Redacted portions of IG report contradict DOJ justification for spying on Trump campaign

Julie Heini:

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Horowitz found that the warrants were riddled with “material misstatements and omissions,” moreover the FBI knowingly withheld exculpatory information in their surveillance applications. Nonetheless, the IG concluded that there was legal justification for the opening of the CH counterintelligence investigation in July 2016 and full counterintelligence investigations into Paul Manafort, George Papadopoulos, General Michael Flynn and Carter Page in Aug 2016.

Horowitz claimed that he could not conclude that there was improper motivation because he did not find documentary or testimonial evidence to prove it. He later clarified to lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee that the conclusions of the report “don’t vindicate anyone” involved with Crossfire Hurricane.

Sens. Grassley and Johnson, as ranking members of the Senate Finance and Homeland Security committees, wrote to Attorney General William Barr, expressing “deep concern” over the redacted portions of the Horowitz’s report because those portions conflict with the IG’s conclusions.

“The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Finance are continuing oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and its Crossfire Hurricane investigation,” the letter begins.

We have reviewed the classified report of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) with regard to the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation, and we are deeply concerned about certain information that remains classified.

Specifically, we are concerned that certain sections of the public version of the report are misleading because they are contradicted by relevant and probative classified information redacted in four footnotes.

This classified information is significant not only because it contradicts key statements in a section of the report, but also because it provides insight essential for an accurate evaluation of the entire investigation. The American people have a right to know what is contained within these four footnotes and, without that knowledge, they will not have a full picture as to what happened during the Crossfire Hurricane investigation.
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Some of the material apparently relates to Bruce Ohr. pushing of the Steele dossier and its bogus conclusions about the Russians and the 2016 election.   It is a long piece and if the material is declassified it would further taint the FBI-DOJ rationale for pushing the Russian collusion story.