Since the release of the OIG’s blockbuster 2019 report detailing how the FBI lied or omitted information on FISA applications in order to persuade the court to allow them to spy on political “opponents” like Carter Page, the OIG has been looking into more FISA applications from 2014 to 2019 and discovered a widespread problem:
FOX NEWS – FBI’s FISA applications have been put under a microscope and they have been found wanting.
A report from Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz released Thursday details “widespread” shortcomings in how the FBI applies for surveillance warrants.
In the report, the inspector general reviewed over 7,000 FISA applications and found that 183 either had errors in the factual accuracy review procedures known as “Woods Procedures,” or were missing them altogether.
What’s more, a deeper review into 29 applications found hundreds of errors there.
“The OIG initiated this audit to determine whether the significant errors found in the December 2019 OIG report were indicative of a more widespread problem with the Woods Procedures compliance,” Horowitz’s Thursday report states.
“Given the FBI’s reliance upon its Woods Procedures to help ensure the accuracy of its FISA applications, we believe the missing Woods Files represent a significant lapse in the FBI’s management of its FISA program.”
Here’s a screenshot from Catherine Herridge who has been following this closely:
#FISA Audit examined accuracy @FBI factual basis or “Woods File” for FISA applications. IG found “non-compliance” in record numbers: + 209 inadequate documentation, +209 errors, + 179 instances where “Woods Files” were “missing in whole or in part.” Same period #Durham probe pic.twitter.com/nzTS1ClQoN
— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) September 30, 2021
The FBI claims that it has implemented reforms to fix these problems, but there’s no doubt that the FBI has suffered a major crisis of trust, and it all began with Obama and Comey. That’s the elephant in the room that no one seems to be talking about.
