The File
The Inspector General documented seventeen significant errors and omissions in FISA applications targeting a presidential campaign associate. Michael Horowitz's report, published December 9, 2019, found the FBI failed to comply with its own policies in preparing the applications to surveil Carter Page, and that the explanations offered for those failures were unsatisfactory. Attorney General Barr went further, stating FBI officials misled the FISA court and suppressed information that undercut their source's reliability.
The Documented Record
December 9, 2019: The DOJ Office of Inspector General published Report 20-012, "Review of Four FISA Applications and Other Aspects of the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane Investigation," containing nine recommendations. [DOCUMENTED]
Inspector General Horowitz stated that in preparing the FISA applications to surveil Carter Page, the Crossfire Hurricane team failed to comply with FBI policies. [DOCUMENTED]
Attorney General William Barr stated that FBI officials misled the FISA court, omitted critical exculpatory facts from their filings, and suppressed or ignored information negating the reliability of their principal source. [DOCUMENTED]
August 31, 2020: FBI Director Christopher Wray stated that since the report's issuance the prior December, he had ordered more than 40 corrective actions, including foundational FISA reforms, many exceeding what the Inspector General had recommended. [DOCUMENTED]
What the Record Does Not Establish
The record does not establish criminal intent on the part of every individual FBI employee involved in preparing the applications, since the Inspector General's report is an administrative review rather than a criminal referral covering every person named in it. What is documented is the Inspector General's own finding of significant errors and omissions, and the Attorney General's and FBI Director's own public acknowledgment of the report's severity.
Sources
- Review of Four FISA Applications and Other Aspects of the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane Investigation, DOJ Office of Inspector General, 2019
- Statement of Michael E. Horowitz, Inspector General, 2019
- Statement by Attorney General William P. Barr on the Inspector General's Report, DOJ, 2019
- The Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Announce Critical Reforms, DOJ, 2020
Connected Files
INTL-002 documents the Steele Dossier that formed part of the FISA applications this report examined.