While the left has taken Inspector General Horowitz’s report as some kind of vindication of the FBI and the FISA court, the IG himself begs to differ.
In a second day of testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Hororwitz had some harsh words for both agencies regarding the mistakes his probe revealed that they had made.
During the hearing, IG Horowitz, rebuked the FBI for repeated “failures” during the initial phase of the Russia probe, as reveled by his extensive report on the investigation’s origins and the process used to obtain a surveillance warrant for former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page.
Horowitz’s report identified a total of 17 inaccuracies and omissions in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant applications for Page, which included a doctored email and the failure to include exculpatory information about Page that may have impacted the court’s decision to grant the warrants.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., was blunt in trying to get to the bottom of what happened during Wednesday’s Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing.
“Were they just all incompetent?” he asked. Hawley then noted that due to the complexities involved, “it doesn’t sound like they’re very stupid to me.”
Hawley ultimately asked why the members of the FBI would commit such failures to mislead a court multiple times.
“That was precisely the concern we had,” Horowitz said. The inspector general made it clear, however, that he did not reach any conclusions regarding intent. But, he also did not necessarily accept the reasons people gave him during his investigation.
“There are so many errors, we couldn’t reach a conclusion or make a determination on what motivated those failures, [other than to] raise concerns about the explanations we got,” Horowitz said.
This echoed what Horowitz said in his opening statement, where he made clear that “although we did not find documentary or testimonial evidence of intentional misconduct, we also did not receive satisfactory explanations for the errors or the missing information and the failures that occurred.”
Horowitz went on to testify that both Justice Department attorneys and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court “should have been given complete and accurate information,” adding, “that did not occur and as a result, the surveillance of Carter Page continued even as the FBI gathered evidence and information that weakened the assessment of probable cause and made the FISA applications less accurate.”
Accusations of Bias and Impropriety in the FISA Process
After Horowitz released his report, Democrats defending the initial Russia probe, pointed to the lack of a determination of “political bias” as a motivation to start the investigations of the Trump campaign.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., indicated that this would be a flawed assumption, questioning whether Horowitz’s inability to find evidence of bias really meant that there had not been any bias.
“Just because you didn’t find it doesn’t mean it didn’t exist,” Paul said, noting that there could have been 15 people involved whose bias influenced their decisions, but it just wasn’t provable.
“We could not prove it. We lay out here what we can,” Horowitz replied.
Former FBI Director James Comey, who led the bureau at the time, insisted he was unaware of any impropriety at the time, but told “Fox News Sunday” he “was wrong” when he defended the FBI’s FISA process in the past.
Still, he defended his former subordinates by claiming that no one committed any intentional misconduct, despite Horowitz calling for accountability and making referrals for further investigation.
At the same time, Comey admitted that there was “real sloppiness,” and that as director, he was ultimately responsible.
Sounds like conspiracy to commit sedition and treason. Follow the money- Clintons and Soros!?
What a bunch of bull shit ! The IG needs to be sent packing ! All those that handled the work on the FISA application need to be prosecuted and some need to be fired . Trump should sue those that purposely defamed him . No security clearances and no retirement. Prison is to good , there are some in high places that need to be found and jailed also ! OUR COUNTRY IS NOT UP FOR GRABS! VOTING FOR EVERY REPUBLICAN THATS NOT GOT HIS HEAD UP HIS ASS!
Political speak for we know they are guilty we just haven’t all the evidence yet.
It was all preplanned Period and they had intent too and knew it was all a Hoax too
The FISA and FBI didn’t make “sloppy mistakes” . . . They made a COORDINATED effort to illegally OUST POTUS Trump out of office which are CRIMES against the POTUS and the American People, SEDITION and TREASON, which SHOULD result in WELL DESERVED prison sentences. SEVENTEEN “mistakes” are STATISTICALLY impossible except from the “greenest of NEWBEES” without supervision. TEAM Trump and his allies 2020.
It is clear what they were up to when taken as a whole. Only a complete idiot would miss that. I have done many forensic investigations – this whole sordid process make our DOJ an incredible orifice. This leadership is a slap in the face to the rest of the workers; but why did they not stand up? Each person involved – from Obama on down, needs to go through the same grueling process they put President Trump through. What comes around, goes around.
Not errors they blatantly lied to the FISA court judges worst of all the lies were too obvious for any rational person to ever have taken the details of the FBI report evidence of any potential criminal acts.
Criminal and treasonous FBI agents and criminal and treasonous Activist/Legislating FISA judges end of discussion.
In the final analysis, the people interviewed, lied to cover up their political bias. This includes Comey. Durham will uncover the real truth. That is why Democrats are calling for him to be taken down. They know what he will find and it is not positive for the FBI or the Democratic party.
Those were NOT mistake that the FISA court and FBI made but INTENTIONAL acts. Don’t gloss them over as mistakes. This was a coup d’etat and nothing short. People put in place by Barack Obama, and WITH his knowledge and consent, attempted to destroy the Trump presidency. ALL, including Obama, need to go to prison – for life – for this attempted coup.
We also need to break up these agencies and fire EVERYONE who was involved and didn’t report it.
They could cut to the chase with all this BS of investigations and interviews and the rest of the crap going on listening to liars, and just hang all of them.
They are all guilty, whether Trump is in office or not. THEY are the swamp, and if Trump didn’t get elected it would just keep getting worse. It appears that the peak of all this wrong doing, unethical, immoral activities occured because of Obama, He should be the first to go down, the prick feels like he’s entitled because he’s partly black. Well the law applies to ALL equally, they keep telling me (Pelosi, one of those that needs to hang along with her son (Ukraine)).
What a world we live in, it’s very sad. America used to be a great place, and simply deteriorated under Obama, sending America down the rabbit hole of darkness with his bullsh(t.
Patriots 4 truth monitors these comments, and deleted mine. Thank you
They’re all a bunch of lying bast#$ds. If it were you or me we’d be hung by the gonads and everyone who’s go half a brain knows it. Fry these bast#$ds.
The fact there were so many “mistakes” would convince me, )( poor underling), that the intent is undeniable, one or two, maybe, but so many. Nope, the intent to deceive is very apparent. All these investigations and reports look to me to have a large dose of “professional curtesy” in them. Ya, something illegal occurred but lets overlook it for some day the investigation may be on the other side…. BS!
if you believe anything can happen to any of them people I got a bridge and looking to sell because nothing will ever to them