(1/2) A highly anticipated DOJ review of the origins of the federal investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia found no direct evidence of political bias in the launching of the probe
A highly anticipated Justice Department review of the origins of the federal investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia found no direct evidence of political bias in the launching of the probe, but identified an embarrassing slew of inaccuracies and omissions by the FBI that marred requests for court-ordered surveillance of a former Trump campaign adviser.
“The Inspector General’s report now makes clear that the FBI launched an intrusive investigation of a U.S. presidential campaign on the thinnest of suspicions that, in my view, were insufficient to justify the steps taken,” Barr said in a statement. “It is also clear that, from its inception, the evidence produced by the investigation was consistently exculpatory.
However, Nadler and Maloney appeared to express concern that the inspector general’s findings would fuel claims by Trump’s supporters that his campaign was unfairly targeted by investigators in 2016. Horowitz was cautious in stating his findings about the motivations of key players in the investigation, perhaps because of the prior disclosure of text messages between a key FBI agent overseeing the Russia probe, Peter Strzok and an FBI attorney, Lisa Page, expressing disdain for Trump and hope that Hillary Clinton would win the election.
Horowitz exonerates Justice Department officials involved in the surveillance requests, saying they were unaware of inconsistent or inaccurate information from the FBI and an intelligence agency who had worked with Page. The review took on a larger-than-life quality over the past year-and-a-half, with some Trump supporters predicting that it would show that Trump and his advisers were the victims of a politically motivated vendetta by FBI agents and Obama appointees intent on undermining Trump’s upstart presidential bid and the early days of his presidency.
Horowitz’s review found that the applications submitted to federal judges exaggerated the significance and scope of Steele’s prior work with the FBI on an investigation into corruption in international soccer. The inspector general’s team also found a total of 17 inaccuracies or omissions in the surveillance applications filed with the court, despite DOJ policies calling for every application to be thoroughly scrubbed and substantiated with detailed documentation.
But Steele was told on Sunday by a staffer in the IG’s office that details about him had been newly declassified and would be included in the report, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the conversation. Steele was not given a chance to review the newly declassified material and was not briefed on its content prior to the report’s release.
Precisely what Durham is investigating criminally remains unclear, but press reports have said that one issue he is examining is whether a then-FBI attorney who handled the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act applications for Page, Kevin Clinesmith, altered an email he forwarded related to that work.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said he was open to that, but noted that many of those involved have left the bureau. Horowitz’s review also found that the FBI used one such briefing as an attempt to gain evidence for its ongoing inquiry into Trump adviser Michael Flynn, who later became national security adviser, was fired and eventually pleaded guilty to a false-statement charge in the Mueller probe.
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