DOJ watchdog finds new errors in FBI's handling of surveillance warrants
Warrants included "apparent errors or inadequately supported facts," they said.
A new audit into the FBI's surveillance warrant application process has uncovered a series of errors made by agents seeking wiretaps on subjects of national security investigations, a Justice Department watchdog revealed Tuesday.
DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz said the results of audit, which grew from last year's scathing report that scrutinized the surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page, showed that of the 29 randomly selected Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) applications, 25 included files with "apparent errors or inadequately supported facts."
In the other four cases, the FBI field offices told investigators they either couldn't locate them or "did not know if they ever existed."
Horowitz said his office did not examine, however, whether the identified errors would have had any material effect on the warrants overall.
The audit suggests that issues with how agents have handled the surveillance warrants in recent years, in particular the factual accuracy reviews of the statements they include in court applications, go beyond the errors and omissions identified by Horowitz last year in his investigation of the Carter Page warrants.
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DOJ watchdog finds new errors in FBI's handling of surveillance warrants
Warrants included "apparent errors or inadequately supported facts," they said.
By
Alexander Mallin
March 31, 2020, 10:45 AM
5 min read
DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz testifies
2:09
DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz testifies
Michael Horowitz on Wednesday faced tough questioning from lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee about his nearly 500-page report examining the Russia investigation.
Samuel Corum/Getty Images, FILE
A new audit into the FBI's surveillance warrant application process has uncovered a series of errors made by agents seeking wiretaps on subjects of national security investigations, a Justice Department watchdog revealed Tuesday.
DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz said the results of audit, which grew from last year's scathing report that scrutinized the surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page, showed that of the 29 randomly selected Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) applications, 25 included files with "apparent errors or inadequately supported facts."
MORE: DOJ watchdog finds Russia investigation not improper, despite missteps
In the other four cases, the FBI field offices told investigators they either couldn't locate them or "did not know if they ever existed."
Horowitz said his office did not examine, however, whether the identified errors would have had any material effect on the warrants overall.
Samuel Corum/Getty Images, FILEDepartment of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz prepares to testify in a… moreDepartment of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz prepares to testify in a Senate Committee On Homeland Security And Governmental Affairs hearing at the US Capitol, Dec. 18, 2019 in Washington.
Samuel Corum/Getty Images, FILE
The audit suggests that issues with how agents have handled the surveillance warrants in recent years, in particular the factual accuracy reviews of the statements they include in court applications, go beyond the errors and omissions identified by Horowitz last year in his investigation of the Carter Page warrants.
While Horowitz found that DOJ has an authorized purpose for investigating whether there was a crime, in January, the Justice Department concluded that two of the surveillance orders targeting Page were not valid because they included "material misstatements" by agents that were seeking them.
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https://abcnews.go.com/politics/doj-watchdog-finds-errors-fbis-handling-surveillance-warrants/story?id=69898638