The Inspector-General of the Justice Department, Michael Horowitz released a 476-page report about the FBI’s probe into the reported ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. He testified about it before the Senate for several hours on Wednesday.
It’s here that Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn) questioned Horowitz and destroyed GOP’s take on the FBI-Russia probe.
At 4 p.m. The Hill staff reported that Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), returned to Washington to question Horowitz, though she did not stay for the entire hearing. And in the time that she was there, she channeled her inner attorney before crushing Horowitz with surgical precision.
Smart line of questioning from @amyklobuchar, laying out how nothing in the IG report draws into question the key points of what we know about Russian interference or how the investigation into it was conducted pic.twitter.com/Rf81MVDaKW
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 11, 2019
The former Hennepin County lawyer tackled the Russian interference first:
“Does anything in your report call into question the finding in the special counsel’s report that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in a sweeping and systematic fashion?” she opened with a slam-dunk question.
“No, it doesn’t,” Horowitz answered before the Judiciary Committee.
To this, the 59-year-old senator cross-examined: “Does anything in your report call into question Chairman Burr’s statement that, quote, ‘Russia is waging an information warfare campaign against the U.S. that didn’t start and didn’t end with the 2016 election?” And the inspector answered, “No, it doesn’t.”
Since Horowitz said that he cited the Mueller report and others in his own findings, the senator proceeded to quote the Mueller report too.
“What about the Mueller report finding that, quote, the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome?” she asked.
Horowitz confirmed, “We don’t take issue with any part of the special counsel’s report, no.”
She then moved on to the other players, George Papadopoulos, Paul Manafort, Carter Page, and Michael Flynn. She asked them if there was “any evidence that political bias or other improper consideration affected the FBI’s decision to open the investigation.” They all responded with a resounding, “No, we don’t.”
The GOP argued that the FBI launched the probe because they were politically biased against Donald Trump. So, she asked: “Did your report uncover systematic political bias at the FBI?”
Horowitz responded, “As to what we looked at in the openings, we did not find documentary testimonial evidence to support a finding of bias.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar: "It is now undisputed by our intelligence agencies that Russia invaded our democracy. Not with bombs or jets or tanks, but with a sophisticated cyber mission to undermine the underpinnings of our very democracy" https://t.co/AB0lw2ybue pic.twitter.com/mWFzip8fPw
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 11, 2019
Twitter celebrated her rapid-fire form of questioning.
Great line of questioning!! Thank You for your calm, focused demeanor- hopefully Sen Cruz got the message💜 This is serious business of The People- not about being a political hack!!
— FreeSpeechEmp (@FFedemp) December 11, 2019
Some even pegged her as a Democratic-hopeful in the next presidential race.
My TOP PICK for a the Democratic presidential race is Sen. Amy Klobuchar. She's sharp, pleasant & sociable, expressive & caring. She's also a confident lawyer as Sen. Kamala Harris. I'd love to see Sen. Harris on her ticket as V. P.. A team of two lady lawyers would be awesome!! https://t.co/azgj3iEPvi
— Dmitch EXGOP Consrv (@ofpeopl) December 11, 2019