President Donald Trump said Tuesday that it will be “disappointing” if the impending Inspector General’s (IG) report finds that the FBI had a proper legal basis to open an investigation into Russian collusion.
The Washington Post reported Monday that IG Michael Horowitz found through the course of his investigation into FISA abuse that the FBI had enough information to justify opening a probe into Trump campaign officials and their ties with Russia. Attorney General Bill Barr reportedly disagrees with this key finding. (RELATED: Report: AG Barr Disagrees With Key Finding In Watchdog’s Trump-Russia Report)
Trump reacted to the Washington Post report during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the 2019 NATO Summit in London.
Trump and Stoltenberg at the top of a 52-min press spray pic.twitter.com/XjXd8TKCc6
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) December 3, 2019
“The IG report is a very important report. If what I read is correct — I read it in your newspaper — if what I read is correct, that will be a little disappointing, but it was just one aspect of the report,” Trump said. “We’ll see what happens. It’s coming out in a few days. I hear it’s devastating.”
The president noted that he has not seen the report, but has heard from “outside” sources that it will not be favorable to the FBI. However, Trump also hedged his bets in the event that the IG report does not come out in his favor, stating, “I do think the big report to wait for is going to be the Durham report. That’s the one that people are really waiting for. He’s highly respected and he’s worked very hard. He’s worked long hours, I can tell you, and gone all over the world.”
John Durham, the U.S. attorney in Connecticut, is currently investigating the origins of the Russia probe on behalf of the Department of Justice (DOJ).