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: Dems stand by Maine nominee hit with report he fathered children with his second cousin

Hawaii contractor nominated to construct GOP comeback after two-decade Democratic hold on governor’s mansion

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green cruises to Democratic primary win, sets up fall matchup with GOP nominee

Hawaii rep cruises to Dem primary win after challenger arrested for beach brawl

Trump’s 4th of July fireworks display on National Mall confirmed as largest in history

Florida man allegedly kills family’s kittens in front of teenage daughter as form of punishment: officials

Watch: WNBA Player Ejected After Nearly Taking Off Sophie Cunningham’s Head With Clothesline Maneuver

EXCLUSIVE: Teen girls recall Jersey Shore ride malfunction that left them stuck hanging upside down

Trump’s White House ballroom foes face ‘very tough argument’ at Supreme Court, legal experts say

Fauci in the congressional wringer: a test for Trump’s newly-minted Attorney General

Graham replacement hopefuls make final pitches before special election: Iran war, DSA, Flock cams and more

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to what the Senate did and didn’t do overnight

One year on, US-brokered peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan cements US foothold in the Caucasus

Joe Biden’s cancer has spread further, leaving him in ‘very painful’ condition, Hunter reveals

Florida business owners allegedly scattered 1,500 mothballs on beach to send endangered birds packing

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.