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.
Hope: Remember How the 2018 Blue Wave Fizzled? Turns Out Dems’ 2026 Numbers Aren’t Even Half What They Were Then
Mamdani tells Trump banned White House outlets are welcome at NYC meeting
Maryland hunter’s alleged mistake leaves Delaware mother dead
Deer Hunter Arrested and Charged with Manslaughter After Fatal Mistake
Trump says Mamdani ‘off to a start,’ has ‘great potential’ in visit to mayor’s mansion
Socialist, communist groups coordinate, promote ‘spontaneous’ anti-ICE protests in Austin
Watch: Dana Bash ‘At a Loss for Words’ Over CNN Ban at WH, But Then Video of CNN Suggesting WH Ban Fox News Surfaces
Vermont man convicted of attempted murder in shooting of three Palestinian students
Fury erupts over Mamdani parade invite as old Columbus insult resurfaces: ‘Are you kidding me?’
House Democrat Endorses Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in Close Midterm Race
Rep Eric Burlison: ‘Most of my colleagues’ are ‘drunk on spending other people’s money, even Republicans’
Austin ICE shooting sparks fight over Venezuelan illegal immigrant’s deportation
State Department clamps down on size of Iran’s UN delegation and ability to splurge on ‘shopping sprees’
Reporter’s Notebook: Congress faces a crisis that the ‘AI godfather’ warns it may not be ready to address
Mamdani in hot seat over post mourning death of inmate charged with callous crime: ‘Absolutely shameful’
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.
Hope: Remember How the 2018 Blue Wave Fizzled? Turns Out Dems’ 2026 Numbers Aren’t Even Half What They Were Then
Mamdani tells Trump banned White House outlets are welcome at NYC meeting
Maryland hunter’s alleged mistake leaves Delaware mother dead
Deer Hunter Arrested and Charged with Manslaughter After Fatal Mistake
Trump says Mamdani ‘off to a start,’ has ‘great potential’ in visit to mayor’s mansion
Socialist, communist groups coordinate, promote ‘spontaneous’ anti-ICE protests in Austin
Watch: Dana Bash ‘At a Loss for Words’ Over CNN Ban at WH, But Then Video of CNN Suggesting WH Ban Fox News Surfaces
Vermont man convicted of attempted murder in shooting of three Palestinian students
Fury erupts over Mamdani parade invite as old Columbus insult resurfaces: ‘Are you kidding me?’
House Democrat Endorses Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in Close Midterm Race
Rep Eric Burlison: ‘Most of my colleagues’ are ‘drunk on spending other people’s money, even Republicans’
Austin ICE shooting sparks fight over Venezuelan illegal immigrant’s deportation
State Department clamps down on size of Iran’s UN delegation and ability to splurge on ‘shopping sprees’
Reporter’s Notebook: Congress faces a crisis that the ‘AI godfather’ warns it may not be ready to address
Mamdani in hot seat over post mourning death of inmate charged with callous crime: ‘Absolutely shameful’
The Justice Department’s inspector general is also investigating the dossier’s role in the Russia investigation, as well as the FBI’s surveillance efforts against the Trump campaign.
Story cited here.
