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.

Trump voices frustration with NATO, says Iranian navy ‘destroyed’ as US preps for blockade

Trump accuses Pope Leo of being ‘terrible’ on foreign policy over pontiff’s anti-war comments

Starved toddler died of neglect after eating diapers, drywall in filthy room, as parents’ room was kept clean

Breaking: Eric Swalwell Suspends Campaign Amid Flurry of Sexual Assault Accusations

NYC mayor cites $180K racial wealth gap to justify taxes, police cuts

Manhunt underway after gunmen storm Chick-fil-A leaving 1 dead

DOJ fires warning shot as Spanberger signs gun legislation

Iran, Uranium, and Epic Fury: All You Need To Know About The Iranian-U.S. Conflict

Blackmon: Drill, Baby, Drill Makes Modest Comeback

Op-Ed: The Economy Isn’t Perfect, But Crisis Talk Is Overstated and Politically Motivated

Atlanta teen arrested for murder after fatal shooting of 12-year-old inside home

Trump Judge Refuses to Block Sending Abortion Pills by Mail, But There’s Still Hope

Op-Ed: From Deplorable to Affordable – How the Dems Switched Out Lies for Campaign Messaging

Iran talks done in by Tehran’s delusions over leverage they don’t have, US official says

NBA Player Jaden Ivey Seen Street Preaching After Stand for Biblical Marriage

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.