Trump Probe Justified, DOJ Watchdog Says While Citing FBI Errors
- Inspector general’s report finds an ‘authorized purpose’
- Attorney General Barr rejects report’s key conclusion on probe
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation acted properly when it began a broad investigation into whether then-candidate Donald Trump or people around him conspired with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election, according to the Justice Department’s inspector general.
“The FBI had an authorized purpose when it opened” the probe “to obtain information about, or to protect against, a national security threat or federal crime, even though the investigation also had the potential to impact constitutionally protected activity,” according to the 434-page report released Monday by Inspector General Michael Horowitz.