[Washington Examiner] A top House Republican said he was "shocked" when he saw the name of the judge before whom former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith is expected to plead guilty in the first criminal case arising out of U.S. Attorney John Durham's inquiry into the Russia investigation.Rep. Devin Nunes, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, told Fox Business host Lou Dobbs on Monday he has no idea how Judge James Boasberg, the presiding judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, ended up being in charge of a case related to the FISA surveillance of a former Trump campaign aide.
"I saw that today. I was a little bit shocked," the California Republican said. This was after Dobbs, a staunch ally of President Trump and stern critic of the Russia investigation, asked if it was "a little bit screwed up."
The FISA court, which oversees requests for surveillance warrants for federal law enforcement and intelligence purposes, is currently composed of 11 judges. Boasberg, who is a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, has served in the FISA court since 2014. He was named the presiding judge of the FISA court on Jan. 1.
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