There is no evidence that the Federal Bureau of Investigation tried to plant a spy inside President Trump’s campaign in the run-up to the 2016 election, an upcoming Department of Justice report will claim.
The conclusion was reached by DOJ’s inspector general, Michael Horowitz, who is leading an internal review of the origins of the investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 elections, according to The New York Times.
The Times quoted a source who has seen a draft copy of Horowitz’s report, which is scheduled to be released on December 9.
Last week, it was reported that former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI lawyer Peter Strzok were also cleared by Horowitz of acting improperly out of a political bias against Trump.
The finding by Horowitz refutes claims made by Trump and his supports who have alleged that the FBI was motivated by political bias in its probe of whether campaign officials linked to the Republican conspired with Russia.
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz (above) is expected to clear the FBI of allegations it was motivated by anti-Trump political bias in the Russia investigation
Trump and his allies have long claimed that federal agents’ secret wiretap of campaign adviser Carter Page was improper.
Page was the subject of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant, which is issued by a federal court in response to requests by investigators who wish to monitor potential foreign spies inside the United States.
Trump and his supporters have anticipated for months that Horowitz’s report would confirm their allegations that the FBI obtained the FISA warrant to wiretap Page based on claims made in the infamous Steele dossier.
The dossier, which was written by former British spy Christopher Steele, contained unverified allegations related to Trump’s dealings with Russia.
Horowitz’s report is expected to debunk the claim that investigators relied on the dossier when applying for the FISA warrant against Page.
While Horowitz clears the FBI of any political bias, the report does fault the senior bureau leadership for ‘errors and omissions’ made by the agency when applying for the wiretap.
According to Horowitz, the FBI was careless in the manner in which it pursued the wiretap on Page.
The report faults Kevin Clinesmith, 37, an FBI lawyer accused of altering an email that was part of an application for the FISA warrant.
Clinesmith is now subject to criminal prosecution.
The president (seen above in Sunrise, Florida, on Tuesday) and his supporters have argued that the FBI is part of a ‘deep state’ conspiracy to thwart his agenda
He was a minor player in the last inspector general saga, when Horowitz filed a nearly 600-page report about critical moments during the 2016 campaign and the election’s aftermath.
Clinesmith was referred to as ‘Attorney 2’ in that report, which described in detail anti-Trump text messages he sent to an unnamed lover while the campaign was in full swing.
North Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Meadows named Clinesmith during a public hearing in June 2018, over objections from the FBI.
Horowitz cautioned at the time that he had shielded certain names of people who worked in counterintelligence. Meadows responded that Clinesmith had ‘long ago’ left that field and worked for the FBI’s general counsel.
Kevin Clinesmith is an FBI lawyer accused of altering an email that was part of an application for a warrant in a secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court. He was also the anti-Trump texter who shared his animus with his lover in messages that ended up in last year’s DOJ inspector general report
The person named as Clinesmith in the 2018 report expressed his disdain for the incoming President Trump with the phrase ‘Viva le resistance’ and opined that then-Vice President-Elect Mike Pence was ‘stupid.’
His lover texted back: ‘Screw you Trump,’ and added that Hillary Clinton ‘better win … otherwise i’m gonna be walking around with both of my guns.’
She also labeled Trump’s supporters in Ohio ‘retarded,’ and in a fit of pique over being asked to work on Inauguration Day, she added: ‘F*** Trump.’
Special Counsel Robert Mueller later fired Clinesmith for his anti-Trump bias, citing the lawyer’s comment to another official after the 2016 that ‘the crazies won finally.’
The Times also said Comey’s former No. 2, Andrew McCabe, didn’t show political bias at the helm of the Russia probe.
The findings are likely to be seized upon both by supporters and defenders of Trump.
Last Friday, Trump told Fox News that he expected the Horowitz report to be ‘historic’ since it would vindicate claims of ‘spying’ against his campaign – activities which he believes were orchestrated by the ‘highest levels’ of government.
In March 2017, just three months after he took office, Trump tweeted that he believed his predecessor, Barack Obama, had his lines of communication at Trump Tower wiretapped.
Trump allies have long claimed that the FBI acted improperly in monitoring Carter Page (left), a campaign official suspected of ties to Russia. Another former Trump aide, George Papadopoulos (right), was also alleged to have ties with Russia
No evidence has emerged to support Trump’s claim.
In television interviews, Page has condemned Horowitz’s report, saying it is ‘sloppy.’
While Horowitz clears the FBI of any political bias, the report does fault the senior bureau leadership for ‘errors and omissions’ made by the agency when applying for the wiretap.
According to Horowitz, the FBI was careless in the manner in which it pursued the wiretap on Page.
The report faults Kevin Clinesmith, 37, an FBI lawyer accused of altering an email that was part of an application for the FISA warrant.
Clinesmith is now subject to criminal prosecution.
He was a minor player in the last inspector general saga, when Horowitz filed a nearly 600-page report about critical moments during the 2016 campaign and the election’s aftermath.
Clinesmith was referred to as ‘Attorney 2’ in that report, which described in detail anti-Trump text messages he sent to an unnamed lover while the campaign was in full swing.
North Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Meadows named Clinesmith during a public hearing in June 2018, over objections from the FBI.
Horowitz cautioned at the time that he had shielded certain names of people who worked in counterintelligence. Meadows responded that Clinesmith had ‘long ago’ left that field and worked for the FBI’s general counsel.
A forthcoming report from the Department of Justice’s inspector general will say that former FBI Director James Comey wasn’t motivated by political bias when he was running the Russia investigation
Former FBI lawyer Peter Strzok will also get off the hook for showing political bias while charged with running the Russia probe, according to a forthcoming report from the Department of Justice’s Inspector General
The person named as Clinesmith in the 2018 report expressed his disdain for the incoming President Trump with the phrase ‘Viva le resistance’ and opined that then-Vice President-Elect Mike Pence was ‘stupid.’
His lover texted back: ‘Screw you Trump,’ and added that Hillary Clinton ‘better win … otherwise i’m gonna be walking around with both of my guns.’
She also labeled Trump’s supporters in Ohio ‘retarded,’ and in a fit of pique over being asked to work on Inauguration Day, she added: ‘F*** Trump.’
Special Counsel Robert Mueller later fired Clinesmith for his anti-Trump bias, citing the lawyer’s comment to another official after the 2016 that ‘the crazies won finally.’
The report is the latest chapter in the seemingly never-ending saga that is the Russia investigation.
After the president fired then-FBI Director James Comey in May 2017, the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, named Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate the Russia matter.
After a two-year probe, Mueller concluded in his report that there was insufficient evidence to charge Trump or his associates with conspiring with Russia.
But Mueller left open the question of whether Trump tried to obstruct the investigation.
As the Mueller probe winded down, Trump’s attorney general, William Barr, shocked lawmakers earlier this year when he told Congress he believed that ‘spying did occur’ against the president’s campaign.
Christopher Wray, the current FBI director, denied that the bureau spied on the campaign. Horowitz’s report is reported to confirm that the FBI acted legally in launching the investigation.
The FBI began its investigation into alleged ties between Trump aides and Russia in July 2016.
Aside from the Horowitz report, Attorney General William Barr has assigned John Durham, US attorney for Connecticut, to look into intelligence agencies’ conduct during Russia probe
Bureau officials learned at the time that a Russian intermediary offered George Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign aide, information that was potentially damaging to Trump’s opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton.
The intermediary, Joseph Mifsud, a Maltese professor, was alleged by Trump supporters to be an FBI informant who was sent to trap Papadopoulos in order to derail Trump’s campaign.
But Horowitz’s report is expected to debunk that claim as well, according to the Times.
The FBI then began to investigate campaign aides’ alleged ties to Russia, including Papadopoulos, Page, and other associates.
FBI agents did send an informant, Stefan Halper, to meet with Page and Papadopoulos while they were working for the campaign, a revelation that Trump called an ‘all time biggest political scandal.’
But Horowitz’s report is likely to conclude that there is no evidence Halper tried to infiltrate the campaign by seeking inside campaign information or a job in the organization, according to the Times.
The FBI also never asked him to do so, former DOJ officials have said.
Halper’s focus was to extract information about Russia in his contacts with Page and Papadopoulos, the report is likely to conclude.
Horowitz and his team reportedly found that the FBI had deployed its sources to learn of possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
The bureau did not seek information about the campaign itself, the Times is reporting.
Papadopoulos served 12 days in prison for lying to the FBI about his contacts with Mifsud.
Mifsud was briefly in the United States but left the country and could never be questioned by the FBI.
The bureau says Papadopoulos’ lies hampered their ability to follow up on Mifsud.
Aside from the Horowitz report, Barr’s DOJ is conducting a separate inquiry into the origins of the Russia probe.
Barr assigned John Durham, the United States attorney for Connecticut, to lead the investigation into the behavior of intelligence agencies in collecting information about the Trump campaign’s ties with Russia.