(ConservativeCore.com)- This week, the Justice Department released heavily redacted documents related to the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General investigation into the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane probe on alleged Russian collusion with the Trump campaign, Just the News reported on Wednesday.
The 460 pages of documents, obtained by Citizens United through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking interviews conducted by the DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General, were over 90 percent redacted at the request of the IG or the FBI. The documents include interview transcripts of former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and former DOJ official Bruce Ohr’s wife Nellie.
While largely redacted, the information does include some new information showing how the FBI failed to put an end to the uncorroborated allegations that the Trump campaign was colluding with Russia to steal the 2016 election from Hillary Clinton, according to Just the News.
Included in the documents are the transcript and investigator notes from the Inspector General’s Office’s interview with Obama’s former Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
According to Just the News, amid the blacked-out portions of the documents was one key section confirming that the FBI’s probe into the Russian collusion allegations predated July 31, 2016, when the bureau officially launched its Crossfire Hurricane investigation.
Lynch told the Inspector General’s office that then-Director James Comey and then-deputy director Andrew McCabe informed her in the late spring of 2016 about the supposed intelligence found linking former Trump campaign advisor Carter Page to “Russian intelligence operatives.” Later in the interview, Lynch said the information was “preliminary” and no action was taken.
Despite learning that an advisor for a presidential campaign might be the target of a Russian influence operation, Lynch admitted in her interview that didn’t remember if the FBI ever followed up with her about Carter Page. She also said she couldn’t remember getting briefed on Crossfire Hurricane or seeing the FISA warrant targeting Carter Page.
