Senator Lindsey Graham is urging Attorney General William Barr to declassify and release documents that were used in the Russia probe, including FISA warrants used by the FBI.
The South Carolina Republican and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee addressed Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s probe of the Justice Department and the FBI in a letter to Barr , noting that as the probe is “nearing completion,” the release of certain documents “to provide a complete picture.”
“Since March 28, 2018, the Department’s Inspector General, Michael Horowitz, has been conducting an investigation into the Department’s and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s compliance with legal requirements, and with applicable Department and FBI policies and procedures, in applications filed with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) related to Carter Page,” Graham wrote, referring to the former Trump aide.
“According to Inspector General David Horowitz that investigation is nearing completion,” he added in the letter released Tuesday.
“In order for the Inspector General to be able to present the most complete results of his investigation to Congress and the American people, certain documents will need to be declassified and released to the public. I write to urge you to declassify all documents the Inspector General identifies as appropriate for declassification as much as possible, without harming national security,” Graham wrote.
The lawmaker has predicted the FISA report will be “ugly and damning” for the Justice Department.
This is the first of what I expect will be several more ugly and damning rebukes of senior DOJ and FBI officials regarding their actions and biases toward the Trump campaign of 2016.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) August 29, 2019
Graham told Fox News he wanted to see “as much declassification as possible.”
“I want the public to see the process in real time. I want the FISA warrant applications to be revealed to the public as much as possible,” he told Sandra Smith Monday during an interview on “America’s Newsroom.”
(Video: Fox News)
Graham requested that “at a minimum,” documents declassified and released should include “all documents and communications originally shared with the Gang of Eight in May 2018 related to the investigation into Russia interference in the 2016 election, including any transcripts of summaries of transcripts of conversations between George Papadopoulos and confidential informants.”
The GOP lawmaker also asked for the release of “applications for FISA warrants and any renewals thereof for Carter Page or anyone else associated with the Trump campaign,” as well as “any opinions from the FISC related to the Carter Page FISA or other Trump campaign related FISAs.”
The report from Horowitz on the origins of the Russia probe is expected by the end of the month, and Barr has indicated he is working closely with the inspector general. Graham’s request came just days after a scathing IG report on former FBI Director James Comey.
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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