Ahead of the release of a Justice Department inspector general report on alleged government surveillance abuses, Sen. Lindsey Graham slammed the anti-Trump dossier and its author at the center of the controversy.
Graham, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, also promised as much transparency as possible once Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s work is completed during an interview Wednesday.
“Here’s what I believe without any doubt: that the dossier is unverified to this day. It’s a bunch of garbage,” the South Carolina Republican told Fox News host Sean Hannity.
The dossier was compiled by British ex-spy Christopher Steele and contained several unflattering and compromising allegations about President Trump and his ties to Russia. Republicans allege the FBI and DOJ knew very well it was unverified and misled the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to obtain warrants to wiretap one-time Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
Graham, who asserted “the system had a lot of notice” about Steele’s bias, said the officials involved “will be held to account.”
Earlier in his show, Hannity spoke with Rep. Devin Nunes, who claimed an elusive memo from the British government disavowing Steele’s credibility is real and his team of investigators have been looking for it.
Although Graham acknowledged he does not know what Horowitz will say in his report, he noted U.S. Attorney John Durham, who is leading a review of the origins of the Russia investigation, will make a decision as to who to prosecute, if anyone.
[Also read: Devin Nunes: Horowitz teeing up Comey for conspiracy charges]
Graham said his role will be to pursue the declassification of as much as information as possible, including the FISA warrant applications.
“My goal is to explain to you and the American public how the system failed and make sure it never happens again,” Graham said.
