U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) released a series of documents and transcripts Friday (Jan. 15). The documents and transcripts are related to his panel’s investigation into the origins and consequences of the Russiagate investigation. Graham called the investigation into whether members of President Trump‘s first campaign team conspired with Russians to influence the 2016 election “one of the most incompetent and corrupt investigations in the history of the FBI and the Department of Justice.
Sen. Graham, a South Carolina Republican, released Friday the transcripts of the Judiciary Committee’s questioning of FBI and Justice Department officials between March 3, 2020, and Oct. 29, 2020, to the public.
In a statement Friday, Graham said, “I view this ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ investigation as a systemic and massive failure of the department’s senior leadership, but they are not representative of those at the FBI and DOJ who dedicated, hard-working patriots who protect our country every day.” He said his committee has released “as much material as possible.” But he also noted that “some classified material has still not been released.”
Graham said, “I consider ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ to be one of the most incompetent and corrupt investigations in the history of the FBI and the Department of Justice.” He also noted that he was “grateful to all those who testified under oath and for their candor. They have charted a path for us to make institutional reforms.”
Graham said, “The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) courts have been lied to. Innocent information about those under investigation is withheld. Investigators, with few exceptions, were incredibly biased and used the law enforcement powers at their disposal for political purposes.” “The lives of those under investigation have been completely turned upside down. I hope that these types of counterintelligence investigations are brought under control and that this should never happen again in the United States.”
Graham lashed out at the FBI under former Director James Comey and former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, saying it was either “very incompetent” or “they were deliberately condoning enormous misconduct.
He added: “They have turned a blind eye to any explanation other than the conclusion that the Trump campaign colluded with a foreign power,” and that “the FBI and the Justice Department put stop signs at every turn in the road that would have provided a wealth of exculpatory information. “
Graham slammed FISA’s surveillance warrants against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page as “a botched distortion. He noted that former Justice Department officials who signed the warrants, such as former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, “have admitted that if they had known then what they know now, they would not have signed them.
The investigation was pushed through at a time when it should have been stopped,” Graham said. The only logical explanation is that the investigators wanted their own results because they were biased.”
Graham said he will continue to push for reforms in counterintelligence investigations and approval of applications. He said he hopes “fellow Democrats and Republicans can find common ground on these issues,” while urging FBI Director Ray to “continue the reforms he has initiated.
Graham said, “It’s hard to believe that something like ‘Operation Crossfire Hurricane’ could happen in America.” “The bottom line is going forward we have to have more checks and balances when it comes to political investigations. We have to designate more meaningful signatures on surveillance warrant applications. We need to restore the trust of the American people in the system.”
In addition, former Attorney General Bill Barr appointed Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham as a special prosecutor to ensure that he can continue to investigate the origins of the Russia investigation even if Biden takes office.
Last year, special counsel Robert Mueller completed a year-long investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. Shortly afterward, Barr appointed Durham to investigate the origins of the FBI’s Russiagate investigation.
Mueller’s team found no evidence of a criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian officials during the 2016 election.
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