Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said Wednesday during the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on the FBI’s misconduct surrounding its surveillance of the Trump campaign in the 2016 election that the FBI “effectively meddled” in the election.
“Which is worse? Is it worse to have a foreign government trying to meddle in our elections, or is it worse to have our own government meddling in the election?” Hawley asked Justice Department inspector general Michael Horowitz. “Because I think that is exactly what this report shows. It shows that our government, the most powerful law enforcement agency in the nation, the FBI effectively meddled in an ongoing presidential campaign.”
“The thing that gets me is, you expect it from foreign governments, I’m not saying it’s good but I’m saying that you expect it,” Hawley continued. “They’ve been doing it for years. Russia’s been doing it for years, we know they tried to do it this last cycle. China has been doing it, others have been doing it and we know what steps to take, we have to take them more effectively, but when our own government does it how can the American people have confidence and what do we do?”
“And there’s one actor here who I think has not gotten the credit that they collectively deserve and that’s the Democrat National Committee,” Hawley continued. “I just think, you know, I’ve heard my friends on the other side of the aisle complain about Hillary Clinton’s campaign and how ineffective it was and how the DNC didn’t do a good job in 2016.”
“I beg to differ,” Hawley exclaimed. “This is the most incredible, the DNC pays for the Steele dossier, solicits the Steele dossier and then gets the Federal Bureau of Investigation to go get FISA warrants, surveil an American citizen, surveil a presidential campaign, all on the basis of this manufactured garbage that they paid for, I mean that’s extraordinary, that has got to be a first time in history.”
Hawley later added, “To me this is the untold story of the 2016 campaign and I don’t know who at the DNC hatched this but I suppose the outta take a victory lap but certainly they should be remembered for it, to get the FBI to launch surveillance of a rival presidential campaign and then into the newly elected president’s term — I think is just extraordinary.”
“Are these individuals, whose misdeeds that you have documented here in this report, the members I am thinking of, the case agents, other members on the Crossfire Hurricane team, are they still to your knowledge working at the FBI?”
Horowitz responded, “To my understanding, some are, some aren’t.”
“What about the case agent who directly misled the DOJ, an Office of Intelligence attorney, about Carter Page’s relationship with other intelligence agencies in our government, who directly misled the OI about that, is that person to your knowledge still at the FBI?” Hawley asked.
“To my knowledge that person is still there,” Horowitz responded.
WATCH:
WATCH:@HawleyMO: FBI “Effectively Meddled” in @realDonaldTrump's 2016 campaign. pic.twitter.com/1lpsoc3oJG
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) December 12, 2019
This report has been expanded to included additional transcript.