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.

‘Fiction’: House Republican campaign chair dismisses Democrats’ expanding GOP target map

Government shutdown hits DHS after Democrats blow up bipartisan funding deal over immigration uproar

DHS enters shutdown after Congress skips town without deal on ICE

AI tool Claude helped capture Venezuelan dictator Maduro in US military raid operation: report

Federal agent attacked and hospitalized during anti-ICE protest in Downtown LA

Pima County sheriff no stranger to controversy as criticism in Nancy Guthrie case ramps up

US military launches deadly strike on drug-trafficking vessel in the Caribbean, leaving 3 dead

Liability or useful foil? Trump takes center stage in Susan Collins reelection fight

Schumer’s ‘E. coli’ burger photo resurfaces after another Dem’s grilling skills get torched: ‘What is that?’

Rubio steps into Munich spotlight as Trump leans on him to carry Vance’s populist message abroad

Trump ousts judge-installed prosecutor; constitutional expert says Article II leaves no doubt

Texas Dem Senate primary fractures over race rhetoric as ‘mediocre’ jab, ‘oppressor’ remarks ignite backlash

Irish dancing groups in the hot seat after trans dancer qualifies for multiple female world championships

Anti-ICE chaos erupts at blue state county board meeting after panel endorses detention center

Mexican Restaurant Owner Under Fire for Offering ICE Agents Free Meals Fires Back at Leftists: ‘They Need to Look for Jesus’

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.