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| DoJ internal watchdog report clears FBI of illegal surveillance of Trump adviser – live | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Report concludes FBI had a legal ‘authorized purpose’ in monitoring communications of Trump election campaign adviser Carter Page | |
| FBI not squeaky clean but in the clear | |
| After quick fire posts, here’s a wrap on the DoJ watchdog report into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation. Meanwhile, the impeachment hearing on Capitol Hill into Trump’s dealings with Ukraine is ongoing. | |
| The US Justice Department’s internal watchdog said it found numerous errors but no evidence of political bias by the FBI when it opened an investigation into contacts between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia in 2016, Reuters writes. | |
| The report by Inspector General Michael Horowitz was likely to give ammunition to both Trump’s supporters and his Democratic critics in the ongoing debate about the legitimacy of an investigation that shadowed the first two years of his presidency. | |
| Horowitz found that the FBI had a legal “authorized purpose” to ask for court approval to begin surveillance of Carter Page, a Trump campaign adviser in 2016. | |
| But Horowitz also found a total of 17 “basic and fundamental” errors and omissions in the original application and all subsequent renewals to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) (by agents seeking search warrants). Those errors made the case appear stronger than it was, Horowitz said. | |
| In particular, the report singled out an FBI lawyer who altered an email contained in a renewal of the application which claimed that Page was “not a source” to another US government agency. | |
| In truth, Page served as an “operational contact” to another agency, which was not named in the report.The FBI investigation, launched in the summer of 2016 ahead of the November election pitting Trump against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, was taken over in May 2017 by Robert Mueller after Trump fired FBI director James Comey.Mueller’s 22-month special counsel investigation detailed a Russian campaign of hacking and propaganda to sow discord in the United States, harm Clinton and boost Trump. | |
| Mueller documented numerous contacts between Trump campaign figures and Moscow but found insufficient evidence of a criminal conspiracy. He did not exonerate the president, however, and his report also documents attempts to obstruct the investigation. | |
| FBI Director Christopher Wray has today agreed with all of the inspector general’s findings. Attorney general Bill Barr says he has confidence in Wray. | |
| FBI director Christopher Wray says he accepts the DoJ watchdog’s findings (essentially that the FBI was justified in investigating Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign over evidence of improper links with Russian operatives, but that the FBI was sloppy in some of its execution). | |
| Attorney general Bill Barr says he has full confidence in Wray. | |
| The US attorney general, William Barr, says the report of DoJ inspector general, Michael Horowitz, shows that the “FBI launched an intrusive investigation of a US presidential campaign on the thinnest of suspicions”. | |
| The US justice epartment’s inspector general has found that an FBI investigation into advisers to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign was opened on a legitimate and properly authorized basis. | |
| The department’s watchdog further found, in his oversight of the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation, that political bias on the part of FBI employees did not influence the agency’s decision to open its investigation – an investigation that eventually led to Robert Mueller’s examination of Russian interference in the 2016 election. | |
| The justice department watchdog Michael Horowitz’s report is out. It concludes that the FBI had a legal, “authorized purpose” in monitoring communications of Trump election campaign adviser Carter Page, Reuters writes. | |
| More details imminently. | More details imminently. |
| As the impeachment hearing descends once again into procedural squabbling, let’s not that Pierce Bush, the grandson of former president George HW Bush, has announced his candidacy for a congressional seat in Texas, becoming the latest member of his famous Republican family to enter politics. | |
| But his first run for office won’t be easy, the AP writes. Bush joins one of the nation’s most crowded congressional races of 2020 in his bid to replace the Republican congressman Pete Olson, who is retiring from his suburban Houston district that Democrats nearly flipped last year and are aggressively targeting again. | |
| Pierce Bush’s announcement video, rolled out on the deadline in Texas for candidates to get on the 2020 ballot, includes an image of him speaking next to a picture of his late grandfather, who died last year. | |
| “We face a very challenging time in our nation,” Bush says, adding that the country is “on the brink of losing a generation to an idea that socialism and free stuff are the answers to their future. But we all know that socialism has failed everywhere and everyone.” | |
| His candidacy opens a new test for the Bush name in the Trump era. Other Republican candidates in the field have expressed unwavering support for Donald Trump, who has clashed with the Bush family that for decades defined the GOP establishment. | His candidacy opens a new test for the Bush name in the Trump era. Other Republican candidates in the field have expressed unwavering support for Donald Trump, who has clashed with the Bush family that for decades defined the GOP establishment. |
| George HW Bush voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, and President George W. Bush didn’t vote for either one of them. | |
| The only Bush currently in public office, the Texas land commissioner, George P Bush, broke with his family in 2016 and supported Trump. During a visit to Texas earlier this year, Trump introduced George P Bush, who is the son of the former Florida governor Jeb Bush, as “the only Bush that likes me”. | |
| Pierce Bush, whose father is Neil Bush, has spent the past three years as chief executive of the not-for-profit Big Brothers Big Sisters in Texas. | |
| House judiciary chairman Jerry Nadler asked Democratic congressional counsel Daniel Goldman if Trump “undermined national security” in his dealings with Ukraine. Goldman said: “Yes.” | |
| In follow-up questions from Nadler, Goldman says that Trump has compromised the national security of the US and is a threat to “our election”. | In follow-up questions from Nadler, Goldman says that Trump has compromised the national security of the US and is a threat to “our election”. |
| Nadler is hitting his gavel continuously now to try to eliminate more Republican protests at the process of the hearing. Various GOP members are now weighing in. | |
| Finally ... phew, Steve Castor just said that word, which hopefully means he’s about to wrap up his droning delivery spelling out why the impeachment inquiry is a load of unjustified guff and Trump did nothing wrong. | |
| We’ll get on to actual questions from committee members soon, the blog hopes. Partisan fireworks and brimstone can be excruciating but it’s surely more interesting (in the moment, that is) than the important but rather dull set pieces. | We’ll get on to actual questions from committee members soon, the blog hopes. Partisan fireworks and brimstone can be excruciating but it’s surely more interesting (in the moment, that is) than the important but rather dull set pieces. |
| Ah, some more point of order bickering before we proceed to questions. Bang, goes Nadler’s gavel. AKA: “sShut up.” | |
| Here goes the committee chairman, Jerry Nadler, with first round of questions. | |
| DoJ inspector general report on its way.... | DoJ inspector general report on its way.... |
| Lawmakers are talking about emerging from almost two hours of briefing on the Department of Justice inspector general Michael Horowitz’s report on the Trump-Russia investigation. | Lawmakers are talking about emerging from almost two hours of briefing on the Department of Justice inspector general Michael Horowitz’s report on the Trump-Russia investigation. |
| So get ready for a spin storm. Still not sure what the official procedure is for making the internal watchdog’s report public today, but be assured the Guardian US is on stand-by. | So get ready for a spin storm. Still not sure what the official procedure is for making the internal watchdog’s report public today, but be assured the Guardian US is on stand-by. |
| Next year America faces an epic choice ... and the results could define the country for a generation. | Next year America faces an epic choice ... and the results could define the country for a generation. |
| A message from Guardian US editor-in-chief: | A message from Guardian US editor-in-chief: |
| These are perilous times. Over the last three years, much of what the Guardian holds dear has been threatened – democracy, civility, truth. This US administration is establishing new norms of behaviour. Anger and cruelty disfigure public discourse and lying is commonplace. Truth is being chased away. | These are perilous times. Over the last three years, much of what the Guardian holds dear has been threatened – democracy, civility, truth. This US administration is establishing new norms of behaviour. Anger and cruelty disfigure public discourse and lying is commonplace. Truth is being chased away. |
| In the coming year, many vital aspects of American public life are in play – the supreme court, abortion rights, climate policy, wealth inequality, Big Tech and much more. The stakes could hardly be higher – and the need for a robust, independent press has never been greater. | In the coming year, many vital aspects of American public life are in play – the supreme court, abortion rights, climate policy, wealth inequality, Big Tech and much more. The stakes could hardly be higher – and the need for a robust, independent press has never been greater. |
| As 2020 approaches, we’re asking our US readers to help us raise $1.5m by early January to support our journalism. We hope you’ll consider making a year-end gift. | As 2020 approaches, we’re asking our US readers to help us raise $1.5m by early January to support our journalism. We hope you’ll consider making a year-end gift. |
| We also want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported the Guardian in 2019. You provide us with the motivation and financial support to keep doing what we do. | We also want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported the Guardian in 2019. You provide us with the motivation and financial support to keep doing what we do. |
| Make a contribution. | Make a contribution. |
| The impeachment hearing is on a short break. Democratic congressional counsel Daniel Goldman said a few moments ago that, far from refraining from involvement with the kind of interactions with Ukraine that have put him in hot water, Trump “has not given up” on allegedly harnessing the country to his re-election efforts. | The impeachment hearing is on a short break. Democratic congressional counsel Daniel Goldman said a few moments ago that, far from refraining from involvement with the kind of interactions with Ukraine that have put him in hot water, Trump “has not given up” on allegedly harnessing the country to his re-election efforts. |
| “He and his agents continue to solicit Ukrainian interference in our election, causing an imminent threat,” Goldman said. | “He and his agents continue to solicit Ukrainian interference in our election, causing an imminent threat,” Goldman said. |
| Agents = primarily Rudy Giuliani, one surmises. | Agents = primarily Rudy Giuliani, one surmises. |
| Is there any way this can’t end badly for the US and Donald Trump? Let’s hope we can rely on M & M - Merkel and Macron. | Is there any way this can’t end badly for the US and Donald Trump? Let’s hope we can rely on M & M - Merkel and Macron. |
| Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelinskiy, just sat down in France for his first face-to-face talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. | Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelinskiy, just sat down in France for his first face-to-face talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. |
| There has been talk in diplomatic and Democratic circles of late worrying that the way that Donald Trump’s bullying of Zelenskiy since the former comedian (VZ, not DJT) took office risked driving Ukraine closer into the death grip of Russia’s embrace and away from western Europe. | There has been talk in diplomatic and Democratic circles of late worrying that the way that Donald Trump’s bullying of Zelenskiy since the former comedian (VZ, not DJT) took office risked driving Ukraine closer into the death grip of Russia’s embrace and away from western Europe. |
| Updates later on what emerges from this latest meeting in Paris today. The event is a four-way summit to discuss the situation in Ukraine, also attended by French president Emmanual Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel. | Updates later on what emerges from this latest meeting in Paris today. The event is a four-way summit to discuss the situation in Ukraine, also attended by French president Emmanual Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel. |
| Angela Merkel prepares to sit down with, from left, Putin, Macron and Zelenskiy. | Angela Merkel prepares to sit down with, from left, Putin, Macron and Zelenskiy. |
| Amazon says Donald Trump’s “improper pressure” and behind-the-scenes attacks harmed its chances of winning a $10 billion Pentagon contract. | Amazon says Donald Trump’s “improper pressure” and behind-the-scenes attacks harmed its chances of winning a $10 billion Pentagon contract. |
| The Pentagon awarded the cloud computing contract to Microsoft in October, the AP writes. | The Pentagon awarded the cloud computing contract to Microsoft in October, the AP writes. |
| Amazon argues in a lawsuit unsealed Monday the decision should be revisited because of “substantial and pervasive errors” and Trump’s interference. | Amazon argues in a lawsuit unsealed Monday the decision should be revisited because of “substantial and pervasive errors” and Trump’s interference. |
| “Vast amount of evidence” | “Vast amount of evidence” |
| Democratic counsel for the House intelligence committee, Daniel Goldman, is now giving his opening arguments in today’s judiciary committee hearing. | Democratic counsel for the House intelligence committee, Daniel Goldman, is now giving his opening arguments in today’s judiciary committee hearing. |
| Goldman said there is a “vast amount of evidence showing a months-long scheme directed by the president” to pressure Ukraine. | Goldman said there is a “vast amount of evidence showing a months-long scheme directed by the president” to pressure Ukraine. |
| He opened by saying his counterpart representing the Republican standpoint today, Steve Castor, was wrong when he sought to dismiss the case for impeachment, moments ago. | He opened by saying his counterpart representing the Republican standpoint today, Steve Castor, was wrong when he sought to dismiss the case for impeachment, moments ago. |
| Goldman starts out by reminding the public what is at the heart of the inquiry (bolding by the Guardian): | Goldman starts out by reminding the public what is at the heart of the inquiry (bolding by the Guardian): |
| Meanwhile, my colleague Julian Borger, in the hearing room, notes this: | Meanwhile, my colleague Julian Borger, in the hearing room, notes this: |
| James Sensenbrenner | James Sensenbrenner |
| Next year America faces an epic choice ... and the results could define the country for a generation. | Next year America faces an epic choice ... and the results could define the country for a generation. |
| A message from Guardian US editor-in-chief: | A message from Guardian US editor-in-chief: |
| These are perilous times. Over the last three years, much of what the Guardian holds dear has been threatened – democracy, civility, truth. This US administration is establishing new norms of behaviour. Anger and cruelty disfigure public discourse and lying is commonplace. Truth is being chased away. | These are perilous times. Over the last three years, much of what the Guardian holds dear has been threatened – democracy, civility, truth. This US administration is establishing new norms of behaviour. Anger and cruelty disfigure public discourse and lying is commonplace. Truth is being chased away. |
| In the coming year, many vital aspects of American public life are in play – the supreme court, abortion rights, climate policy, wealth inequality, Big Tech and much more. The stakes could hardly be higher – and the need for a robust, independent press has never been greater. | In the coming year, many vital aspects of American public life are in play – the supreme court, abortion rights, climate policy, wealth inequality, Big Tech and much more. The stakes could hardly be higher – and the need for a robust, independent press has never been greater. |
| As 2020 approaches, we’re asking our US readers to help us raise $1.5m by early January to support our journalism. We hope you’ll consider making a year-end gift. | As 2020 approaches, we’re asking our US readers to help us raise $1.5m by early January to support our journalism. We hope you’ll consider making a year-end gift. |
| We also want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported the Guardian in 2019. You provide us with the motivation and financial support to keep doing what we do. | We also want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported the Guardian in 2019. You provide us with the motivation and financial support to keep doing what we do. |
| Make a contribution. | Make a contribution. |