IG Report on FBI and FISA

For John, BLUF:  The DOJ Inspector General finds that the FBI was not able to submit a clean request to the FIsA Court to surveil the Campaign of President Trump in 2016.  What does that tell us about the integrity of presidential campaigns?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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New FISA scandal as inspector general reveals EVERY spy warrant he investigated was flawed and some had NO supporting evidence

Here is the sub-headline:

• Justice Department IG Michael Horowitz reveals result of audit of 29 FBI FISA applications to eavesdrop on Americans
• The warrants are issued to allow the FBI to intercept communications of Americans they believe may be working for or unwitting tools of a foreign power
• In four of the 29 FISA applications his office selected for review, the FBI could not produce any supporting documents or records
• 25 applications had supporting documentation but he found 'apparent errors or inadequately supported facts in all' of them
• In some instances, facts stated in the applications were not supported by any documentation
• Other[ ther]s were either not corroborated by the documentation or even inconsistent with it. The watchdog office found an average of about 20 issues per application it reviewed.

From Daily Mail, by the Associated Press, 31 March 2020.

Here is the lede plus three:

The FBI has failed to follow its own policies for ensuring the accuracy of applications it submits to conduct wiretaps in national security investigations, including in some cases by not having documentation to support arguments made to judges, according to a letter released Tuesday.

The findings are on top of problems identified last year by the inspector general's office, which concluded that FBI agents had made significant errors and omissions in applications to eavesdrop on a former Trump campaign adviser during the early months of the Russia investigation.

Those mistakes prompted internal changes within the FBI and spurred a congressional debate over whether the bureau's surveillance tools should be reined in.

After the Russia report was submitted last December, Inspector General Michael Horowitz announced a broader review of the FBI's spy powers and its applications before the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

The question we all have to ask ourselves, and ask our elected representatives down in DC, is to what degree can we trust the FBI, and the larger DOJ, to enforce our laws while still respecting our rights as citizens.

Are you comforted by your Representative, down in DC, in my case, Representative Lori Trahan?  Does the Mueller Report and the Impeachment of President Donald John Trump give you confidence?

We need to speak up on this, in a quiet, but persistent way.  If our our Representatives understand we are talking about this it is likely they will pay attention.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff