Watchdog Sues for Documents on Comey’s Alleged ‘Spies’ at Trump White House

Former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey leaves the Rayburn House Office Building after testifying to the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 7, 2018. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

A conservative watchdog group filed a lawsuit on Sept. 4 seeking the communications of alleged “spies” who purportedly served as former FBI Director James Comey’s sources inside the White House.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) sued the FBI after the bureau failed to turn over communications between Comey and Anthony Ferrante, Jordan Rae Kelly, and Tashina Gauhar.

In a statement accompanying the lawsuit, the ACLJ refers to an anonymously sourced report by RealClearInvestigations (RCI), which claims that in early 2017, Ferrante maintained a position at the White House and reported back to the FBI as part of the Russia investigation.

“It very much appears to be that Comey was putting his own people in the White House as spies. There’s also been no denials by anyone,” the ACLJ states.

“The idea that Comey wasn’t targeting the President, at least based on currently available evidence, seems absurd but we will find out a lot more when we get the documents. We expect that it is going to be pretty damaging to the leadership of the FBI.”

President Donald Trump speaks to media before departing the White House on Marine One en route to Kentucky to speak at the American Veterans 75th National Convention, in Washington on Aug. 21, 2019. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

Ferrante left the White House around the time President Donald Trump fired Comey in May 2017. Ferrante went on to work for FTI Consulting, the firm that was contracted by BuzzFeed to verify the infamous dossier composed by former British spy Christopher Steele. The FBI used the dossier to obtain a warrant to spy on Trump campaign associate Carter Page. The Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee paid for the dossier.

The RCI report also claims that the National Security Council supervisor at the White House wasn’t allowed to remove Ferrante during his tenure. The findings about Ferrante will be included in a forthcoming report by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz, according to RCI.

Horowitz concluded in a recent report that Comey didn’t live up to expectations regarding the handling of government documents and classified information. The inspector general also found that Comey leaked classified information to his attorneys. The Justice Department declined to prosecute Comey.

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz. MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

The Horowitz report revealed, for the first time, that Comey fed information about his Jan. 6, 2017, meeting with Trump to the FBI team investigating alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. The revelation suggested that Comey was investigating Trump, even as he told the president otherwise. The RCI article similarly claims that Comey secretly investigated Trump.

The team that investigated Trump was led by special agent Peter Strzok, the FBI official notorious for his messages expressing bias against Trump and in favor of Hillary Clinton. In text messages with his mistress, FBI lawyer Lisa Page, Strzok also spoke about stopping Trump from becoming president and an “insurance policy” in the “unlikely event” that Trump was to win the 2016 election.

The lawsuit also seeks the communications of Kelly and Gauhar. Kelly replaced Ferrante at the White House, according to RCI. Upon leaving the White House, Kelly also went on to work for FTI Consulting. Gauhar, a Justice Department official, worked closely with Ferrante.

The FBI declined to comment when contacted by The Epoch Times.