Error found, but no evidence of political bias by FBI: Report

The US Justice Department’s internal watchdog said on Monday that 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. Vice President Mike Pence and  Attorney General William P Barr in their individual statements criticized the Horowitz Report. 

Inaccuracies, Omissions mentioned in report

In a report released by the US Justice Department called the Horowitz Report, it stated that there were inaccuracies and omissions in the report, but they did not provide any evidence of political bias by the FBI during the investigation to draw a link between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia’s involvement in the 2016 elections. The report by Inspector General Michael Horowitz provided a sigh of relief to Trump and the Democrats about the legitimacy and the authenticity of the FBI investigation which was under speculations in the first two years of Trump’s Presidency.

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In the report, it is stated that “None of the inaccuracies and omissions that we identified in the renewal applications were brought to the attention of OI before the applications were filed.” It further added that “We do not speculate whether or how having accurate and complete information might have influenced the decisions of senior Department leaders who supported the four FISA applications, or the court if they had known all of the relevant information.” The report mentioned that there were 17 significant omissions that were found. 

John Durham, who is the federal prosecutor said that he disagreed with some of the conclusions given by the report. According to the Horowitz report, the FBI had “authorized purpose”, to seek approval from the court to investigate Carter Page who was the adviser of Trump’s election campaign. 

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The report mentions that the FBI repeated used the information gathered by the former British intelligence officer named Christopher Steele in the applications of the warrant, however one of Steel’s sources informed that there were mischaracterized or exaggerated. For example, the FBI continued to rely on information assembled by a former British intelligence officer named Christopher Steele in its warrant applications even after one of Steele’s sources told the agency that his statements had been mischaracterized or exaggerated. In the report, it pointed out to the FBI lawyer for changing the email in order to renew the warrant application to claim that Page worked with another agency from 2008 to 2013 and not for the US government agency, which was not mentioned in the report. 

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Attorney General William P Barr, in his statement against the report, said that “The Inspector General’s report now makes clear that the FBI launched an intrusive investigation of a US presidential campaign on the thinnest of suspicion”. And Vice President Mike Pence in his statement said, “Inspector General Michael Horowitz uncovered “significant inaccuracies and omissions” in FISA applications that precipitated one of the greatest abuses of investigative power in our lifetime”. He further added, “What took place here should never happen again to any President or any Administration in the future and those responsible should be held accountable.”

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