While the overall conclusion of the IG report was that the low threshold was met to launch operation Crossfire Hurricane, it also showed some blatant misconduct reverberating throughout the FBI.
I want to focus on several key areas that should create some serious concerns for Americans.
Why the Investigation Was Launched
Operation Crossfire Hurricane, for all intents and purposes, was launched because of statements made by George Papadopoulos.
For the sake of argument, I am going to concede that his statements offered cause for concern and gave the FBI the reason it needed to launch this operation.
That is not really the concern here. What is of concern is what happened from that point forward.
It is also important to read the report yourself (link at bottom) because the media is already spinning this to cover for Democrats.
For instance, CNN on numerous occasions has already stated that the ONLY thing that matters in this report is the conclusion, everything else is just spin. Clearly, that is NOT the case here.
Securing FISA Warrants
Ultimately, it is up to James Comey to ensure that all procedures and information included in the FISA warrant is accurate. That was not the case here.
In all, there were 17 inaccuracies or omissions used to secure the warrants.
I don’t want to take up your time by going over all of these (you can read them for yourself in the report), but I do want to look at several key items in the report.
First and foremost, the FBI omitted the fact that Carter Page was a former CIA operative. Rather than tell the truth about Page’s role in our own government, the FBI portrayed his relationship with his Russian contacts as more nefarious.
Secondly, the FBI misled the FISA court as to the credibility of Christopher Steele and his previous role as an informant with the FBI.
The report states in multiple sections that the information provided by Steele was never fully corroborated by the FBI. Secondly, interviews conducted by the FBI with former Steele contacts were also omitted, which clearly would have hurt his credibility.
Some of the comments made by Steele’s co-workers characterized him as having “poor judgment,” “a lack of self-awareness,” and “pursued people with political risk but no intelligence value.”
It is my personal opinion that had the FISA court been provided with this information and if Carter Page had been portrayed properly, it never would have approved these warrants.
If that had been the case, this investigation would have been shut down in its very early stages, as it should have been.
The Nunes and Schiff Memos
If you recall, in 2018, Rep. Nunes (R-CA) issued a memo shredding the investigation and citing all of these problems with the abuse of procedures by the FBI.
The IG report backed up every instance of abuse cited by Nunes.
Yet, Nunes was mocked by the media as a conspiracy theorist and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) rebutted the memo, countering that every claim made by Nunes was a lie.
For instance, Schiff stated no information had been omitted from the FISA applications.
He also stated the Steele dossier played only a minimal role in the applications, but the IG report specifically cited the Steele dossier as the key piece of information.
Nunes tried to expose all of this, but Schiff blatantly lied simply because he never believed this would be investigated to prove him wrong.
Our government is corrupt, as is our justice department, and this report proves it. The fact that Inspector General Horowitz is putting the blame on underlings rather than holding people like James Comey responsible is despicable.
Comey is now doing the liberal media tour, claiming he has been vindicated by this report, but that is far from the case.
As both Barr and Durham have already stated, Horowitz did not have the ability to indict or further investigate the problems that were found in his report, but Durham does.
Durham’s investigation is now a criminal matter and is expected to be wrapped up in the late spring or early summer of 2020.
When that happens, I can guarantee you that Comey will not be so smug.
To read the full IG Report, click here (please at least read the summary to understand the blatant violations committed by the FBI).
To read the Devin Nunes memo, click here.
To read the Adam Schiff memo, click here.
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