司法部监察长迈克尔·霍罗威兹周三向参议院司法委员会作证，称联邦调查局对2016年特朗普竞选活动的调查起源以及与俄罗斯的可能联系，这是前特别顾问罗伯特·穆勒调查俄罗斯选举干预的先兆。

周一发布的这份480页的报告有以下要点:

• 联邦调查局对俄罗斯的调查是合理的，没有偏见。

• 当获得《外国情报监视法》(FISA)授权监视特朗普竞选助手卡特·佩吉时，或者当调查竞选主席保罗·马纳福特、竞选外交政策顾问乔治·帕帕佐普洛斯和国家安全顾问迈克尔·弗林时，没有证据表明存在“政治偏见或不当动机”。

• 然而，该报告称，美国联邦调查局的监视计划以及如何获得FISA逮捕令，充满了错误，包括“卡特·佩吉·FISA申请中的17个重大错误或遗漏”

• 备受争议的“斯蒂尔档案”并未被用来开启联邦调查局对几名特朗普前竞选官员的调查。

• 该档案的作者、前英国情报官员克里斯托弗·斯蒂尔有一个与特朗普家族成员的个人关系，据报道是伊万卡·特朗普。

民主党人和共和党人都很快宣布该报告是他们各自在这个问题上立场的胜利。民主党人断言，该报告揭穿了特朗普和共和党人鼓吹的理论，即联邦调查局的调查是企图破坏他的候选资格——或者特朗普描述的“政变”。

与此同时，共和党人指出，联邦调查局在调查特朗普的几名竞选官员时有不当行为，并表示这证实了司法部长威廉巴尔(William Barr)的说法，即发生了对竞选的“间谍活动”。

司法部监察长迈克尔·霍罗威兹于12月11日在参议院司法委员会作证。

霍洛维茨说，没有证据表明奥巴马窃听了候选人特朗普，这与总统相矛盾

特朗普在2017年的推文中称，他“[j]刚刚发现奥巴马在获胜前在特朗普大厦窃听了我的‘电线’。”

但是霍洛维茨说，他的调查“没有发现任何证据表明联邦调查局窃听了除佩奇之外的任何其他电话或任何其他东西”，佩奇持有FISA逮捕令。

周三，特朗普重复了一个过去的说法，即联邦调查局监视了他的竞选活动，并在推特上写道:“他们监视了我的竞选活动！”

10月29日，美国前总统巴拉克·奥巴马在伊利诺伊州芝加哥市伊利诺伊理工学院校园内的奥巴马基金会峰会上向来宾发表讲话。

霍洛维茨否认这是“间谍”的标签，他告诉参议院司法委员会主席林赛·格雷厄姆，他把它描述为“非法监视”。这不是FISA政府授权的监视。”

“非法监视意味着他们做到了，”格雷厄姆争辩道。“所以，所有这些他们没有非法监视特朗普竞选的东西，他们都监视了。”

霍洛维茨披露了对特朗普律师鲁迪·朱利安尼正在进行的调查

政府监察机构表示，他“非常担心”纽约联邦调查局特工向特朗普的私人律师鲁迪·朱利安尼和其他人泄露了该局对希拉里·克林顿在2016年选举前使用电子邮件的调查。霍洛维茨说，泄漏是“正在进行的调查”的一部分。

参议员帕特里克·莱希。)暗示泄密促使前联邦调查局局长詹姆斯·科米公开宣布在大选前夕重新调查希拉里的电子邮件。

9月24日，在纽约联合国总部外的游行中，唐纳德·特朗普总统的私人律师鲁迪·朱利安尼向伊朗裔美国人社区组织发表讲话。

霍洛维茨说，他的调查发现，一些特工“违反了联邦调查局的政策”，但仍然很难“证明特工与记者或个人之间沟通的实际内容”

“但是我们可以证明这些联系方式，根据联邦调查局的政策，如果你要披露信息并有某些联系方式，你需要得到授权，”他补充道。

霍洛维茨说，“我们坚持我们的发现”，尽管巴尔公司声称

尽管巴尔声称监察长的报告“清楚地表明联邦调查局对特朗普的竞选发起了一项侵入性调查”，但霍洛维茨表示，他和他的调查人员“支持我们的发现”

当委员会的最高民主党人，参议员黛安娜·范斯坦(加州民主党)问及巴尔是否提供了进一步的证据来支持他的主张时，霍洛维茨说没有

司法部长威廉·巴尔(William Barr)在12月10日的《华尔街日报》年度首席执行官理事会会议上谈到了联邦调查局对俄罗斯可能与唐纳德·特朗普2016年总统竞选有关联的调查。

联邦调查局局长克里斯托弗·瑞承认他的机构犯下了罪行，但他说特朗普-俄罗斯调查是以“授权的目的和充分的事实预测”展开的

霍洛维茨没有看到“政治偏见”的证据，削弱了特朗普竞选中间谍的说法

监察长重申了他的报告的结论，即在特朗普-俄罗斯调查中，他“没有发现任何文件或证词证明政治偏见或不当动机影响了联邦调查局开展这些行动的决定”。

霍洛维茨补充说，开始调查是合法的。他还表示，“没有证据”表明有人试图在特朗普竞选团队中安插秘密特工，或从竞选团队中“招募成员”，削弱了特朗普及其盟友提出的指控。

然而，霍洛维茨强调了联邦调查局在其FISA逮捕令申请中的遗漏和不准确之处。

霍洛维茨说:“FISA的申请使支持可能原因的证据看起来比实际情况更有力。”。“在联邦调查局完成事实准确性审查的过程中，我们还发现了基本的、根本性的和严重的错误。”

霍洛维茨列举了几项防止未来不满的建议，包括重新评估和制定更好的FISA逮捕令申请程序。他说，目前的部门政策“不足以确保适当的监督和问责，当这种行动可能涉及敏感的、受宪法保护的活动时，至少需要部门协商是适当的”。

霍洛维茨说:“我们深感关切的是，在联邦调查局最敏感的调查中，三个独立的、精心挑选的调查小组犯了如此多的基本错误。”。

2月5日，联邦上诉法院法官在参议院司法确认听证会上的高级成员黛安娜·范斯坦。

范斯坦:“没有深层状态”

范斯坦驳斥了情报界存在一个试图阻止特朗普当选的“深层国家”的观点。她说，能够有一个监察长“在他们看到的时候说出来”，是一种拯救的恩典。

范斯坦说，特朗普和共和党人“利用这一点，将整个俄罗斯调查视为‘政治迫害’和‘骗局’”。“IG报告一再驳斥这些说法。这不是出于政治动机的调查。没有深层的状态。简而言之，联邦调查局的调查是基于事实，而不是偏见。”

12月11日，当司法部监察长迈克尔·霍罗威兹在参议院司法委员会作证时，参议院司法委员会主席林赛·格雷厄姆举起了斯蒂尔档案的副本。

格雷厄姆戳穿了联邦调查局对特朗普和俄罗斯的调查，但承认俄罗斯——而不是乌克兰——插手了2016年的选举

格雷厄姆痛斥联邦调查局对特朗普-俄罗斯反情报调查的处理。

“不管你喜欢特朗普，讨厌特朗普，不在乎特朗普，你都认为这不仅仅是一些违规行为，”他说。"因为如果这成为美国的一些不正常现象，那么上帝会帮助我们所有人."

他还表示，该机构应该改革获取FISA秘密监视令的方式。

格雷汉姆说:“我非常担心FISA法院能否继续存在，除非有根本性的改革。”。"我们必须解决一个潜在的系统."

格雷厄姆对报告的调查结果采取了不那么偏袒的态度，他承认乌克兰——而不是俄罗斯——应对2016年选举中的选举干涉负责。这样做，他削弱了他的一些共和党同事鼓吹的乌克兰不知何故卷入其中的不可信阴谋论。

“不是乌克兰人。是俄罗斯人，”他说。联邦调查局“因此，俄罗斯人干扰竞选活动的担忧是合理的”。

 

LIVE UPDATES AS IG MICHAEL HOROWITZ TESTIFIES ON ALLEGED FISA ABUSE IN TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE

The Justice Department's inspector general, Michael Horowitz, testified Wednesday to the Senate Judiciary Committee about the origins of the FBI's probe into the 2016 Trump campaign and possible links to Russia, which was a precursor to former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian election meddling.

The 480-page report, released Monday, had the following takeaways:

• The FBI's Russia probe was justified and not biased.

• There was no evidence of "political bias or improper motivation" when a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant was obtained to surveil Trump campaign aide Carter Page, or when investigating campaign chairman Paul Manafort, campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos and national security adviser Michael Flynn.

• However, the FBI's surveillance program, and how it obtains FISA warrants, is peppered with errors, the report stated, including "17 significant errors or omissions in the Carter Page FISA applications."

• The controversial "Steele dossier" was not used to open the FBI's probe into several former Trump campaign officials.

• Christopher Steele, the dossier's author and a former British intelligence officer, had a personal relationship with a Trump family member, reportedly Ivanka Trump.

Democrats and Republicans were both quick to declare the report a victory for their respective positions on the matter. Democrats asserted that the report debunked theories touted by Trump and Republicans that the FBI probe was an attempt to undermine his candidacy—or an attempted "coup," as Trump has characterized it.

Republicans, meanwhile, pointed to the FBI's misconduct in its probe of several Trump campaign officials and said it corroborated Attorney General William Barr's claim that "spying" on the campaign occurred.

Michael Horowitz, inspector general for the Justice Department, testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on December 11.

No evidence Obama wiretapped candidate Trump, Horowitz says, contradicting president

In a 2017 tweet by Trump, the president claimed he'd "[j]ust found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory."

But Horowitz said his investigation "didn't find any evidence the FBI had tapped any other phones or anything else" other than Page with a FISA warrant.

On Wednesday, Trump repeated a past claim that the FBI spied on his campaign, tweeting: "They spied on my campaign!"

Former U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to guests at the Obama Foundation Summit on the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology on October 29 in Chicago, Illinois.

Horowitz rejected the label it was "spying," telling Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) he characterizes it as "illegal surveillance. It's not court-authorized surveillance under FISA."

"Illegal surveillance means they did it," Graham argued. "So, all this stuff that they didn't illegally surveil Trump's campaign, they did."

Horowitz reveals ongoing probe into Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani

The government watchdog said he's "very concerned" about leaks from FBI agents in the New York field office to Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal attorney, and others regarding the bureau's probe into Hillary Clinton's email use in the run-up to the 2016 election. Horowitz said that the leaking is part of an "ongoing investigation."

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) suggested the leaks prompted former FBI Director James Comey to publicly announce the reopening of the investigation into Clinton's emails just before the election.

Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, speaks to the Organization of Iranian American Communities during a march outside the United Nations headquarters in New York on September 24.

Horowitz said that his investigation discovered that some agents "violated FBI policy" but that it remains difficult to "prove the actual substance of the communications between the agents and the reporters or the individuals."

"But we can prove the contacts, and under FBI policy you need authorization if you're going to disclose information and have certain contacts," he added.

"We stand by our finding" despite claims by AG Barr, Horowitz says

Despite Barr's claim that the inspector general's report "makes clear that the FBI launched an intrusive investigation" of Trump's campaign "on the thinnest of suspicions," Horowitz said he and his investigators "stand by our finding."

Asked by the top Democrat on the committee, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), if Barr provided further evidence to support his claim, Horowitz said no.

Attorney General William Barr speaks about the FBI's investigation into possible Russian connections to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign during The Wall Street Journal's annual CEO Council meeting on December 10.PHOTO BY MARK WILSON/GETTY

FBI Director Christopher Wray has acknowledged that misdeeds were committed by his agency but said the Trump-Russia probe was launched with "authorized purpose and with adequate factual predication."

Horowitz sees no evidence of "political bias," undercuts claim of a spy in Trump campaign

The inspector general reiterated his report's conclusion that he "did not find any documentary or testimonial evidence that political bias or improper motivation influenced the FBI's decision to conduct these operations" in the Trump-Russia probe.

Horowitz added that the opening of the investigation was legitimate. He also said there was "no evidence" of an attempt to place a covert agent within the Trump campaign or to "recruit members" from within the campaign, undercutting a charge that's been made by Trump and his allies.

Horowitz did, however, highlight the omissions and inaccuracies by the FBI that were contained in its FISA warrant applications.

"[T]he FISA applications made it appear as though the evidence supporting probable cause was stronger than was actually the case," Horowitz said. "We also found basic, fundamental and serious errors during the completion of the FBl's factual accuracy reviews."

Horowitz listed several recommendations to prevent future grievances, including a re-evaluation and development of better protocols in applying for FISA warrants. Current department policies "are not sufficient to ensure appropriate oversight and accountability when such operations potentially implicate sensitive, constitutionally protected activity, and that requiring department consultation, at a minimum, would be appropriate," he said.

"We are deeply concerned that so many basic and fundamental errors were made by three separate, handpicked investigative teams on one of the most sensitive FBI investigations," Horowitz said.

Ranking member Dianne Feinstein during a Senate Judiciary confirmation hearing for a federal appeals court judge on February 5.

Feinstein: "There is no deep state"

Feinstein batted down the notion that there was a "deep state" within the intelligence community that sought to prevent Trump's election. The ability to have an inspector general who "tells it as they see it," she said, "is a saving grace."

Trump and Republicans have "used this to dismiss the entire Russia investigation as a 'witch hunt' and a 'hoax,'" Feinstein said. "The IG report repeatedly refutes those claims. This was not a politically motivated investigation. There is no deep state. Simply put, the FBI's investigation was motivated by facts, not bias."

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham holds up a copy of the Steele dossier as Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department's inspector general, testifies before the committee on December 11.

Graham rips FBI's Trump-Russia probe but acknowledges that Russia—not Ukraine—meddled in 2016 election

Graham lambasted the FBI's handling of the Trump-Russia counterintelligence probe.

"Whether you like Trump, hate Trump, don't care about Trump, you look at this as more than a few irregularities," he said. "Because if this becomes a few irregularities in America, then God help us all."

He also said the agency should reform the way in which it obtains secret FISA warrants for surveillance.

"I have serious concerns about whether the FISA court can continue, unless there is fundamental reform," Graham said. "We have to address an underlying system."

Graham, taking a less partisan approach to the report's findings, acknowledged that Ukraine—not Russia—was responsible for election interference in the 2016 election. In doing so, he undercut a discredited conspiracy theory touted by some of his GOP colleagues that Ukraine was somehow involved.

"It wasn't the Ukrainians. It was the Russians," he said. "So the concern that the Russians were messing with the campaigns was a legitimate concern" by the FBI.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available. Check back for live updates.