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Justice Department Inspector General Set for Senate Testimony on Russia Probe

VOA News

   WASHINGTON - The U.S. Justice Department's inspector general is due to
   testify Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee about his
   report that found no evidence of political bias in the FBI's launching
   of its investigation into Russian election interference.

   Michael Horowitz issued the report Monday with findings that amounted
   to a rejection of President Donald Trump's repeated claim that the FBI
   probe was a political witch hunt to undo his presidency.

   Trump nonetheless asserted that the report confirmed an "attempted
   overthrow" of the government far worse than he had ever thought
   possible.

   The president on Tuesday criticized FBI Director Christopher Wray for
   saying in an interview with ABC News that the investigation "was opened
   with appropriate predication and authorization." Wray also noted
   Horowitz found the FBI made numerous mistakes during its inquiry.

   "I don't know what report the current Director of the FBI Christopher
   Wray was reading, but I'm sure it wasn't the one given to me," Trump
   tweeted. "With that kind of attitude, he will never be able to fix the
   FBI, which is badly broken despite having some of the greatest men &
   women working there!"

     I don't know what report current Director of the FBI Christopher
     Wray was reading, but it sure wasn't the one given to me. With that
     kind of attitude, he will never be able to fix the FBI, which is
     badly broken despite having some of the greatest men & women working
     there!
     -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) [1]December 10, 2019

   U.S. Attorney General William Barr repeated in an interview with NBC
   News correspondent Pete Williams that aired Tuesday his belief the FBI
   may have acted in "bad faith" when it conducted the probe into whether
   Trump's campaign conspired with Russia.

   "I think our nation was turned on its head for three years based on a
   completely bogus narrative that was largely fanned and hyped by a
   completely irresponsible press," Barr said. "I think there were gross
   abuses ... and inexplicable behavior that is intolerable in the FBI."

   The attorney general's remarks will likely intensify the controversy
   about whether he himself is acting in good faith, or acting as a Trump
   sycophant.

   Horowitz said in the report the FBI was justified in opening an
   investigation in 2016 into suspected ties between Trump's election
   campaign and Russia, saying officials had enough evidence to authorize
   an inquiry.

   Although Horowitz scrutinized a million documents and questioned some
   100 people, Barr insisted the inspector general made minimal effort to
   find evidence, and simply accepted the FBI's findings.

   "All he said was, 'People gave me an explanation, and I didn't find
   anything to contradict it,'" Barr said of Horowitz.

References

   1. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1204374382715506690?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

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