Politics

Marco Rubio Expects More Indictments In Durham Probe, Speculates That FBI Abuse Is ‘Far Worse’ Than Publicly Known

Sen. Marco Rubio, the acting chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on Sunday that he anticipates additional indictments in a federal probe into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation.

Rubio also said in an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that he believes the FBI engaged in activities that are “far worse” during Crossfire Hurricane than what’s been publicly revealed.

“I anticipate that we will see some criminal charges here,” Rubio told host Maria Bartiromo.

“I have a feeling that there are things that they did that we don’t even know about yet that are far worse than what’s been publicly revealed. We’ll find out. It’s just a feeling, but given some of the body language I’m seeing I have a feeling that some of the conduct goes beyond anything any of us know yet.”

Rubio criticized the FBI for relying heavily on the Steele dossier for its investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government.

“Some people in the FBI wanted that document to be true. That’s the fundamental problem. And it wasn’t,” Rubio said.

A Justice Department inspector general’s (IG) report said that the FBI made at least 17 “significant” errors and omissions in applications for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) orders against Carter Page.

U.S. Attorney John Durham is investigating the FBI’s activities during Crossfire Hurricane. Kevin Clinesmith, a former FBI attorney who worked on the Crossfire Hurricane team, pleaded guilty on Aug. 19 to altering a June 2017 email from the CIA regarding Page.

Rubio said that he believes FBI employees broke the law, but he said that the remaining question is if the potential criminal activity was carried out by rogue investigators or part of a broader conspiracy to mislead the FISA Court.

“Clearly there was perjury and lying to a court but the question goes deeper than that,” said Rubio. “Was it part of a broader effort, a coordinated effort, where a bunch of people in law enforcement sworn to uphold the law colluded to violate it?”

The Justice Department IG report said that FBI investigators withheld evidence from the FISA Court that undermined the credibility of the Steele dossier, which was funded by the Clinton campaign and DNC. The report also said that the FBI received evidence in early 2017 that Russian intelligence operatives may have fed disinformation to dossier author Christopher Steele.

Attorney General William Barr, who handpicked Durham to conduct a review of the FBI’s activities, said last month that he anticipates “significant” developments in the investigation before the election in November. Democrats in both the House and Senate have called on Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department inspector general, to investigate whether Durham is allowed to issue a report of his investigation prior to the election.