Attorney General William Barr Attacks His Own FBI After Release Of Inspector General’s Report

On Tuesday, Attorney General William Barr rejected a crucial finding of the 435-page report of the inspector general of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Barr said in an interview that the FBI may have acted in “bad faith” while carrying out an investigation into President Donald Trump’s campaign in 2016.

“I think our nation was turned on its head for three years, I think, based on a completely bogus narrative that was largely fanned and hyped by an irresponsible press, and I think that there were gross abuses of FISA and inexplicable behavior that isn’t tolerable in the FBI,” Barr told NBC News.

The Horowitz report, released on Monday, found that the FBI properly opened and conducted its inquiry.

The inspector general wrote he found no evidence that favoritism ever impacted important decisions in the case.

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Barr said he doubts the theoretical underpinning of the investigation pointing out that the final say on FBI impropriety would come only after an investigation by the veteran Justice Department Prosecutor John Durham.

Barr handpicked Durham to head the investigation of the investigation. His report is projected to be available by next spring.

Barr and Durham pointed out loopholes in the DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report.

Barr excoriated the FBI for launching what he called an “intrusive investigation” into a presidential campaign based on the “thinnest of suspicions.”

Article by Rajeet Guha