A DESERVED VICTORY LAP:

In October, Heat Street's Louise Mensch was the first to report the existence of a secret "FISA warrant", approved by a court, which allowed FBI agents to do electronic surveillance of Trump's campaign and associates. According to Heat Street (and now President Trump), the FBI was first turned down by a court but was later successful.

The first request, which, sources say, named Trump, was denied back in June, but the second was drawn more narrowly and was granted in October after evidence was presented of a server, possibly related to the Trump campaign, and its alleged links to two banks; SVB Bank and Russia's Alfa Bank.

Heat Street's reporting contradicted earlier reporting by The New York Times which, citing FBI sources, said that the agency did not believe the private server in Trump Tower had any nefarious purpose. The Times' cautious reporting was later criticized by its own ombudswoman who argued that the "Paper of Record" should have been more aggressive. She was then directly rebuked in a rare breach of protocol by the Times' executive editor, Dean Baquet, who called her criticisms "fairly ridiculous."

In the months that have followed the election, new revelations about Trump advisors' contacts with and ties to the Russians have poured forth almost daily, and the Russia controversy has become a major distraction during the Trump Administration's crucial "first 100 days". In addition to the ongoing FBI investigation, which has been ramped up, there are now also burgeoning Congressional investigations and calls for a special prosecutor to be appointed.

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