Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz said at a hearing Wednesday that the irregularities uncovered in his investigation of surveillance activities during the FBI's Russia probe do not "vindicate" anyone, as former FBI Director James Comey and others claimed upon release of his report.
The big picture: Comey and a number of other former FBI officials have celebrated the fact that Horowitz's report concluded the Russia investigation was adequately predicated and was not tainted by political bias. President Trump and his allies have long claimed that the investigation was an effort by the "deep state" to reverse the results of the 2016 election — a conspiracy for which Horowitz said there is "no evidence."
- However, Horowitz argues that the inaccuracies and omissions in the FBI's applications for the surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page are "deeply concerning."
- Horowitz said in his opening statement that the errors reflect "a failure not just by those who prepared the FISA applications, but also by the managers and supervisors in the [investigation's] chain of command, including FBI senior officials who were briefed as the investigation progressed."
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