Attorney General William Barr reportedly disagrees with one of the key findings in the Justice Department’s inspector general’s report on the origins of the Russia investigation, which states that the FBI had enough information in July 2016 to launch a probe into Trump campaign members. According to The Washington Post, Barr has said privately that he does not agree with Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s conclusion that the FBI had enough information in July 2016 to launch a probe into Trump campaign members and that the investigation was launched on a legal and factual basis. Instead, Barr reportedly believes that Horowitz does not have enough information to draw that conclusion and has argued that other U.S. agencies may have information that could contradict Horowitz’s finding. The attorney general, however, has praised Horowitz’s report overall, according to the Post. While Barr can express disagreement with Horowitz’s conclusions, he cannot change them—as the IG’s office operates separately from the rest of the DOJ. The report is due to be released next week. The Justice Department, FBI, and the IG’s office have not commented publicly on the matter.
