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| Justice Dept. inspector general testifies for a second time about his Russia probe assessment | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| The Justice Department’s inspector general is testifying for a second time before Congress on Wednesday about his assessment of the FBI’s 2016 investigation of the Trump campaign, likely providing more fodder for Democrats and Republicans to validate their divergent views of the politically sensitive probe. | |
| Inspector General Michael Horowitz is appearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. He testified last week on the same topic before the Senate Judiciary Committee, asserting that the bureau was justified in opening the investigation but that FBI leaders should not take that as vindication, because of other, serious failures made after that. | |
| Horowitz’s second round of testimony is unlikely to quell the partisan debates surrounding the probe, which explored whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the 2016 election. The investigation was ultimately taken over by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. | Horowitz’s second round of testimony is unlikely to quell the partisan debates surrounding the probe, which explored whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the 2016 election. The investigation was ultimately taken over by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. |
| Inspector general says the FBI is not vindicated by his report on Trump campaign probe | Inspector general says the FBI is not vindicated by his report on Trump campaign probe |
| Democrats and Republicans have mostly seized on the various findings in Horowitz’s report that support their long-held beliefs. The left has noted that Horowitz found the FBI had ample reason to begin the investigation and that the decision to do so was not driven by political bias, while the right has pointed out that the Justice Department watchdog found serious failures in how the FBI applied for a secret court warrant to monitor a former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page. | Democrats and Republicans have mostly seized on the various findings in Horowitz’s report that support their long-held beliefs. The left has noted that Horowitz found the FBI had ample reason to begin the investigation and that the decision to do so was not driven by political bias, while the right has pointed out that the Justice Department watchdog found serious failures in how the FBI applied for a secret court warrant to monitor a former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page. |
| Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the chair of the Homeland Security Committee, said in his opening statement he believes the inspector general report shows that the FBI’s Russia investigation should have been shut down “within the first few months of 2017.” Instead, he said, the Trump administration was “was tormented for over two years ... all based on a false narrative.” | |
| Sen. Gary Peters (Mich.), the committee’s highest ranking Democrat, countered that Horowitz determined the investigation “had a proper legal and factual basis, and found no evidence that the investigation was affected by political bias.” | |
| Conservatives have also noted that Horowitz’s report is not the last word. Attorney General William P. Barr tapped the top federal prosecutor in Connecticut, U.S. Attorney John Durham, to do a similar review of the Russia case. Barr and Durham have said they disagree with some of what Horowitz found, especially on the FBI’s basis to initiate the investigation. | Conservatives have also noted that Horowitz’s report is not the last word. Attorney General William P. Barr tapped the top federal prosecutor in Connecticut, U.S. Attorney John Durham, to do a similar review of the Russia case. Barr and Durham have said they disagree with some of what Horowitz found, especially on the FBI’s basis to initiate the investigation. |
| President Trump, meanwhile, has emphasized Horowitz’s damaging findings for the FBI and attacked the inspector general. | President Trump, meanwhile, has emphasized Horowitz’s damaging findings for the FBI and attacked the inspector general. |
| “As bad as the I.G. Report is for the FBI and others, and it is really bad, remember that I.G. Horowitz was appointed by Obama,” Trump tweeted Sunday. “There was tremendous bias and guilt exposed, so obvious, but Horowitz couldn’t get himself to say it. Big credibility loss. Obama knew everything!” | “As bad as the I.G. Report is for the FBI and others, and it is really bad, remember that I.G. Horowitz was appointed by Obama,” Trump tweeted Sunday. “There was tremendous bias and guilt exposed, so obvious, but Horowitz couldn’t get himself to say it. Big credibility loss. Obama knew everything!” |
| Trump lashes out at FBI director in wake of Justice Department inspector general’s report | Trump lashes out at FBI director in wake of Justice Department inspector general’s report |
| Though it undermined many of Trump’s most serious attacks on the Russia probe and those who led it, Horowitz’s report was also a serious black eye for the bureau. It detailed how investigators repeatedly misled the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, keeping from it information that might be helpful for Page while highlighting material that would cast him in a negative light. | Though it undermined many of Trump’s most serious attacks on the Russia probe and those who led it, Horowitz’s report was also a serious black eye for the bureau. It detailed how investigators repeatedly misled the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, keeping from it information that might be helpful for Page while highlighting material that would cast him in a negative light. |
| On Tuesday, the court issued a rare public order in response to Horowitz’s findings, calling out the FBI for its wrongdoing and ordering the agency to submit a plan by Jan. 10 “to ensure that the statement of facts in each FBI application accurately and completely reflects information possessed by the FBI that is material to any issue presented by the application.” | On Tuesday, the court issued a rare public order in response to Horowitz’s findings, calling out the FBI for its wrongdoing and ordering the agency to submit a plan by Jan. 10 “to ensure that the statement of facts in each FBI application accurately and completely reflects information possessed by the FBI that is material to any issue presented by the application.” |
| “The frequency with which representations made by FBI personnel turned out to be unsupported or contradicted by information in their possession, and with which they withheld information detrimental to their case, calls into question whether information contained in other FBI applications is reliable,” presiding judge Rosemary M. Collyer wrote. | “The frequency with which representations made by FBI personnel turned out to be unsupported or contradicted by information in their possession, and with which they withheld information detrimental to their case, calls into question whether information contained in other FBI applications is reliable,” presiding judge Rosemary M. Collyer wrote. |
| Some Senate Judiciary Committee members suggested during Horowitz’s last testimony that they might consider stripping the court of its legal basis if it and the bureau did not institute changes. Horowitz has announced he is doing a broader review of the FBI’s applications to the court, and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray has vowed to implement corrective steps. | |
| Johnson called the court’s statement a “dramatic rebuke” of the FBI’s conduct. |