Ex-FISA court chief expects a 'very fair' surveillance report from DOJ inspector general
by Daniel Chaitin
| October 03, 2019 05:43 PM
A former top judge on the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court says he expects a "very fair" report from Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz on alleged Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuses by the DOJ and the FBI.
U.S. District Judge John Bates, who was placed on the FISA court by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and was its presiding judge from 2009 to 2013, sat down with Lawfare editor-in-chief Benjamin Wittes last week to discuss all things FISA, including the recently completed investigation into the application process to obtain warrants to electronically surveil onetime Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
Though Bates said he did not have any insider knowledge on the contents of the report, which was given to the DOJ and FBI for a classification review two weeks ago, he laid out his expectations based on what he knows about Horowitz.
"I expect a very thorough report — a very fair report from Michael Horowitz. He's a good inspector general. He's careful," Bates said. Bates added later that he expects the report to be "pretty lengthy."
more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/ex-fisa-court-chief-expects-a-very-fair-surveillance-report-from-doj-inspector-general
