DOJ Inspector General: I'm Done Investigating Alleged Obama-Era FISA Abuses

Matt Vespa / Townhall Tipsheet

Well, the wait is over. The Department of Justice’s inspector general, Michael Horowitz, said that the investigation into FISA abuses during the Obama administration has concluded. Mr. Horowitz, an Obama appointee, informed Attorney General William Barr that he’s finished the inquiry and that his findings would be delivered to Congress after the DOJ reviews the findings for possible redactions (via Washington Examiner):

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz has officially completed his investigation into alleged Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuses by the Justice Department and FBI.

Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, revealed in a letter Thursday that Horowitz notified Attorney General William Barr of the completion of his investigation earlier in the day.

After a review and comment period, the report will be sent to Congress and be made public.

Horowitz's team examined the FISA application and three renewals beginning in October 2016 to surveil former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. The applications relied heavily on the unverified dossier compiled by British ex-spy Christopher Steele, who was hired by opposition research firm Fusion GPS and funded by Democrats.

Republicans have alleged the FBI and Justice Department misled the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court about the dossier's Democratic benefactors, which included Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign and the Democratic National Committee, and its author's anti-Trump bias were left out of the FISA applications, and they have demanded accountability. Democrats countered that the FBI acted appropriately, saying the Justice Department and the FBI met the rigor, transparency, and evidentiary basis for probable cause.

Meanwhile, Barr's "investigation into the investigators" is underway, and the attorney general has said he is working very closely with Horowitz.

We’ve waited all summer for this report. Did Obama order the covert surveillance of a presidential campaign of the opposing party in 2016? It hits home at the Russian collusion myth since the dossier compiled by ex-MI6 spook Christopher Steele is the linchpin to this whole circus. It was cited as credible evidence to secure these FISA spy warrants against Carter Page, Trump’s former foreign policy adviser for his campaign, and at face value—there were no attempts to verify it. The blatant inaccuracies in the report could’ve been checked by doing a simple Google search. Steele’s activities were funded by the Democrats and the Clinton campaign. It was a piece of political opposition research. The State Department knew this was a biased document; Steele told them. Members of the British intelligence community also knew this document was shoddy. And yet, the FBI ran with it. Everything Russian collusion-related centers on this piece of political propaganda, which was torched by the report filed by ex-Special Counsel Robert Mueller, which states there is zero evidence that the Trump team and the Kremlin colluded during the 2016 election. The myth died there. That’s the reality. Yet, liberals continue to peddle this manufactured story since they cannot admit that this is all over. Another side is that since they pushed it for two years—they have no choice but to double-down on it. They’re all clowns. As for the Obama-era intelligence officials, I feel like a lot of dirty laundry is about to be unveiled.