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.
Hayden Panettiere Reportedly Died After Ingesting a Single Fentanyl-Laced Pill
Far-left attack backfires spectacularly as radical online personality whines after attacking female Trump aide
Inside House Republicans’ plan to end run Dem opposition and pass Trump-backed voter ID
CrowdFunder for Clancy Holdout Juror Shoots Past $100k After FL Gov. DeSantis Offers ‘Asylum’ as ID Leak Nears
Lindsay Clancy juror says panel saw case as chance to ‘make it better for other women’
Your Mortgage, Investments, and Interest Rates Are About to Be Hit – Japan’s Debt Market Is Why
Alaska teen rescued after 3 days in frigid waters reveals tragic end for 2 family members
A China-Taiwan War Could Bring The Global Economy to Its Knees, Top Diplomat Warns
El-Sayed’s liberal agenda clashes with Muslim voters who back him anyway: ‘Male version’ of Ilhan Omar
Data Center Cash Cow Dries Up as States Pull the Rug on Big Tech
Charlie Kirk Memorial Smeared With Red Paint, Sign Defaced as TPUSA Vows to Work With Authorities to Find Vandals
Unearthed clip shows Talarico calling parents ‘abusive’ for denying children’s gender identity
DSA-backed candidates are winning primaries and their vision for America is very different
Trump touts White House renovations, says building was in ‘very bad condition’
Federal judge rules Trump admin plan to cut FEMA workforce in half is unlawful
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.
Hayden Panettiere Reportedly Died After Ingesting a Single Fentanyl-Laced Pill
Far-left attack backfires spectacularly as radical online personality whines after attacking female Trump aide
Inside House Republicans’ plan to end run Dem opposition and pass Trump-backed voter ID
CrowdFunder for Clancy Holdout Juror Shoots Past $100k After FL Gov. DeSantis Offers ‘Asylum’ as ID Leak Nears
Lindsay Clancy juror says panel saw case as chance to ‘make it better for other women’
Your Mortgage, Investments, and Interest Rates Are About to Be Hit – Japan’s Debt Market Is Why
Alaska teen rescued after 3 days in frigid waters reveals tragic end for 2 family members
A China-Taiwan War Could Bring The Global Economy to Its Knees, Top Diplomat Warns
El-Sayed’s liberal agenda clashes with Muslim voters who back him anyway: ‘Male version’ of Ilhan Omar
Data Center Cash Cow Dries Up as States Pull the Rug on Big Tech
Charlie Kirk Memorial Smeared With Red Paint, Sign Defaced as TPUSA Vows to Work With Authorities to Find Vandals
Unearthed clip shows Talarico calling parents ‘abusive’ for denying children’s gender identity
DSA-backed candidates are winning primaries and their vision for America is very different
Trump touts White House renovations, says building was in ‘very bad condition’
Federal judge rules Trump admin plan to cut FEMA workforce in half is unlawful
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.
