Welcome, everybody. I think we have some republicans that have a leadership election, but theyll be coming in. Can you see me . Can you hear me . Is it working . Well, the election is over. Theyre still counting the votes and making legal challenges and once all of the legal challenges are made and the votes are counted, well have that done. We still have 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 platforms. I think theres a lot of bipartisan support to take a hard look at social media platforms. The earned act is still a 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 crossfire hurricane. I think hes going to appear remotely. I appreciate him coming. And what ill do is make a brief Opening Statement. Crossfire hurricane 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 that we talk to been able to get a hold of, has said if i knew then what i know now, i would not have signed the carter page warrant application. Well take that topic up with mr. Mccabe. And counterintelligence investigations of political people, the committee needs to look long and hard at creating new rules of the road. This wont be the last time Foreign Governments try to interfere in our election. And the russians did, for sure, try to interfere in the 2016 election. Well see what happened in 2020. But also you got to make sure that 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, ill turn it over to senator feinstein. Thanks very much, mr. Chairman. I appreciate your comments on the election. I think we all should 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 our examination of crossfire hurricane and thats the fbi investigation into russian interference in the 2016 election. Special counsel mueller took control of that investigation when he was appointed in 2017. He concluded that there was foreign interference in the 2016 election. He found that russia interfered, quote, in sweeping and systemic 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 benefit electorally, end quote, from russias interference. The Senate Intelligence committee confirmed muellers findings in a bipartisan report. The report details russias 2016 interference and how Trump Campaign members were involved. That includes Campaign ManagerPaul 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 Campaigns ties to russia. Inspector general 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. 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 grateful to fbi director wray and the career men and women of the fbi who worked hard to secure our country and its elections. They include fbi Deputy Director andrew 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 with us . Mr. Mccabe . Could you speak up, please, sir . 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. Yes, sir. Do you swear that the testimony youre about to give this committee is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god . I do. Thank you. Would you like to say anything or are you just yes, sir, i have an Opening Statement that 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. 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 hardworking, dedicated patriots who are committed to the rule of law above all else, the 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. 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 department of justice 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 precise and accurate as i otherwise would be. I appreciate the committees flexibility in conducting this hearing virtually rather than in person. I continue to be an inperson appearance is a better vehicle for a oversight hearing, the current status of the covid19 pandemic compels me to be cautious about where i go and what i do. My wife is a frontline First Responder who takes care of children and families in our local emergency room. I try to avoid unnecessary chances of exposure and put her in endanger of continuing to care for our family. 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 initiation of this case are well known. In the fall of 2014, the fbi had begun tracking cyberactors affiliated with russia who were targeting u. S. Political institutions, academic think tanks and other entities. In the spring of 2016, the activity intensified as new russian cyberactors invaded Computer Networks at the dnc. In july 2016, russian intelligence agents published hundreds of thousands of emails and other information stolen from the dnc with the intent 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 and unknown to the fbi at that time, a Foreign Policy adviser to the Trump Campaign, George Papadopoulos, informed a diplomat from a friendly Foreign Government that the Trump 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, closed quote. It was after the information was publicly released in july that the diplomat communicated the content of his conversation with papadopoulos to the United States government. So what did we know in july 2016 . We had known for almost two years that the russians were targeting our Political Institutions in cyberspace. By the spring of 2016, we knew the russians 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 that 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 fullfield investigation as the moment 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 democracy process 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 we wanted to drag the fbi in into a heated 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. The review of four fisa applications and other aspects of the fbis crossfire hurricane investigation details a significant number of errors and failures related to the fisa applications in this case. I agreed to be interviewed in connection with the igs investigation and i have reviewed the report. I was shocked and disappointed at the errors and mistakes that the omg found. Any misrepresentation were errors 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 countrys efforts to protect National Security. The fbi is the custodian of that tool. I fully support ever 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 that theyre corrected, these are the reasons im here today. Theyre 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. I had been interviewed in connection with the special counsels investigation as well as three separate doj, oig investigations. 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 didnt. Fortunately the broad scope of these matters makes many of the details of our work hard to remember. 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 initials, it seems that many of the same signs of russian targeting that concerned us in 2016 were seen in the runup to the election we just completed. As a former career Law Enforcement officer and a Senior Intelligence officer mr. Mccabe, you had a fiveminute Opening Statement. Were at 8 46. 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 your election. The russians were successful beyond their wildest imagination at accomplishing their goals in 2016. Their successes serve as an encourage 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 aggressi aggressive steps to address it. 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. Papadopoulos, is that correct . Mr. Papadopoulos to, the best of my recollection, was prosecuted for making false statements to fbi agents. Thank you. All right. 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 the 7th, 2016, the cia not the australian ambassador to 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 information timeout. You get a memo, an investigate 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 agents were assigned to see if it was true or not . Did you know about it . I was not aware of that memorandum wait a minute. Timeout. Timeout. Timeout. You get a cia memo suggesting that the democratic candidate for president , Hillary Clinton, is trying to divert attention from her email server problem by castings castings a pir sigss against the Trump Campaign being connected to russia and you didnt know about it, how is that possible . Senator, i would like to explain to you how thats possible who did it go to . Who did it go to . I will, i want to make sure he understands who it went to. Who did the memo go to . I read the memo recently and my understanding, it went to the to director comey and was also to the attention of peter strzok. That memorandum that 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. Thats from my best recollection, thats what the im here to tell you that thats not what happened is that the cia and weve got the documents sent to the fbi information suggesting that Hillary Clinton had approved of a plan to link donald trump to russia for political purposes and it went to peter strzok. Do you believe peter strzok was fairminded when it came to the Trump Campaign . Senator, my experiences working with peter strzok, yes, i believe he was fair and the decisions that he made in the work that he did. Do you object to mue