Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz has been scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Dec. 11, all but confirming the imminent release of his widely anticipated report into potential FBI and DOJ surveillance abuses against the Trump campaign.
A source told Fox News last month that Horowitz’s upcoming report will shed light on why Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham’s ongoing probe into potential FBI and Justice Department misconduct has transitioned into a full-fledged criminal investigation.
In announcing Horowitz’s upcoming testimony, Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called the independent watchdog a “good man” who has “served our nation well.” Horowitz was appointed to the post by then-President Obama.
“I appreciate all the hard work by Mr. Horowitz and his team regarding the Carter Page FISA warrant application and the counterintelligence investigation of the Trump campaign,” Graham said in a statement.
Page is the Trump campaign adviser whom the FBI targeted for surveillance beginning in 2016. The bureau, in its 2016 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) application to monitor Page, flatly called him “an agent of a foreign power.” Additionally, the FBI assured the FISA court on numerous occasions that other sources independently corroborated the dossier’s claims but did not clearly state that the dossier’s author worked for a firm hired by Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
Page was not charged with any wrongdoing despite over a year of federal surveillance, and he has since sued numerous entities — including the Democratic National Committee (DNC) — for defamation related to claims he worked with Russia. Meanwhile, the dossier that the FBI cited in its FISA application has largely been discredited as a political document rife with inaccuracies. – read more