First Durham BOMBSHELL Drops: Ex-FBI Lawyer to Plead GUILTY

This is the first criminal case resulting from the Durham probe.

AG Barr said the development would not be "earth shattering."

It is unclear if this is the development that Barr was talking about, but it's looking more likely.

According to ABC:

Former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith is expected to plead guilty Friday after admitting that he doctored a document used in the application process authorizing surveillance against for a former Trump campaign aide -- part of the first criminal case brought by U.S. Attorney John Durham in his investigation examining the origins of the Russia probe.

Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz had previously outlined Clinesmith's conduct in his report released last year examining the Russia investigation, and referred Clinesmith to the DOJ for prosecution after finding he had altered an email from the CIA that was used by the government in the final FISA renewal application authorizing surveillance of former Trump aide Carter Page.

According to a criminal information filing made public Friday, Clinesmith pleaded to one felony charge for making false statements.

"He will be pleading guilty," Clinesmith's attorney Justin Shur told ABC News in a statement Friday. "Kevin deeply regrets having altered the email. It was never his intent to mislead the court or his colleagues as he believed the information he relayed was accurate. But Kevin understands what he did was wrong and accepts responsibility."

The news of Clinesmith's plea was first reported by the New York Times.

The first FISA application targeting Page was first approved in October of 2016 and signed by then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates. The first renewal came in January of 2017 under Yates’ signature, the second came in April of 2017 signed by Acting Attorney General Dan Boente and third and final renewal application was filed under the signature of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in June of 2017.

Clinesmith’s alteration only impacted that final renewal application in June of 2017 and was not relevant to the earlier FISA warrants. Horowitz's report last December outlined numerous errors and omissions by the FBI agents who handled the applications for Page, and the DOJ subsequently declared the final two applications were, including the one implicating Clinesmith, while declining to take a position on the first two applications.

The contents and results of the Durham probe have remained secret.

Virtually no one except those involved know what's going on and what will be revealed.

Until today, we had no idea that a former FBI official would be pleading GUILTY.

What else will we find out in the coming weeks and months?

The ex FBI official, Mr. Clinesmith, was also caught texting anti-Trump messages.

According to the New York Times:

The lawyer, Kevin Clinesmith, 38, who was assigned to the Russia investigation, plans to admit that he altered an email from the C.I.A. that investigators relied on to seek renewed court permission in 2017 for a secret wiretap on the former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, who had at times provided information to the spy agency. Mr. Clinesmith’s lawyer said he made a mistake while trying to clarify facts for a colleague.

Mr. Clinesmith had written texts expressing opposition to President Trump, who is sure to tout the plea agreement as evidence that the Russia investigation was illegitimate and politically motivated. Mr. Trump has long been blunt about seeing the continuing investigation by the prosecutor examining the earlier inquiry, John H. Durham, as political payback whose fruits he would like to see revealed in the weeks before the election.

Attorney General William P. Barr has portrayed Mr. Durham’s work as rectifying what he sees as injustices by officials who sought in 2016 to understand links between the Trump campaign and Russia’s covert operation to interfere in the election.

Prosecutors did not reveal any evidence in charging documents that show Mr. Clinesmith’s actions were part of any broader conspiracy to undermine Mr. Trump. And the Justice Department’s independent inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, has found that law enforcement officials had sufficient reason to open the Russia investigation, known inside the F.B.I. as Crossfire Hurricane, and found no evidence that they acted with political bias.

As part of their efforts to dissuade prosecutors from charging Mr. Clinesmith, his lawyers argued that his motives were benign, and other evidence indicated that he had not tried to hide the C.I.A. email from his colleagues,

“Kevin deeply regrets having altered the email,” Mr. Clinesmith’s lawyer, Justin Shur, said in a statement. “It was never his intent to mislead the court or his colleagues as he believed the information he relayed was accurate. But Kevin understands what he did was wrong and accepts responsibility. ”

Mr. Clinesmith was expected to be charged in federal court in Washington with a single felony count of making a false statement. He did not respond to an email seeking comment. A spokesman for Mr. Durham declined to comment.

It is clear that many in the Deep State hate president Trump and will do whatever they can to have him removed from office.

This November, we must send a loud message that WE THE PEOPLE support President Trump.

He is a bulwark against the leftward march of the Democratic party.

We must continue to elect officials who will fight for liberty, freedom, and the Constitution!