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.

Before-and-after satellite imagery offers a rare look at damage inside Iran

Police recover third device in ongoing Manhattan IED investigation after two arrests

Police swarm NYC street Sunday amid IED probe near Gracie Mansion

GOP senators push back against Schumer’s ‘Jim Crow 2.0’ description of SAVE Act

Officials confirm devices recovered at NYC protest near Gracie Mansion were both IEDs

NYPD confirms object thrown at protests near Gracie Mansion in Manhattan was an IED

Pro-Islam counterprotester arrested after deploying explosive device outside Mamdani residence

Trump warns Iran’s new leader won’t ‘last long’ without his approval

The unlikely tool Trump is eyeing to tackle rising oil prices amid the Iran conflict

Trump’s Name Will Be on the Tallest Tower in Australia as Trump’s Company Makes International Real Estate Move

Another ‘Day in the Life’ Video Shows Cushy Conditions at Tech Company

Trump vows block on signing new laws until SAVE America Act passes Senate

Hegseth Reveals What Happened to Trans Kindergarten Teacher Who Wore Wolf Tail Around Kids

Woke Christian Leaders Issue Letter Against Rise of ‘White Christian Nationalism’

State Department defends ‘proactive’ evacuation efforts against Dems’ claims of diplomatic chaos

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.