Sen. Lindsey Graham is asking the Justice Department to declassify material related to Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s investigation into alleged abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
The South Carolina Republican’s letter sent to Attorney General William Barr was discussed during an interview Monday on Fox News.
Asked what he wants to know, Graham said, “As much declassification as possible. I want the public to see the process in real time. I want the FISA warrant applications to be revealed to the public as much as possible.”
More than 400 pages of redacted FISA documents related to one-time Trump campaign adviser Carter Page were released on July 21, 2018.
Graham, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is concerned the FBI and Justice Department misled the FISA Court in late 2016 and 2017, relying on an unverified anti-Trump dossier compiled by British ex-spy Christopher Steele to wiretap Page.
Republican investigators have argued the dossier’s Democratic benefactors, which included Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign and the Democratic National Committee, and its author’s bias against President Trump were were not made clear in the FISA applications, and they have demanded accountability.
Democrats countered that the FBI acted appropriately, saying the Justice Department and the FBI met the rigor, transparency, and evidentiary basis for probable cause.
Graham said he is “looking for a pattern of manipulation and bias” and mentioned former FBI Director James Comey, who was strongly rebuked in an inspector general report on the handling of his memos documenting conversations with Trump.
The senator also declined to go as far as House Judiciary Republican Andy Biggs’ assertion over the weekend that there will be indictments stemming from the report, saying only “possibly” some indictments could happen.
Barr has said he is working closely with Horowitz, whose FISA report is expected to be released as early as this month. The attorney general has tasked U.S. Attorney John Durham with leading a review of the origins of the Russia investigation and has been granted broad authority to declassify documents related to the endeavor.
