the greatest people on earth. Men and women who have dedicated their lives protecting the country as agents, analysts and professional Staff Members of the fbi. I know fbi people as hard working, dedicated patriots who are dedicated to the rule of law above all else. Their jobs are hard, sometimes dangerous, and often they are pushed beyond the limits of their experience into volatile, unpredictable situations. Fbi personnel are not perfect, but when they make mistakes, they submit to the rigors of oversight and remain committed to learning and getting it right the next time. I was honored to be one of them. I was honored to lead them. And im honored to discuss our work today. Ive agreed to testify today about my knowledge of events related to the u. S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General report entitled review of four fisa applications and other aspects of the fbis crossfire hurricane investigation and the investigation into russian interference in the 2016 president ial election. Because i was not permitted to consult the documents that may have refreshed my memory to include my personal notes and my calendar, i may not be as precise and accurate as i otherwise would be. I appreciate the committees flexibility in conducting this hearing virtually rather than in person. While i continue to believe an inperson appearance is a better vehicle for a fair and rigorous oversight hearing, the current status of the covid19 pandemic compels me to be extremely cautious about where i go and what i do. My wife is a frontline First Responder who takes care of children and their families in our local emergency room. I try to avoid unnecessary chances of potential exposure that might put her at risk and possibly endanger her ability to continue caring for our community. In july of 2016 the fbi initiated an investigation code named crossfire hurricane to determine whether an individual or individuals from the trump president ial campaign might be coordinating with the russian government to interfere with our 2016 president ial election. The concerns that led to our initiate of this case are well known. In the fall of 2014, the fbi had begun tracking cyber actors affiliated with russia who were targeting u. S. Political institutions, academic think tanks and other entities. In the spring of 2016, this activity intensified as new russian cyber actors invaded Computer Networks at the Democratic National committee. At the time we did not know what they planned to do with the information they were stealing from the dnc, but soon we found out. In july 2016, russian intelligence agents acting through the online alias gus2. 0 published hundreds of thousands of emails and other information stolen from the dnc with the intense of damaging Hillary Clinton on the eve of the Democratic National convention. This malicious use of stolen information signaled a new level of hostility directed at the heart of american democracy. Several months before this release, an unknown to the fbi at that time, a Foreign Policy adviser to the Trump Campaign, George Papadopoulos informed a diplomat from a Foreign Government that the trurp campaign had, quote, received indications from the russian government that it could assist the campaign through the anonymous release of information that would be damaging to Hillary Clinton. Close quote. It was only after the dnc information was publicly released in july that the diplomat communicated the content of his conversation with pap dap louse to the United States government. What did we know in 2016 . We know for two years that the russians were targeting our Political Campaign. We knew the russians had stolen information from the dnc. By july we knew the russians had used that information in a manner designed to hurt Hillary Clintons chances in the election and then we learned before the russians attacked us, an individual from the Trump Campaign may have known the attack was coming. Fbi policy sets the threshold for opening a full field investigation as the moment when you have information or facts that indicate a threat to National Security might exist or that a federal crime might have been committed. In july of 2016 we had both. Russian Intelligence Services attacking our democratic process, possibly in coordination with a president ial campaign. We opened a case to investigate and try to mitigate that threat and to find out what the russians might have done. Let me be very clear. We did not open a case because we liked one candidate or didnt like the other one. We did not open a case because we intended to stage a coup or overthrow the government. We did not open a case because we thought it might be interesting or because we wanted to drag the fbi into a heat political contest. We opened a case to find out how the russians might be undermining our election. We opened a case because it was our obligation and our duty to do so. We did our job. It is review of four fiz applications and other applications of the crossfire hurricane investigation details a significant number of errors and failures related to the fisa applications in this case. I agreed to be interviewed with the igs investigation and i have reviewed the report. I was shocked and disappointed at the errors and mistakes that the oig found. To me, any material misrepresentation or error in a fisa application is unacceptable, period. The fbi should be held to the standard of scrupulous accuracy that the court demands. Fisa remains one of the most important tools in our country. The fbi is the custodian of that tool. I fully support every effort to ensure the fbis use of fisa maintains the high standards that the court and the American People demand and deserve. This commitment to the rule of law acknowledging our mistakes and doing Everything Possible to ensure they are corrected, these are the reasons i am here today. They are the same reasons i have cooperated fully with every interview, hearing and Oversight Effort requested of me both while i served and since ive left the fbi. I have provided testimony to four different congressional committees on these and related matters. Ive been interviewed in connection with the special counsels investigation as well as three separate doj oig investigations, submitting to questioning and reviewing documents over the equivalent of seven full business days. In an effort to provide this committee with the most complete accurate testimony possible, i requested the fbi allow me to review some of my former materials, including my calendars and personal notes. That request was denied. Fortunately, the broad scope of these matters and the passage of time makes many of the details of our work hard to remember. I will do my best to answer your questions today, but i will not speculate or guess about details and facts that now remain beyond my reach without the benefit of refreshing my recollection. Based on the recent testimony of the current fbi director and other intelligence officials, it seems that many of the same signs and malevolent russian targeting that concerned us in 2016 were seen in the runup to the election we just completed. As both a former career Law Enforcement officer and a Senior Intelligence officer, i stress mr. Mccabe, you had a fiveminute Opening Statement. Were at 8 48. Could you please wrap up. Yes, sir. I cannot stress enough the importance of focusing your efforts and the attention of this nation on the dangers of foreign influence on our election. The russians were successful beyond their wildest imagination in accomplishing their goals in 2016. Their successes serve as an encouragement to other hostile nations intent on undermining our security, safety and stability. The russians and others will be back. Please do not let the recent calm of the 2020 election lure the nation into a false sense of security. It is up to you to ensure the nation recognizes the magnitude of the threat posed by foreign actors and take sufficiently aggressive steps to address it. With that im happy to take your questions. For the record, before i begin my questions, one of the reasons hes not able to review his notes is that the fbi did not want him to have access to classified information. I promised mr. Mccabe we would not go into details of his dismissal, but i dont want anybody to have the belief that this committee chose for him not to have access. It was his former employer who made that decision. Now, very quickly, did anyone from the Trump Campaign wind up being prosecuted for colluding with the russians . Senator, its my understanding the results of the Mueller Investigation that no one was prosecuted for criminal conspiracy involving activity that would include mr mr. Papadopoulos, is that correct. Mr. Papadopoulos was prosecuted for making false statements to fbi agents. Thank you. Lets make sure that the fbi treated both sides fairly. Senator feinstein suggested it was right to open up the investigation against the Trump Campaign. You say it was right, it was your duty. Lets look at the entire record of the 2016 election and see how evenhanded the fbi was. On september 7, 2016, the cia now, not the australian ambassador of the United Kingdom in london, but our cia sends an Investigative Lead over to the fbi. And they inform the fbi of u. S. President ial candidate Hillary Clintons approval of a plan concerning u. S. President ial candidate donald trump and Russian Hackers hampering u. S. Elections as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private mail service. How many agents were assigned to investigate that . Senator, if you are referring to the memorandum, the raw intelligence memorandum recently declassified by the dni yeah, yeah. I have read that memorandum and i dont understand it to be a request for investigative activity. Im not aware that any agents were assigned to investigate the wait a minute. Timeout. You get a memo, an Investigative Lead is what the cia calls it. Alleging that Hillary Clinton had just signed off on a plan to tie trump to russia for political purposes. How many people looked at that, how many acts were assigned to see if it was true or not . Did you know about it . Did you know about it . I was not aware of that memorandum until timeout, timeout, timeout. You get a cia memo, Investigative Lead memo, suggesting that the democratic candidate for president Hillary Clinton is trying to divert attention from her email server problem by casting aspergss against the Trump Campaign being connected to russia and you didnt know about it. How is that possible . Senator, id like to explain to you how thats possible. Who did it go to . Who did it go to . I just want to make sure if he nz who it went to. Who did the memo go to . I recently i read the memo recently. My understanding, it went to the to director comey and also to the attention of peter strzok. That memorandum youre referring to, as i read it, is in response to an fbi request, oral request, for an update of the sort of information that the crossfire Hurricane Task force was reviewing about russian activity in the campaign. That