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.

EXCLUSIVE: ICE nabs multiple convicted killers in single day amid nationwide immigration sweep

Top Trump agency purges over 20 suspected China-linked products from federal marketplace

Tim Kaine Says He Doesn’t Understand Why Fellow Leftists are Angry Over Karmelo Anthony Sentence

UK MP More Upset by Attempted Beheading Video Posted Online Than Actual Attack

Teen accused of killing elderly couple has brothers who allegedly shot deputy cops say ‘will never walk again’

LANGUAGE WARNING: Watch as Austin Metcalf’s Dad Blasts Karmelo Anthony’s Parents as Cowards and Grifters in Raw, Emotional Interview

Deceased gunman identified after shooting in Midland, Texas, leaves 1 dead, 10 wounded

WATCH: Tim Kaine rejects claims Karmelo Anthony verdict was racist

Police in California spot body of 5-year-old swept out to sea

Abbott turns up heat on Talarico, Soros-backed DAs over Texas crime

Developing: Nancy Guthrie Tip Sends Searchers to Mystery Cemetery With at Least 25 Unmarked Graves

California accused of blocking federal voter roll audit as DOJ escalates probe of election fraud claims

Ex-NFL Standout Now Faces Potential Death Penalty After Murder Indictment

Fed Up Over Palisades Fire Fallout, Karen Bass’ Brother Takes Matters Into His Own Hands and Humiliates Her

Former Biden ambassador considered running against him over border mess, bashes Kamala in new book

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.