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FBI Response to Having ‘Secure Workspace’ at Perkins Coie Raises More Questions Than It Answers – Opinion

By Pluralist / June 2, 2022

We reported on the concerning news that there was a “secure workspace” for the FBI at the Democratic law firm Perkins Coie.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) went on Tucker Carlson’s show recently and revealed what he and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) found out about the space when they got answers back from Perkins Coie. According to Gaetz, they were told first about the space from a whistleblower.

What is the question? The question is: Why was Perkins Coie a safe place for the FBI? They’ve allegedly had it since 2012.

“Perkins Coie is responsible to the FBI for maintaining the Secure Work Environment,” the letter reportedly said.

Gaetz, Jordan and others are asking for answers from FBI. They’ve sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, demanding an explanation.

“We have learned that since March 2012, the FBI approved and facilitated a Secure Work Environment at Perkins Coie’s Washington, D.C. office, which continues to be operational,” the letter states. “In a letter dated May 25, 2022, the law firm confirmed and acknowledged the arrangement.”

The congressmen’s letter states that Michael Sussmann, the former Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer who was acquitted Tuesday of lying to the FBI, had access to the Secure Work Environment until some point in 2021 and had “limited supervised access thereafter.”

That, in all likelihood, would be concerning considering the Sussmann case. Are they saying that Sussmann had access to this workspace after 2021 — after he resigned in September 2021? What would it mean? Is it possible that the event will stop by 2021?

The FBI’s response to the question is interesting. They don’t mention Perkins Coie, but implicitly seem to be acknowledging there was such a workspace but appear to be trying to justify it.

“The FBI complies with the law and security policies and works with the Department of Justice to serve classified, Court-authorized legal process necessary to support national security investigations. In certain instances, the FBI coordinates with non-government, third-party entities, such as law firms, that represent service providers which receive these classified Court orders,” an FBI spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“This includes providing access to private attorneys which represent the service providers in satisfaction of their legal rights. As part of this, the FBI ensures that any storage of classified orders meets stringent security protocols required for such documents.”

Gaetz stated that they wanted answers from Wray no later than June 15th and that serious questions were being raised about the relationship.

“Our concern is that politically motivated dirt was being converted into politically motivated investigations,” Gaetz said on Fox News. “That’s why Jim Jordan and I are making demands for answers on Christopher Wray immediately. And it’s my hope, certainly, that we shut this facility down.”

He is looking for any documents relating to this area, including who was able to access it, why and when the workspace approvals were made.

Meanwhile, Perkins isn’t talking.

Christopher Wray should give Congress a more detailed explanation of what the space is and why it happened at Perkins. If it’s about providing access to Perkins to review records, why isn’t that at the FBI and/or why they just aren’t providing the records? They seem to suggest that they may have access at multiple places, but what other locations do they have? Is it possible that they had gained access to FBI databases from this location? Who has access to the space during its existence? And if Sussmann was the contact — who was he working with at the FBI on this?

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