FBI Director Wray Breaks With Barr, Backs DOJ IG’s Findings On FBI Probe

FBI director nominee Christopher Wray testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee July 12, 2017 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. If confirmed, Wray will fill the position that has been left behind by former director James Comey who was fired by President Donald Trump about two months ago.
FBI director nominee Christopher Wray testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 12, 2017. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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FBI Director Christopher Wray affirmed Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report on Monday that found the FBI did not improperly open its investigation into the Trump campaign and Russian election interference.

Wray told ABC News correspondent Pierre Thomas that one of the most important takeaways from the report is that he and his agency “fully accept its findings and recommendations.”

One of the other big takeaways, Wray said, was that “the inspector general did not find political bias or improper motivations impacting the opening of the investigation or the decision to use certain investigative tools during the investigations.”

“Including FISA?” Thomas asked.

“Including FISA,” the FBI director replied.

Wray’s acceptance of the report’s conclusions puts him at odds with Attorney General Bill Barr, who spun the report as proof the FBI’s investigation was launched “on the thinnest of suspicions” that were “insufficient to justify the steps taken.”

Barr also said that “no one is more dismayed about the handling of these FISA applications than Director Wray.”

Although Horowitz concluded that the FBI made “many basic and fundamental errors” with the FISA application for Carter Page, the inspector general did not find political bias tainted the FISA process, and that there was sufficient evidence for the FBI to open its investigation.

Watch Wray below:

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