The Justice Department’s inspector general’s report on the Russia investigation and surveillance of Trump campaign adviser Carter Page will not support claims that top government officials were biased against Trump. According to The New York Times, Inspector General Michael Horowitz is expected to state that he found no evidence of political bias from FBI Director James Comey, ex-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, or former FBI agent Peter Strzok at the beginning stages of the Trump-Russia investigation. Sources said Horowitz’s findings counter the narrative set by Trump and his allies—who sought to discredit the Trump-Russia probe by insinuating bias was at play.
However, Horowitz’s report will reportedly state that FBI officials were “sloppy and unprofessional” in seeking Page’s wiretap order and during the process of renewing it. The inspector general also found that a low-level FBI lawyer, Kevin Clinesmith, had altered an email that officials used in the wiretap renewal process. The lawyer has reportedly been referred to prosecutors for a potential criminal charge. Details of the email may be classified and not released with the report, which is set to come out in early December. Clinesmith, who left the Russia investigation in February 2018, was identified as one of the agency officials who expressed bias towards Trump in emails. Clinesmith’s lawyer and a spokesperson for Horowitz has not commented publicly on the matter.
Read it at The New York Times
