Electronic surveillance

Michael Flynn Knew the FBI Had Heard His Calls with Russians. So Why Did He Lie About Them?

The FBI made clear the extent of surveillance it conducts against even minor Russian intelligence operatives in a 2015 case concerning three low-level spies who had been arrested in New York.

“In the course of this investigation, the FBI has employed a variety of lawful investigative methods. For example, the FBI has conducted extensive physical and electronic surveillance of the defendants — including the covert placement of microphone-type listening devices in certain locations; the covert placement of video cameras in public locations; the monitoring and recording of the phone calls of certain of the defendants; and the use of a confidential source,” says the criminal complaint accusing Evgeny Buryakov, Igor Sporyshev and Victor Podobnyy of working for the SVR, the Russian intelligence service.

The complaint continued: “In addition, and among other things, the FBI has lawfully obtained multiple audio recordings of discussions involving certain of the defendants that occurred at various locations within a secure office in Manhattan used by SVR agents to send and receive intelligence reports and assignments from Moscow Center.”