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.
MS NOW’s O’Donnell Fumes at Trump Sharing Old Military School Pic, Gets Every Aspect of His ‘Report’ Wrong During Tantrum
Tech Giant Details How Its AI Went Haywire
Trump confirms Pentagon plans for 25th anniversary of 9/11 attacks, disputes report on Ground Zero absence
Pop star-turned-Dem candidate’s defense of graphic murder video resurfaces in key House race
Mica Miller’s siblings allege pastor husband forced final hospitalization before her 2024 death
Florida Woman Kills Man Arrested for Murdering His Father
NBA Vet Enes Kanter Freedom Sends Letter with 5 Deadly Questions to WNBA Commissioner After Ejection from Arena
Strange Georgia crime-scene clues blow hole in theory of mom’s mysterious death, family says
Dolly Parton: Tribute to an American icon
Trump’s tougher round-two birthright citizenship strategy hinges on key legal distinction, experts say
Trump administration helps end Armenia and Azerbaijan’s forever war
Appeals court delivers unsettling ruling — and says Supreme Court left it no choice
Meet the MAGA-rapping sticker mogul running to replace Elise Stefanik in Congress
‘Tony’ is an annoying, unimpressive biopic of Anthony Bourdain
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott moves to cut state funding for AI-powered Flock cameras amid privacy concerns
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.
MS NOW’s O’Donnell Fumes at Trump Sharing Old Military School Pic, Gets Every Aspect of His ‘Report’ Wrong During Tantrum
Tech Giant Details How Its AI Went Haywire
Trump confirms Pentagon plans for 25th anniversary of 9/11 attacks, disputes report on Ground Zero absence
Pop star-turned-Dem candidate’s defense of graphic murder video resurfaces in key House race
Mica Miller’s siblings allege pastor husband forced final hospitalization before her 2024 death
Florida Woman Kills Man Arrested for Murdering His Father
NBA Vet Enes Kanter Freedom Sends Letter with 5 Deadly Questions to WNBA Commissioner After Ejection from Arena
Strange Georgia crime-scene clues blow hole in theory of mom’s mysterious death, family says
Dolly Parton: Tribute to an American icon
Trump’s tougher round-two birthright citizenship strategy hinges on key legal distinction, experts say
Trump administration helps end Armenia and Azerbaijan’s forever war
Appeals court delivers unsettling ruling — and says Supreme Court left it no choice
Meet the MAGA-rapping sticker mogul running to replace Elise Stefanik in Congress
‘Tony’ is an annoying, unimpressive biopic of Anthony Bourdain
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott moves to cut state funding for AI-powered Flock cameras amid privacy concerns
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.
