Inspector General Horowitz’s FBI FISA Abuse Report

 

Read the FISA Abuse report from Inspector General Michael Horowitz yourself here rather than relying on talking heads to tell you what’s in it. And remember, none of the pundits or so-called experts on TV currently confidently telling you what’s in the report have had time to read its 476 pages yet.

Update: U.S. Attorney John Durham rebased the following statement:

I have the utmost respect for the mission of the Office of Inspector General and the comprehensive work that went into the report prepared by Mr. Horowitz and his staff. However, our investigation is not limited to developing information from within component parts of the Justice Department. Our investigation has included developing information from other persons and entities, both in the U.S. and outside of the U.S. Based on the evidence collected to date, and while our investigation is ongoing, last month we advised the Inspector General that we do not agree with some of the report’s conclusions as to predication and how the FBI case was opened.

 

Another Update:

Here is Attorney General Bill Barr’s statement:

Nothing is more important than the credibility and integrity of the FBI and the Department of Justice.  That is why we must hold our investigators and prosecutors to the highest ethical and professional standards.  The Inspector General’s investigation has provided critical transparency and accountability, and his work is a credit to the Department of Justice.  I would like to thank the Inspector General and his team.

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.  It is also clear that, from its inception, the evidence produced by the investigation was consistently exculpatory.  Nevertheless, the investigation and surveillance was pushed forward for the duration of the campaign and deep into President Trump’s administration.  In the rush to obtain and maintain FISA surveillance of Trump campaign associates, FBI officials misled the FISA court, omitted critical exculpatory facts from their filings, and suppressed or ignored information negating the reliability of their principal source.  The Inspector General found the explanations given for these actions unsatisfactory.  While most of the misconduct identified by the Inspector General was committed in 2016 and 2017 by a small group of now-former FBI officials, the malfeasance and misfeasance detailed in the Inspector General’s report reflects a clear abuse of the FISA process.

FISA is an essential tool for the protection of the safety of the American people.  The Department of Justice and the FBI are committed to taking whatever steps are necessary to rectify the abuses that occurred and to ensure the integrity of the FISA process going forward.

No one is more dismayed about the handling of these FISA applications than Director Wray.  I have full confidence in Director Wray and his team at the FBI, as well as the thousands of dedicated line agents who work tirelessly to protect our country.  I thank the Director for the comprehensive set of proposed reforms he is announcing today, and I look forward to working with him to implement these and any other appropriate measures.

With respect to DOJ personnel discussed in the report, the Department will follow all appropriate processes and procedures, including as to any potential disciplinary action.

Via Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney, you can sign up at HearTheIGReport.com to hear Adam Baldwin read the entire report verbatim.

Read: DOJ inspector general… by Fox News on Scribd:

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  1. Old Bathos Member
    Old Bathos
    @OldBathos

    Max Ledoux (View Comment):

    Old Bathos (View Comment):
    A friend who makes the repeated mistake of watching Hannity is stunned by the IG Report.

    Not sure what you mean by this or why your friend would be surprised. I regularly watch Hannity. I’m not at all surprised by today’s events.

    Hannity keeps bringing on Joe DiGenova, the Dick Morris of legal consequence predictions.  Smoking guns, imminent indictments, imminent bomshell revelations which never seem to happen, including an express indictment recommendation from Horowitz.  And I get recaps via email the next day from buddies.  The MSNBC zombies who convinced themselves and their idiot viewers that Trump is going down over Russia etc are far worse than Hannity in stoking the fantasy life of partisans but Hannity is operating in the same genre.

    • #31
  2. Max Ledoux Coolidge
    Max Ledoux
    @Max

    Old Bathos (View Comment):

    Max Ledoux (View Comment):

    Old Bathos (View Comment):
    A friend who makes the repeated mistake of watching Hannity is stunned by the IG Report.

    Not sure what you mean by this or why your friend would be surprised. I regularly watch Hannity. I’m not at all surprised by today’s events.

    Hannity keeps bringing on Joe DiGenova, the Dick Morris of legal consequence predictions. Smoking guns, imminent indictments, imminent bomshell revelations which never seem to happen, including an express indictment recommendation from Horowitz. And I get recaps via email the next day from buddies. The MSNBC zombies who convinced themselves and their idiot viewers that Trump is going down over Russia etc are far worse than Hannity in stoking the fantasy life of partisans but Hannity is operating in the same genre.

    As someone who watches Hannity on Fox and listens to The Sean Hannity Show on the radio, I can tell you that Hannity has not been telling his audience that Horowitz’s report would result in indictments. Hannity has been telling his audience that Horowitz has no authority to indict anyone, can only interview current employees of the DOJ (or others who voluntarily talk to him), can not compel testimony, can not look at other departments, etc. Etc. Anyone who regularly listens to Hannity will not be surprised by the lack of criminal referrals. Furthermore, the details of the IG report confirm what Hannity has been talking about for months and years about the FBI misfeasance in this matter. 

    Sorry, but you’re just mistaken about this, in my opinion, based on my actual viewing/listening of Hannity.

    • #32
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