Ex-FBI lawyer to plead guilty to falsifying CIA email in Trump-Russia investigation, reports say

Justice Department argues Kevin Clinesmith edited messages to justify wiretap request for president's campaign adviser

A former FBI lawyer is expected to plead guilty to falsifying a document central to an investigation into Russian interference in 2016 elections.

Kevin Clinesmith, who was assigned to the FBI probe, is set to plead guilty to altering an email from the CIA on which investigators relied for continuing wiretap permissions on Carter Page, Donald Trump's former campaign adviser, The New York Times reports.

The plea follows US Attorney John Durham's investigation into the previous inquiry, dismissed by US Attorney General William Barr and Donald Trump, who has sought retribution following a lengthy probe and indictments and convictions targeting his allies and campaign officials despite his accusations that the investigation was a "hoax" and politically motivated.

Mr Clinesmith is excepted to plead guilty to one felony count of making a false statement.

Democrats have warned that Mr Durham's investigation has aimed to discredit the FBI probe, which Justice Department officials had determined was legitimate following an inspector general's review. The report found no evidence of political bias among investigators.

"That's just the beginning, I would imagine, because what happened should never happen again," the president said from the White House on Friday. "Terrible thing. Fact is they spied on my campaign and they got caught."

The resulting investigation into 2016 interference, led by special counsel Robert Mueller, revealed a Russian-backed operation to subvert US elections and how the Trump campaign sought to benefit, but the president's allies have seized on the investigation into Mr Page in their attempts to undermine the probe.

Mr Page – who runs an investment fund and consulting firm with a focus on Russian oil and gas projects – was federally surveilled with permission from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in October 2016. Those permissions were extended three more times following suspicion that he had been targeted by Russian agents. The report found no evidence that he had coordinated between the campaign and Russia.

Mr Clinesmith allegedly doctored an email that claimed Mr Page – who had a previously relationship with the CIA – was "never a source" following requests for clarification.

His lawyers have argued that the edit to the document was mad in good faith because he did not believe Mr Page had been a CIA informant; Mr Clinesmith also provided an unedited version of the document to investigators.

"Kevin deeply regrets having altered the email," Mr Clinesmith's attorney 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."

A five-page court filing in US district court in Washington DC does not reveal whether Mr Clinesmith, who left the FBI in 2019, had provided evidence against any other officials.

During an appearance on Fox New on Thursday, the president appeared to preview Friday's announcement: "It's not an earth-shattering development, but it is an indication that things are moving along at the proper pace, as dictated by the facts in this investigation."