Attorney General William Barr disagrees with one of the Department of
Justice's Inspector General Michael Horowitz's findings in the Russia
probe, the Washington Post
reported. Barr apparently disagrees with Horowitz's determination that
the FBI had enough evidence in July 2016 to pursue an investigation into
the Trump campaign, people familiar with internal discussions told the
Post.The highly-anticipated
report is expected to drop next week. Horowitz reportedly criticizes
various FBI employees and their surveillance tactics but does not
ultimately come to the same conclusion as President Trump that the
Russia probe was a "witch hunt."
The attorney general is
reportedly not swayed by Horowitz's determination that an investigation
into the Trump campaign was warranted. Barr believes other agencies,
like the CIA, may have vital information that could change Horowitz's
findings, the Post reported.
A draft version of the report is
floating through the law enforcement agency and is being sent to
witnesses and offices Horowitz investigated. If Barr or a senior DOJ
official decides to submit a formal letter as part of the process, their
letter will be included with the report once it's released. Barr could
decide to go a completely different route and instead of writing a
formal letter, he could make his objections known publicly.
President
Donald Trump has repeatedly said the IG report will prove the
intelligence community, under President Obama, spied on his campaign and
used their power to try and prevent him from winning the 2016
election.
Democrats have said Barr is acting as President Trump's personal
attorney. Horowitz, however, cannot be told to change his report because
the inspector general works independently from the Department of
Justice.
The DOJ, however, is currently conducting a criminal investigation into the FBI's probe, which is being led by U.S. Attorney John Durham.
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