Sara Carter
One-line summary: Investigative journalist who has documented how anti-Trump forces within the FBI and DOJ weaponized FISA surveillance and the Steele dossier as instruments of deep state political warfare against a sitting president.
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Sara A. Carter |
| Role | Investigative Journalist, Fox News Contributor |
| Platform | SaraACarter.com, Fox News (Hannity), podcasts |
| Notable Works | FISA abuse reporting (2017-2019), Steele dossier investigation, FBI/DOJ corruption coverage, Sara Carter Show podcast |
Background & Biography
Sara Carter is an American investigative journalist and national security correspondent who has reported from conflict zones including Afghanistan, the US-Mexico border, and the Middle East. She previously worked for Circa News (alongside John Solomon), the Washington Times, and the Washington Examiner. Carter gained national prominence through her reporting on the FBI's abuse of FISA surveillance powers and the role of the Steele dossier in the Russia investigation. She became a regular contributor to Fox News, particularly Sean Hannity's show, where her sourced reporting on FBI and DOJ misconduct was credited with keeping public attention on the FISA abuse story during a period when mainstream media dismissed such concerns. She runs SaraACarter.com as her primary investigative platform and hosts the Sara Carter Show podcast.
Their Deep State Definition
Sara Carter's deep state framework focuses on a specific and documented phenomenon: the weaponization of law enforcement and intelligence agencies by politically motivated officials within the FBI and DOJ who used their extraordinary powers -- particularly FISA surveillance -- to target political opponents.
Carter's reporting centers on the 2016-2017 period when, she argues, senior officials at the FBI (James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page) and the DOJ (Bruce Ohr, Sally Yates) used the Steele dossier -- opposition research funded by the Clinton campaign -- as the basis for FISA surveillance warrants against Trump campaign associate Carter Page. This, she argues, represented the weaponization of the most powerful surveillance tools in the US government for partisan political purposes.
Her deep state analysis is evidence-based and specific rather than theoretical. She names individuals, cites documents, references text messages, and tracks the chain of events through which intelligence and law enforcement powers were turned against a presidential campaign and then a sitting president. She distinguishes between the rank-and-file agents she respects and the senior leadership she accuses of corruption.
Carter's framework encompasses the broader institutional ecosystem that enabled this abuse: compliant media outlets that amplified the Russia collusion narrative, intelligence community leakers who fed stories to sympathetic journalists, and congressional allies who provided political cover for the investigations.
Key Quotes
"What we saw was the weaponization of our most powerful law enforcement and intelligence tools against a political opponent. That is the deep state in action." -- Fox News, 2018
"The FISA court was lied to. The FBI knew the dossier was unverified, and they used it anyway because they wanted to spy on the Trump campaign." -- SaraACarter.com, 2018
"This wasn't a rogue operation by a few bad actors. It was a coordinated effort within the senior ranks of the FBI and DOJ." -- Hannity, 2019
"The deep state isn't about conspiracy theories. It's about documented abuse of power by people who believed they were above the law." -- Sara Carter Show podcast
Key Arguments & Evidence They Cite
- The Steele dossier was funded by the Clinton campaign through Fusion GPS, a fact concealed from the FISA court in warrant applications
- FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page exchanged text messages revealing anti-Trump bias while conducting investigations of both Trump and Clinton
- Bruce Ohr at the DOJ maintained a back channel to Christopher Steele after the FBI officially terminated Steele as a source
- FISA warrant applications against Carter Page contained material errors and omissions, as confirmed by Inspector General Horowitz's report
- The FBI opened the Crossfire Hurricane investigation based on thin predication and pursued it aggressively despite lack of evidence
- Media leaks from within the FBI and DOJ were strategically timed to support the investigation and damage Trump politically
- The unmasking of American identities in intelligence intercepts was used for political purposes by senior Obama administration officials
Where They've Said It
- SaraACarter.com, investigative reporting, 2017-present
- Fox News (Hannity) appearances, regular contributor
- Circa News investigative reporting, 2016-2017
- Sara Carter Show podcast
- Various radio and podcast appearances
- Congressional hearing coverage and analysis
Related Perspectives
- Kash_Patel -- Investigated the same FISA abuse from inside the House Intelligence Committee; close ally
- John_Solomon -- Circa News colleague who reported on the same FBI/DOJ corruption simultaneously
- Sharyl_Attkisson -- Fellow investigative journalist who experienced government retaliation for challenging official narratives
- Michael_Flynn -- Subject of the deep state operations Carter documented
Impact & Influence
- Contributed to public awareness and debate about unaccountable government power
- Their work has been cited by other researchers, journalists, and public figures in this project
- Represents a significant voice in the broader movement to increase government transparency and accountability
- Has influenced policy discussions around intelligence community oversight and reform
Criticism & Counterarguments
- Critics argue their claims oversimplify complex institutional dynamics
- Mainstream commentators have dismissed some of their analysis as conspiratorial thinking
- Supporters counter that documented evidence validates their core thesis
- The debate continues to evolve as new documents and evidence emerge
Other Coverage Worth Reading
- Mike Lofgren's Hybrid Deep State: Mike Lofgren's definition of the deep state as a "hybrid association of key elements of government and parts...
- Ray McGovern: Former CIA analyst of 27 years and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) who describes the...
- John Whitehead: Constitutional attorney and Rutherford Institute founder who describes a "corporatized, militarized, entrenched bureaucracy" that is unaffected by elections...
- Peter Dale Scott: Professor emeritus of English at UC Berkeley and former Canadian diplomat who coined the term "deep politics" and...
Sources
- Carter, Sara. Investigative reporting at SaraACarter.com, 2017-present.
- Carter, Sara. Circa News reporting on FISA abuse, 2016-2017.
- Inspector General Michael Horowitz. "Review of Four FISA Applications and Other Aspects of the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane Investigation." December 2019.
- Fox News Hannity appearances, 2017-present.
- Sara Carter Show podcast, various episodes.
This information was compiled by Claude AI research.