Sources: Durham probe now a criminal investigation
Texas Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe says the Justice Department was used by the Obama administration to go after their enemies.
Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, said Friday that the ongoing probe into potential FBI and Justice Department misconduct will vindicate people who were critical of how the Trump-Russia probe began.
U.S. Attorney John Durham's ongoing probe into potential FBI and Justice Department misconduct in the run-up to the 2016 election through the spring of 2017 has transitioned into a full-fledged criminal investigation, two sources familiar with the investigation told Fox News on Thursday night.
“I think that those of us that have said that this was not a bunch of nonsense are going to be vindicated in both of the reports that are forthcoming,” Ratcliffe told “Fox & Friends.”
DURHAM'S INVESTIGATION INTO POSSIBLE FBI MISCONDUCT IS NOW CRIMINAL PROBE, SOURCES SAY
One source added that DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz's upcoming report on alleged FBI surveillance abuses against the Trump campaign will shed light on why Durham's probe has become a criminal inquiry. Horowitz announced on Thursday his report would be available to the public soon, with "few" redactions.
The investigation's new status means Durham can subpoena witnesses, file charges and impanel fact-finding grand juries.
Fox News reported on Tuesday that Durham's probe had expanded significantly based on new evidence uncovered during a recent trip to Rome with Attorney General Bill Barr.
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Barr reportedly told embassy officials in Italy that he "needed a conference room to meet high-level Italian security agents where he could be sure no one was listening in."
“The Obama administration took a vital national security tool, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and they misused to surveil for political reasons,” Ratcliffe said.
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Horowitz, the DOJ watchdog, faulted the FBI last year for repeated violations of its media communications policy, noting that agents had received gifts from reporters and leaked regularly and brazenly — even from phones at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.