After DOJ IG Michael Horowitz discovered so many problems with the way the FBI applied for and received FISA warrants against Carter Page, he decided to audit more of the FISA applications filed by the FBI. He investigated 29 other FISA applications and discovered that every single one of them had problems. This explains why congress should not reauthorize the FISA Court Act without adopting major changes.
Horowitz had found that the FBI abused it’s power in obtaining the FISA warrants on Carter Page and led the DOJ to cancelling 2 of the 4 FISA warrants leveled against Page. The FBI forged paperwork and outright lied when they claimed that the information contained within the FISA applications had been verified even though the FBI got caught with their pants down.
FBI agents and officials are supposed to provide proof in the Woods Files for every factual statement made in applications submitted to the FISA Court in order to show that the applications are “scrupulously accurate.” (RELATED: FISA Judge Blasts FBI For Submitting False Information About Carter Page)
The OIG investigation of the Carter Page FISA applications found numerous errors with the Woods Files used in that investigation. The OIG report, released Dec. 9, 2019, found that FBI agents working the case failed to validate information from the infamous Steele dossier.
According to the latest audit, OIG investigators were unable to locate four Woods Files for the 29 FISA applications, suggesting that FBI agents never filled them out.
The OIG audit also identified “apparent errors or inadequately support facts” in the 25 applications that were available for review.
The audit also found that the FBI and Justice Department’s National Security Division did not conduct appropriate oversight of FISA procedures.
The OIG did not assess whether the errors were material, or that they would have changed the FBI’s decision to file the applications, or the FISA Court’s decision to grant them.
The audit does not provide specific information about the applications that were reviewed.
An OIG report released Dec. 9, 2019, found that the FBI made at least 17 significant errors and omissions in the final Carter Page FISA application. The Justice Department deemed the final two Page FISAs to be invalid because of all of the errors.