Inspector General Michael Horowitz's report revealed a sad reality: The special counsel's office under Mueller's charge was just as inept at investigating the false charges of Russia collusion as the FBI was under James Comey's lead. As the IG report noted, "On May 17, 2017, the Crossfire Hurricane cases were transferred to the Office of the Special Counsel," and the FBI agents and analysts then began working with the special counsel.
Prior to the special counsel's appointment, the FBI had interviewed Papadopoulos and Mifsud, but it would be the special counsel's office that indicted Papadopoulos in late July 2017, charging him with lying to the FBI. By that time the special counsel's team must have reviewed the notes from the Papadopoulos and Mifsud interviews.
In short, the special counsel's team proved itself equally incompetent in investigating and screening the "Intel" used to obtain the Page surveillance orders, and in failing to accurately and fully inform the FISA court of the evidence gathered by the FBI. As the IG noted "That so many basic and fundamental errors were made on four FISA applications by three separate, hand-picked teams, on one of the most sensitive FBI investigations that was briefed to the highest levels within the FBI and that FBI officials expected would eventually be subjected to close scrutiny, raised significant questions regarding the FBI chain of command's management and supervision of the FISA process." That also means Mueller and his chain of command.
The special counsel's use of Ohr appears even more problematic than the FBI's prior mishandling of their meetings with Ohr: At least prior to Mueller's appearance, the FBI documented the details of their conversations with Ohr in FD-302 forms, but as the IG report noted, while Ohr continued to communicate with Steele through the end of November 2017 and passed on the details of those conversations to the FBI, "The FBI did not memorialize any meetings its agents had with Ohr after the Crossfire Hurricane investigation was transferred to the Special Counsel's Office in May 2017.".
These details from the IG report raise further concerns about Weissmann's involvement in the special counsel probe, which prompts two other questions: Besides Weissmann, how many other DOJ employees or FBI agents responsible for the inaccuracies and omissions identified in the IG report moved over to the special counsel team? Did those individuals cause the special counsel's report to include significant inaccuracies and omissions?
How many other DOJ employees or FBI agents responsible for the inaccuracies and omissions identified in the IG report moved over to the special counsel team?
While the special counsel report claimed "this report embodies factual and legal determinations that the Office believes to be accurate and complete to the greatest extent possible," the IG report provided more perspective on the question of Russia collusion than the entire $30-million special counsel probe.
https://thefederalist.com/2020/01/06/inspector-general-report-shows-special-counsel-replicated-fbi-abuses/
Prior to the special counsel's appointment, the FBI had interviewed Papadopoulos and Mifsud, but it would be the special counsel's office that indicted Papadopoulos in late July 2017, charging him with lying to the FBI. By that time the special counsel's team must have reviewed the notes from the Papadopoulos and Mifsud interviews.
In short, the special counsel's team proved itself equally incompetent in investigating and screening the "Intel" used to obtain the Page surveillance orders, and in failing to accurately and fully inform the FISA court of the evidence gathered by the FBI. As the IG noted "That so many basic and fundamental errors were made on four FISA applications by three separate, hand-picked teams, on one of the most sensitive FBI investigations that was briefed to the highest levels within the FBI and that FBI officials expected would eventually be subjected to close scrutiny, raised significant questions regarding the FBI chain of command's management and supervision of the FISA process." That also means Mueller and his chain of command.
The special counsel's use of Ohr appears even more problematic than the FBI's prior mishandling of their meetings with Ohr: At least prior to Mueller's appearance, the FBI documented the details of their conversations with Ohr in FD-302 forms, but as the IG report noted, while Ohr continued to communicate with Steele through the end of November 2017 and passed on the details of those conversations to the FBI, "The FBI did not memorialize any meetings its agents had with Ohr after the Crossfire Hurricane investigation was transferred to the Special Counsel's Office in May 2017.".
These details from the IG report raise further concerns about Weissmann's involvement in the special counsel probe, which prompts two other questions: Besides Weissmann, how many other DOJ employees or FBI agents responsible for the inaccuracies and omissions identified in the IG report moved over to the special counsel team? Did those individuals cause the special counsel's report to include significant inaccuracies and omissions?
How many other DOJ employees or FBI agents responsible for the inaccuracies and omissions identified in the IG report moved over to the special counsel team?
While the special counsel report claimed "this report embodies factual and legal determinations that the Office believes to be accurate and complete to the greatest extent possible," the IG report provided more perspective on the question of Russia collusion than the entire $30-million special counsel probe.
https://thefederalist.com/2020/01/06/inspector-general-report-shows-special-counsel-replicated-fbi-abuses/
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