Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham has released eleven transcripts of interviews conducted during his investigation of the origins of Crossfire Hurricane and FISA abuse.
“As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I have decided to release all transcripts of depositions involving the committee’s oversight of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation. We have released as much material as possible, but some classified material has still been withheld. I appreciate all those who participated in the depositions and their candor. They have charted a path to allow us to reform the system," Graham released in a statement. “I believe that Crossfire Hurricane was one of the most incompetent and corrupt investigations in the history of the FBI and DOJ."
“The FISA court was lied to. Exculpatory information was withheld on those being investigated. The investigators, with some notable exceptions, were incredibly biased and used the powers of law enforcement for political purposes. The subjects of the investigation had their lives turned upside down. It is my hope that counterintelligence investigations will be reined in and this never happens again in America," he continued. “I hope that the media will look closely at what happened and examine these documents, but I am not holding my breath...I will be pursuing reforms of counterintelligence investigations and warrant applications, and hope that my Democratic and Republican colleagues can find common ground on these matters. I also hope and expect that FBI Director Wray will continue the reforms he has started. It is hard to believe that something like Crossfire Hurricane could have happened in America. The bottom line is that going forward we must have more checks and balances when it comes to political investigations. We must have more meaningful sign-offs on warrant applications, and we need to restore the trust to the American people in this system."
The transcripts include testimony from Department of Justice Official Bruce Ohr, whose wife Nellie Ohr worked to compile the Russian dossier for the Clinton campaign.