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: James Comer Exposes Hakeem Jeffries’ Connection to Epstein on House Floor

Joy Reid Admits the Truth: She’d ‘Freak Out’ if She ‘Saw a Penis’ in the Women’s Locker Room

Texas investigating USTA for possible violation of law banning biological males in women’s sports

Federal judge rules law requiring display of Ten Commandments in Texas classrooms unconstitutional

Zelensky under heavy pressure to fire Ukrainian ‘co-president’ Andriy Yermak after corruption scandal

House Dem slammed for ‘sick’ defense of colleague caught texting Epstein during 2019 hearing

DHS launching massive immigration operation in Louisiana, Mississippi: ‘Swamp Sweep’

Anti-Islam protesters, Muslims clash in Dearborn, Michigan, after man attempts to burn Quran

Trump designates Saudi Arabia a major non-NATO ally during crown prince’s White House visit

Illegal immigrant accused of grabbing ICE officer’s taser while shouting ‘Allahu akbar’ during arrest

Trump fetes Saudi crown prince with pseudo-state dinner attended by Cristiano Ronaldo

NYC Mayor-elect Mamdani doubles down on Netanyahu arrest pledge

Thune fields Senate GOP backlash over ‘Arctic Frost’ surveillance provision

Federal prosecutors charge suspect who allegedly vandalized US Attorney Alina Habba’s office

Letitia James and Lisa Cook lawyer pushes back on mortgage fraud allegations

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.