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.

Trans NYT Games executive killed after accusing in-laws of years of abuse amid bitter custody battle

Hollywood actress upset her son isn’t gay fumes in bizarre spectacle at Human Rights Campaign gala

Republicans fear they ‘haven’t done a damn thing’ to lower prices ahead of midterm reckoning

FBI strikes back at hacking group with overseas arrest of alleged leader

Trump Administration Extradites Alleged Major Narco-Terrorist ‘The Spider’ to US to Face Charges

Jack Smith deputy advocated ‘repealing’ congressional protections prior to Jan. 6

AOC’s Trip Out of NYC Seen as a Hint at Her Aspirations for 2028

Rubio confirms ‘foreign actor’ involved in UK terror plot

Real winner of Xi summit revealed as Trump looks to usher in new era with China

Connecticut Homeowner Finds Himself in Cuffs After Opening Fire on Bear to Protect His Animals

Dick’s Sporting Goods Blocks Customers from Ordering Custom, Christian-Themed Water Bottles – Allows Islam

Jack Smith faces Senate grilling as Republicans press for criminal charges against him

Gaza refugee raised $13,000 on GoFundMe for alleged terrorist husband to enter US

State Department considers sharing passport records for voter citizenship checks

Lindsay Clancy’s push to probe holdout juror hits snag before pivotal retrial hearing

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.