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By Catherine Herridge, Cyd Upson | Fox NewsReport on Russia probe origins delayed as new evidence prompts deeper reviewSources tell Fox News that Justice Department inspector general is examining a senior State Department official's contact with Christopher Steele, author of the anti-Trump dossier; chief intelligence correspondent Catherine Herridge reports.Key witnesses sought for questioning by Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz early in his investigation into alleged government surveillance abuse have come forward at the 11th hour, Fox News has learned. Sources familiar with the matter said at least one witness outside the Justice Department and FBI started cooperating -- a breakthrough that came after Attorney General William Barr ordered U.S. Attorney John Durham to lead a separate investigation into the origins of the bureau’s 2016 Russia case that laid the foundation for Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe.Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz looks on as he testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on "Examining the Inspector General's First Report on Justice Department and FBI Actions in Advance of the 2016 Presidential Election" in the Hart Senate Office Building on June 18, 2018, on Capitol Hill. While the investigative phase of the inspector general’s long-running probe is said to be complete, the sources said recent developments required some witnesses to be reinterviewed. And while Barr testified that he expected the report into alleged Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) abuse to be ready in May or last month, multiple sources said the timeline has slipped...https://www.foxnews.com/politics/reluctant-witnesses-in-fisa-abuse-probe-agree-to-talk-to-doj-inspector-general
The State Department contact with Steele was relayed to a senior FBI official. The timeline matters because about two weeks later, the FBI and DOJ used Steele's unverified research, paid for by the DNC and Clinton campaign, to secure a surveillance warrant against former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. At the very least, it's been argued, Steele's contact with another government agency should have been a red flag for the FBI because it may have violated his confidential human source agreement.Steele was later fired by the FBI over his media contacts before the 2016 presidential election. The Page surveillance warrant is the central issue of the DOJ IG’s review.
