Byron York: FBI spied in plain sight
Byron York, Washington Examiner, discusses the Horowitz report and FBI's spying tactics on the Trump campaign
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz laid out a "devastating indictment" of the FBI's conduct at the start of the 2016 Trump-Russia investigation, but most of the media is ignoring his conclusions, according to Fox News contributor Byron York.
Speaking on "America's Newsroom," York objected to how the media has characterized Horowitz's report, pointing out that the coverage has focused mostly on the conclusion that the FBI investigation was not launched due to political bias.
"That's really not what the report says," he said.
FISA REPORT DROPS: 7 MAIN TAKEAWAYS FROM DOJ WATCHDOG'S RUSSIA PROBE REVIEW
"It is a devastating indictment of the FBI's conduct in the Trump-Russia investigation, it is a devastating indictment of the FBI's use of the Steele dossier, which had absolutely no basis in fact. All of these sensational allegations had no basis in fact. It is a devastating indictment of the FBI's use of spies to spy on the Trump campaign and a devastating indictment of all these so-called mistakes that the FBI made in this investigation. Yet the disconnect is a lot of the coverage we've seen simply says, well, the investigation was legally grounded and was free of political bias," he explained.
Horowitz, in Senate testimony earlier this week, declared a “failure” by the entire “chain of command” involved in the FBI’s initial Trump-Russia investigation, calling out “basic and fundamental errors” at the bureau while stressing that his newly released report on the probe does not "vindicate" anyone.
REPUBLICANS ERUPT AS NADLER SUDDENLY POSTPONES IMPEACHMENT VOTE NEAR MIDNIGHT
The tone of the testimony, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, ran counter to much of the coverage surrounding the report's release that zeroed in on a core finding that investigators found no evidence of political bias and were indeed justified in launching the 2016 probe.
Horowitz reaffirmed that finding, touted by congressional Democrats eager to defend the probe, at Wednesday's hearing. But his testimony as a whole amounted to a tough assessment of the bureau's actions -- and clarified that his two-year review on the Russia probe's origins and use of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants to surveil a Trump campaign aide did not close the book on the bias question either.
Under questioning, Horowitz said he could not outright determine whether bias was involved in the process of applying for a FISA warrant against former Trump adviser Carter Page.
In a Washington Times op-ed this week, titled "Of course the FBI spied on the Trump campaign," York wrote that there should no longer be any debate about whether the FBI spied on the Trump campaign, as Donald Trump has repeatedly alleged.
He pointed out that a routine August 2016 intelligence briefing of the Trump campaign was used by the FBI to gather information on Trump and Michael Flynn, then a top campaign aide.
"In short, the FBI, acting under false pretenses, spied on Trump and Flynn in plain sight. ... Put it all together, and there was a lot of spying on the Trump campaign — by confidential informants, in a wiretap, even in a supposed intelligence briefing," he wrote.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP
"Yet defenders of the Trump-Russia probe still maintain that no spying took place and that the FBI followed proper procedures. After Horowitz, that's a difficult case to make. The fact is, the FBI not only spied on the Trump campaign, it did it in the worst way."
Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.