FBI Director Christopher A. Wray said Wednesday the bureau’s bungling of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Application for former Trump campaign figure Carter Page was “unacceptable.”
Mr. Wray’s remarks came in congressional testimony about a damning report by Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz concluding the FBI omitted and doctored evidence to obtain the Page warrant.
“The failures highlighted in that report are unacceptable period,” he told the House Judiciary Committee. “They don’t reflect who the FBI is as an institution and they can not be repeated.”
Mr. Wray pointed to a recent filing he made with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court outlining 40 changes the bureau was making to its FISA reports. An adviser working with the court later found those recommendations to be “insufficient.”
“The FBI has embraced every last one of the inspector general’s recommendations but we are also making improvements above and beyond those recommendations by the IG,” he said. “I’ve already ordered 40 corrective actions, including significant modifications to our FISA policies and procedures.”
Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, New York Democrat, pressed the director on whether political bias played a role in the FBI’s mistakes. However, Mr. Wray referred back to the inspector general’s report.
Mr. Horowitz said he could not find any documented evidence of political bias, but couldn’t firmly conclude partisan views didn’t influence the FBI’s actions.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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