A SAFE HOLIDAY. ALISON?
ALISON? >>> THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT’S
INTERNAL WATCH DOG SET TO
RELEASE A LONG-AWAITED REPORT
LOOKING AT THE FBI’S CONDUCT.
THE DOJ IS WONDERING WHY THEY
AREN’T LOOKING INTO THE MAN
OVERSEEING IT, WILLIAM BARR.
JULIA AINSLEY JOINS US FROM
WASHINGTON, D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C. THE INSPECTOR GENERAL, AN OBAMA
APPOINTEE, WITH A PRETTY GOOD
REPUTATION.
REPUTATION. WHERE ARE DEMOCRATS CONCERNED
ABOUT HIM?
ABOUT HIM? >> Reporter: ON THE FACE AND
FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE WORKED
UNDER DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN
ADMINISTRATIONS FROM THE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT, THEY SAY MICHAEL
HOROWITZ IS RESPECTED,
STRAIGHT-SHOOTER AND DOESN’T
APPEAR TO HAVE A BIAS.
WHEN YOU DO AN ANALYSIS, SO HAVE
DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESS, IT LOOKS
LIKE THE NUMBER OF INVESTIGATORS
THAT HE HAS TAKEN ON THAT FAVOR
REPUBLICANS’ POINTS RATHER THAN
DEMOCRATIC POINTS IS UNBALANCED.
FOR EXAMPLE, HE WAS LOOKING INTO
THE ORIGINS OF THE MUELLER
INVESTIGATION, VERY HIGH
PROFILE.
PROFILE. HE LOOKS AT FORMER FBI DIRECTOR
JAMES COMEY, FORMER FBI DIRECTOR
ANDREW McCABE.
ANDREW McCABE. ALL PEOPLE WHO REPUBLICANS
THOUGHT HAD BEEN BIASED AND BEEN
AGAINST THE PRESIDENT.
THINGS HE HAS NOT LOOKED AT, THE
DECISION BY JEFF SESSIONS TO
RECUSE HIMSELF FOR THE MUELLER
INVESTIGATION, WHETHER OR NOT
THE CURRENT ATTORNEY GENERAL,
WILLIAM BARR, WAS PUSHED TO OPEN
UP A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION INTO
THE ORIGINS OF THE RUSSIA PROBE
AND THE APPOINTMENT OF MATT
WHITAKER, WHEN YOU CAN REMEMBER
WHEN HE WAS MADE ACTING ATTORNEY
GENERAL WITHOUT SENATE
CONFIRMATION, WITHOUT GOING
THROUGH THE NORMAL RANKING
PROCESS YOU NORMALLY WOULD, THAT
ISN’T SOMETHING THE INSPECTOR
GENERAL TOOK ON.
NOW, IN THEIR DEFENSE, BECAUSE
WE DID GO TO THE INSPECTOR
GENERAL’S OFFICE AND HAVE A
LENGTHY DISCUSSION WITH THEM.
THEY SAID THAT A LOT OF THESE
THINGS ARE OUTSIDE OF THEIR PER
VIEW.
VIEW. ONE THEY THINK ROBERT MUELLER,
IT WAS HIS JOB TO LOOK INTO WHY
JEFF SESSIONS RECUSED HIMSELF.
AND THAT IT IS DIFFICULT FOR
THEM UNDER THEIR CURRENT
JURISDICTION TO LOOK INTO
PROFESSIONAL MISCONDUCT BY AN
ATTORNEY AT THE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT.
DEPARTMENT. WHICH IS SOMETHING I THINK A LOT
OF PEOPLE DON’T KNOW, THAT THEY
ARE LIMITED IN THEIR ABILITIES.
BUT REALLY WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS
ON ITS FACE, AND ESSENTIALLY AS
THIS INVESTIGATION, THIS ONE WE
HAVE COMING UP ON DECEMBER 9th
IS BECOMING MORE AND MORE
IMPORTANT.
IMPORTANT. YOU JUST LAID OUT HOW IT’S
IMPORTANT IN THE MICHAEL FLYNN
SENTENCING AND NOT TO MENTION
HOW EVERYONE IS GOING TO GRAB
ONTO THIS REPORT TO SEE WHETHER
OR NOT IT LEGITIMIZES OR
DELEGITIMIZES THE OUTCOME OF THE
MUELLER INVESTIGATION, NOW
EVERYONE REALLY WANTS TO LOOK AT
MICHAEL HOROWITZ AND HIS RECORD.
THIS IS WHAT WE FOUND JUST
THROUGH OUR ANALYSIS.
>> FOR OUR VIEWERS, A LOT OF
THESE REPORTS, THESE
INVESTIGATIONS CAN BE CONFUSING.
THAT REPORT IS COMING OUT, WHAT
SHOULD PEOPLE BE LOOKING FOR
HERE?
HERE? WHAT MIGHT YOU IMPP TO SEE IN
THIS?
THIS? >> WE WANT TO LOOK AT WHAT
BECAME THE MUELLER PROBE,
STARTED AS AN INVESTIGATION INTO
THE 2016 ELECTION INTERFERENCE,
HOW THAT BEGAN IN THE FIRST
PLACE.
PLACE. WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO DISPEL
CONSPIRACY THEORIES OR TO MAYBE
LOOK AT SOME AREAS THAT COULD
HAVE BEEN IMPROVED AS YIKQUICKLY
POSSIBLE.
POSSIBLE. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT REALLY
PROPELS THAT INVESTIGATION WAS
THE OPENING OF FISA WARRANTS ON
CARTER PAGE.
CARTER PAGE. THAT’S THE ABILITY FOR THE FBI
TO TRACK THE COMMUNICATION OF
CARTER PAGE, ESPECIALLY AS HE
MIGHT HAVE SPOKEN WITH PEOPLE
OVERSEAS.
OVERSEAS. IF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL SAYS
THERE IS ANYTHING -- ANY KIND OF
MALFEASANCE AROUND THAT, THAT IS
ENOUGH TO GRAB ATTENTION AND
COULD ALSO BE ENOUGH THAT WHEN
WE FINALLY SEE SOMETHING COMING
OUT OF THE CRIMINAL
INVESTIGATION, THAT COULD REALLY
IMPLICATE SOME PEOPLE WHO WOULD
HAVE BEEN AT THE HEART OF THAT.
SO FAR IT DOESN’T SEEM ANY OF
THOSE WARRANTS WERE MANIPULATED
OR THAT THEY WERE DONE UNDER A
BIASED CANOPY.
BIASED CANOPY. OF COURSE, THERE WAS SOME PROOF
OF BIAS AT THE FBI, IF YOU LOOK
AT THE TEXT MESSAGES, THE
INFAMOUS TEBLGS MESSAGES, BUT
THERE WERE SOME PEOPLE AT THE
FBI THAT HAD PROBLEM WITH TRUMP,
BECOMING PRESIDENT.
BECOMING PRESIDENT. PEOPLE I HAVE SPOKEN TO WHO WERE
THERE FROM THE EARLY DAYS SAY
PEOPLE ARE ALLOWED TO HAVE THEIR
POLITICAL OPINIONS BUTLY AND
LARGE THE MEN AND WOMEN AT THE
FBI DON’T LET THEIR POLITICAL
OPINIONS COME INTO THEIR
DAY-TO-DAY WORK.
DAY-TO-DAY WORK. >> YOU MENTIONED THE FLYNN
SENTENCING, AS WE WERE TALKING
ABOUT EARLIER.
ABOUT EARLIER. WE SAW HIM IN COURT ABOUT A YEAR
OR SO AGO.
THEY’RE WAITING FOR THIS REPORT
AS WELL?
AS WELL? >> THAT’S RIGHT.
IT’S CRAZY HOW MUCH THIS HAS
BEEN DELAYED.
BEEN DELAYED. WE EXPECTED HIM TO BE SENTENCED
AND HAVE THAT BE THE END OF
HEARING ABOUT THE MICHAEL FLYNN
SAGA.
SAGA. THE JUDGE KEPT DELAYING IT.
NOW IT SEEMS THE DEFENSE AND
PROSECUTION HAVE ASKED FOR A
DELAY.
DELAY. ESPECIALLY IN THE DEFENSE’S
CASE, THEY WANT TO SEE THIS
INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT.
MAYBE THEY THINK IT WILL SOMEHOW
HELP MICHAEL FLYNN’S CASE IF
THEY CAN SHOW ANYTHING THAT
DELEGITIMIZES THE CASE THAT LED
TO HIS CONVICTION, THAT MIGHT
HELP HIM IN THE EYES OF THE