Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz is set to testify about his investigation into alleged Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuses next month.
After what appeared to be multiple delays, the announcement of the Dec. 11 hearing is a clear sign the report on FBI intelligence-gathering activities related to the 2016 presidential election is slated to be released to the public in the coming weeks.
“I appreciate all the hard work by Mr. Horowitz and his team regarding the Carter Page FISA warrant application and the counterintelligence investigation of the Trump campaign,” Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham said on Monday.
“Mr. Horowitz will be appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Dec. 11, where he will deliver a detailed report of what he found regarding his investigation, along with recommendations as to how to make our judicial and investigative systems better,” the South Carolina Republican said. “I look forward to hearing from him. He is a good man that has served our nation well.”
A representative for Horowitz said the inspector general has received Graham’s letter but had no further comment.
Horowitz announced the investigation in March 2018 after the House Intelligence Committee, which at the time was led by Republicans, released a memo outlining allegations that DOJ and FBI officials misled the FISA court to target President Trump’s campaign. Democrats put together a rebuttal memo that defended the actions of the Justice Department and the FBI.
The investigation was completed in September, and Attorney General William Barr told reporters on Wednesday that it was his understanding the release of the report was “imminent” following a classification review by the Justice Department and the FBI, as well as a final session for witnesses to provide feedback.
The long-awaited report is eagerly anticipated by Trump’s GOP allies, who claim Horowitz’s findings will show top Justice Department and FBI officials misled the FISA Court by using an unverified dossier compiled by British ex-spy Christopher Steele to obtain warrants to electronically monitor onetime Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. Horowitz’s findings could be useful for U.S. Attorney John Durham, who is conducting a criminal inquiry into the origins of the Russia investigation.
Democrats, as well as current and former FBI officials, have dismissed allegations of wrongdoing and have raised concerns that information about U.S. intelligence-gathering could be weaponized to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller.
As Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee accuse their Democratic colleagues of being uninterested in holding hearings on the matter, Graham has pledged to do a “deep dive” of his own into FISA following the release of Horowitz’s report and urged the Justice Department to declassify as much material related to the investigation as possible. Horowitz provided an update to Congress on Oct. 24, saying a classification review by the DOJ and the FBI was “nearing completion” and he expected it to “be released publicly with few redactions.”
“I think his report is going to be stunning. I think it is going to be damning. I think it’s going to prove that the system got off the rails and we need corrective action. Where I go from there, I won’t know until I hear from [Horowitz],” Graham said this month.
