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.

SCOOP: Trump ally Kid Rock jumps into key governor’s race with high-profile endorsement

The world’s top nuclear powers have no arsenal limits, here are the countries with nukes

Affirmative Action Quotas in Question as Female, Minority Pilots Caused Half of Pilot-Error Crashes

The single crushing problem American cattle ranchers wish Trump would fix instead

‘The View’ Under FCC Investigation Over Interview with Texas Dem

‘We Will Pay’: Savannah Guthrie Responds to Kidnapper Demands Via Video

Turning Point USA’s ‘All-American Halftime Show’: Everything you need to know

American Skiers Buried Under Avalanche of Criticism Over Anti-ICE Comments

Super Bowl Sunday: Here are some of the political, social commercials you can expect during the big game

Op-Ed: In a Politically Divided America, Where Does Relocation Fit In?

LA city councilwoman previously backed by DSA running for mayor in primary challenge to former ally Bass

Details on Maine Plane Crash Victims Released: They Were Researching up to $30k-per-Night Destination for Wealthy Travelers

Chief CNN Analyst: Not One Racial Group in America Is Falling for the Dems’ Lies on Voter ID Laws

Tom Homan Reveals How Many Anti-ICE Agitators Have Been Arrested: Many Are Paying the Price

Newsom Devastated By Mom’s Suicide, Still Wants To Let Your Mother Kill Herself

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.