10 biggest revelations to expect from Horowitz report

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee June 18, 2018 (Video screenshot)

The much-anticipated report of the Justice Department inspector general on alleged abuses by the Obama FBI and DOJ in obtaining a warrant to surveil the 2016 Trump campaign will "provide a comprehensive catalog of what offenses, mistakes and oversights the FBI committed during one of the most politically polarizing investigations in recent history," according to investigative reporter John Solomon.

Solomon, whose extensive reporting on the origins of the Democrats' Trump-Russia investigation has been dismissed by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff as "conspiracy theories," presented 10 of the most important revelations to expect from the report by Michael Horowitz, scheduled for release on Monday.

Solomon stands by his stories and encouraged The Hill to conduct its review of his work over the past several years.

He said the Horowitz report is expected to contain more than 100 witness interviews in more than 500 pages.

It will "serve as a non-partisan roadmap for a much longer process of holding the investigators to account, a process that now includes a criminal probe being led by U.S. Attorney John Durham and investigative hearings by Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Lindsey Graham."

Durham's more comprehensive review of the origins of the Obama administration's Operation Crossfire Hurricane has become a criminal probe, according to the New York Times.

Horowitz focused on the FBI's and Justice Department's use of the dubious, anti-Trump Steele dossier of unverified Russian propaganda to obtain a warrant to spy on Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

Solomon said that while each political party will "seek to score points by cherry-picking their favorite Horowitz findings," there are "far weightier question than electoral politics to be resolved."

Among them are whether or not the FBI "can be trusted going forward to adequately, fairly and honestly protect civil liberties of Americans while conducting counterintelligence, counterterrorism and criminal investigations."

Here's a summary of Solomon's 10 expected revelations:

1. The scope of failure and misconduct: Solomon expects the Horowitz report to identify between six and 12 failures, mistakes and acts of misconduct, ranging from altering a government document to failures to provide the court with evidence and information required under the FISA process.

2. Exculpatory evidence withheld: Did the FBI failed to tell the FISA judges, as required, about evidence of innocence concerning some of the Americans? Solomon expects the IG to identify exculpatory statements that were not disclosed to the court concerning Page and another key figure, George Papadopoulos.

3. Derogatory information about Christopher Steele: The FISA court was not informed of considerable evidence that Steele and his evidence were unreliable.

4. News leaks as evidence: The FBI used a Yahoo News article as validating evidence to support Steele’s dossier. But in a case of "circular reporting," testimony and court filings show Steele played a role in the Yahoo News story.

5. Verification under the Woods Procedures: The FBI must certify to the FISA court that any information submitted in a warrant application was "verified" under the so-called Woods Procedures. But the key allegation that Page had met with two senior Russian officials close to Putin in summer 2016 was never verified when it was used as evidence in the FISA warrant.

6. Steele dossier heartburn: Former FBI Director James Comey has consistently testified he understood key points in the Steele dossier to be "salacious" and "unverified." Horowitz could shed light on who else shared Comey's distrust.

7. What investigators learned from Steele: More than a week before the first FISA warrant was obtained, Steele acknowledged to senior State Department officials that he had an Election Day deadline to make his information public, was desperate to stop Trump and was working in some capacity with Hillary Clinton.

8. Bias, intent and incompetence: "The issue of which of these three problems to blame will be the political football most tossed around by partisans," Solomon said. It's already been leaked that Horowitz found an FBI lawyer intentionally altered a piece of evidence in the FISA process.

9. Criminal referrals and disciplinary actions: Horowitz has already referred Comey's mishandling of sensitive Russia memos, which was declined. He also referred McCabe for prosecution for lying. Solomon expects at least one referral, noting Durham's probe recently was converted to a criminal investigation.

10. Lessons learned: Among the questions are whether or not the FBI and the DOJ need new rules and thresholds for opening probes of candidates and campaigns.

Solomon said the Horowitz report Monday and the IG's testimony next Wednesday before the Senate will be only the beginning of a new phase of accountability for the FBI and the intelligence community officials who worked on the Russia case.

"And the final script won’t be written until Americans can be assured the FBI can conduct future counterintelligence investigations without repeating the mistakes made during the Russia collusion probe."