Barr: ‘Very Unusual’ For FBI To Rely On Steele Dossier Given ‘Clear Mistakes’

Attorney General William Barr said in an interview that aired Friday that he is investigating what role the Steele dossier played in the Russia probe, and that the salacious document had “a number of clear mistakes.”

“It’s a very unusual situation to have opposition research like that, especially one that on its face had a number of clear mistakes and a somewhat jejune analysis,” Barr told Fox News’ Bill Hemmer.

“And to use that to conduct counterintelligence against an American political campaign is a strange — would be strange development.”

In the interview, Barr spoke at length about an inquiry he launched at the Justice Department into the origins of the Russia investigation. He told The Wall Street Journal in an interview that the investigation is also focusing on what information U.S. intelligence agencies gathered on Trump campaign associates before the FBI formally opened its investigation in July 2016.

Watch: Hockey Crowd Goes Wild When WWII Vet, 105, Who Fought Under Patton Performs Nat’l Anthem on ICE

Country Star Ella Langley Abruptly Cancels Concert over ‘Serious Security Threat’

Former MN state trooper tears into Dems as Somali gang violence terrorizes Minnesota: ‘Where is Ilhan Omar?’

Plague mystery revives concerns over not-to-secret Russian bioweapons program

Trump calls Nobel committee’s decision an ‘indelible stain’ on Norway: ‘A disgraceful and embarrassing decision’

Trump rallies New York crowd for Republican Bruce Blakeman’s bid to replace Gov. Kathy Hochul

Multiple College Football Games Rescheduled as Hurricane Isaias Approaches

James Talarico resurfaces after extended absence as his campaign pushes back

Scottish School Rebrands Christmas Cards to ‘Winter Cards’ Citing ‘Inclusivity’ Concerns

Louisiana Doc Arrested for Allegedly Watching, Refusing to Help Drowning Child for at Least 5 Minutes Straight

Graphic: Bloodied TV Star Says Hollywood Is ‘Not Safe’ After He’s Robbed and Beaten

Obama the Slave Driver: Workers at Presidential Library Unionizing as Wages Frozen, Time Off Cut, and Health Care Costs Rise

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin Reveals the Truth About Illegal Alien Shot by ICE in NYC, Points Finger at Mamdani and Hochul

DeSantis presses reluctant Floridians for swift evacuations as Hurricane Isaias strengthens

‘Trans girls need guns’: Terrorism inquiry puts supporter of leftist gun community behind bars

The FBI relied heavily on the Steele dossier, which was funded by the DNC and Clinton campaign, to obtain surveillance warrants against Carter Page, a Trump campaign adviser. But Republicans have accused the FBI of misleading the surveillance court by relying on the dossier given that its allegations were unverified.

Christopher Steele, a former British spy, claimed in the dossier that the Trump campaign was involved in a “well-developed conspiracy of co-operation” with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election. He alleged that Page and other Trump associates, like Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen, were at the center of the scheme.

But the special counsel’s report all but debunked the dossier’s central thesis, while dismissing one specific allegation about Cohen. The report said that prosecutors were unable to establish a conspiracy between the Trump team and Russia. It also said that Cohen did not visit Prague in August 2016, which is where the dossier claimed the former Trump lawyer went to pay off Russian hackers.

Steele and his client, Fusion GPS, shopped the dossier around to numerous journalists. Steele also provided memos from his dossier to the FBI and State Department.

Barr told Hemmer that the answers he has received so far about the origins of the investigations “aren’t sufficient.” He is reportedly working with the directors of the CIA, FBI and Office of National Intelligence on the inquiry.