Sen. Lindsey Graham said to beware of reports claiming there is a rift between Attorney General William Barr and the Justice Department inspector general.
The Washington Post reported on Monday that Barr has told associates that he disagrees with Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s determination that the FBI had sufficient information to launch a counterintelligence investigation into members of the Trump campaign in the summer of 2016.
Graham, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, responded to that report in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, warning that the findings in the watchdog investigation into alleged surveillance abuses against former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page are being minimized by the media outlets getting the leaks.
“Be wary of the Washington Post and the New York Times reporting on what is coming up with Horowitz. They have been trying overtime to spin this thing to diminish its effect, to downplay it,” the South Carolina Republican said.
“I can tell you without any hesitation Attorney General Barr has every confidence in the world in Mr. Horowitz,” Graham added. “He believes that he has done a good job, a professional job, and he appreciates the work and the effort he has put into disclosing abuse at the Department of Justice.”
Before Graham’s warning about alleged media spin regarding the DOJ, Hannity claimed there was discord between Barr and Horowitz.
Earlier in the program, Hannity said his sources told him Horowitz will confirm “a ton of damning information, devastating information on the DOJ, the FBI, the FISA applications” but there is “apparently” some unwillingness by the inspector general to “take the needed steps … to bluntly say what it is.”
Hannity, who noted Horowitz was appointed to inspector general by President Barack Obama, said he was told of a “brutal back-and-forth” behind the scenes between Barr and Horowitz.
Horowitz’s report is due to be released on Dec. 9, and the inspector general is scheduled to testify before Graham’s panel two days later.
DOJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec released a statement Monday evening praising Horowitz’s work and urging people to avoid speculation about his report before it is released.
DOJ statement on upcoming IG report: pic.twitter.com/tI0O4tV0jF
— KerriKupecDOJ (@KerriKupecDOJ) December 3, 2019
Leaks about a draft report show Horowitz found missteps and lapses in judgment by the FBI but no political bias by top officials tainting the Russia investigation, as Trump and his allies have claimed. Early reports have also asserted that investigators found no evidence of spying on the Trump campaign, although they acknowledge informants and electronic surveillance methods were used by the FBI to collect information about members of the team.
Barr said earlier this year he believed “spying did occur” on the Trump campaign and the key question on his mind was whether it was justified. At least one FBI lawyer, Kevin Clinesmith, is now reportedly the subject of a criminal investigation for allegedly altering a record related to the secret surveillance of Page.
U.S. Attorney John Durham is also conducting a criminal inquiry into the origins of the Russia investigation. The inquiry recently shifted from an administrative review.
