Problems with FBI surveillance extended far beyond probe of Trump campaign, Justice Dept. inspector general says

The Justice Department inspector general revealed Tuesday that he found errors in every FBI application to a secret surveillance court his office examined as part of an ongoing review ‐ suggesting the problems exposed in the bureau's probe of President Trump's 2016 campaign extend far beyond that case alone.

The memorandum issued by Inspector General Michael Horowitz stems from an audit launched last year after his office found 17 serious problems with the FBI's surveillance applications targeting former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

The interim results of that audit suggest that the problems that plagued the Page investigation may exist in other counterterrorism and counterintelligence cases. The memorandum may buttress some of the criticism that Trump and his supporters have leveled at the FBI, but the findings also suggest that, rather than political motives, the issues at the agency may be broader institutional weaknesses.

A key part of the inspector general review has been analyzing the Woods files ‐ documents created to ensure the accuracy of the FBI's applications to the court created by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

The inspector general selected a sample of 29 FISA applications to review ‐ and found problems with all of them. In 25 applications, Horowitz's team found "apparent errors or inadequately supported facts," while in four of the cases, they were unable to find any Woods file at all. In three of those missing supporting documentation, it's unclear if a Woods file was ever created.