By Joseph Tanfani
Tribune Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Justice Department’s internal watchdog will examine how officials handled a secret application to conduct surveillance of a Trump foreign policy adviser, the latest review in a controversy that has set off a partisan battle in Congress and drawn angry accusations from President Donald Trump.
Following requests from Republican senators and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Inspector General Michael Horowitz announced Wednesday that his office would examine whether the FBI and Justice officials followed the law and department procedures during an investigation of Carter Page, the energy consultant whose dealings with Russians attracted scrutiny before the 2016 election.
The department obtained permission from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to use spying tools against Page, a U.S. citizen. Their warrant application was based in part on a now-infamous dossier compiled by Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence agent who was working as part of a Democrat-funded opposition research project.
Horowitz said his office will examine “the DOJ’s and FBI’s relationship and communications” with Steele and how they handled the dossier, which contained allegations of Russians trying to influence Trump. Horowitz didn’t give any estimates on how long his examination will take.
The Page surveillance warrant has become fodder for a partisan war in Congress, with Republicans calling the process an abuse of power and Democrats insisting that the FBI and Justice Department acted appropriately. The usually secret process to obtain the warrants was the subject of dueling memos from Republicans and Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee.
Two leading Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chairman Charles Grassley of Iowa and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, wrote a letter to Horowitz on Feb. 28 asking for a “comprehensive review of potential improper political influence, misconduct or mismanagement” in the Page investigation.
Sessions also referred the matter to Horowitz, who is also nearing completion of a report on the FBI’s actions during the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails.
In February, Trump, who has seized on the controversy to attack the investigation of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, expressed unhappiness with Sessions’ decision to send the matter to Horowitz instead of opening a criminal investigation, lambasting that move as “disgraceful” in one early-morning tweet.
That spurred a rare pushback from Sessions, who said he was following the appropriate process and vowed to run the department with “integrity and honor.” A department spokeswoman declined to comment on Horowitz’s announcement.
