Sen. Lindsey Graham Says Original 'Russiagate' Probe One of the Most Corrupt Investigations in FBI History

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham has released more documents and transcripts tied to the years-long "Russiagate" probe on Friday.

According to a Fox News report, Lindsey Graham called the original probe one of the most corrupt and incompetent investigations in the history of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Justice (DOJ).

The initial Russiagate probe, called "Crossfire Hurricane," looked into whether President Donald Trump's campaign members colluded with the Russians to influence the 2016 election.

Graham released new hundreds of pages of depositions and transcripts of interviews with FBI and DOJ officials conducted by the committee from Mar. 3 to Oct. 29 last year.

"I consider the Crossfire Hurricane investigation a massive system failure by senior leadership, but not representative of the dedicated, hardworking patriots who protect our nation every day at Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice," Graham said in a statement.

The senator also said his committee released "as much material as possible" but noted that "some classified material" has still been withheld.

As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Lindsey Graham said he made the decision to release all transcripts of depositions involving the committee's oversight of the Crossfire Hurricane probe.

In his statement, he further noted that the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court or FISA court was lied to, and the exculpatory information was withheld on those being investigated.

Graham said some investigators were incredibly biased and used law enforcement powers for political purposes. He said he hoped that "counterintelligence investigations will be reined in," and this would never happen again in the country.

Lindsey Graham Claims of Incompetent Investigations

According to a News Nation Now report, Lindsey Graham also criticized the FBI's leadership under former Director James Comey and former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. He said they were either grossly incompetent or they knowingly allowed enormous misdeeds.

He noted a blind eye turned toward any explanation other than the Trump campaign conniving with foreign powers.

"At every turn, the FBI and DOJ ran stop signs that were in abundance regarding exculpatory information," he continued.

Lindsey Graham further noted that the investigation was pushed when it should have been stopped. He said the only logical explanation was that the investigators wanted an outcome because of their bias.

He noted that he would continue to pursue reforms of counterintelligence investigations and warrant applications. He added that he hoped his Democratic and Republican colleagues could find a point to compromise on these matters.

Lindsey Graham said it was hard to believe that something like Crossfire Hurricane could have happened in the country.

'Russiagate' Probe

Meanwhile, Trump has managed to pardon at least five people who had gotten involved with the Russiagate probe. According to a Daily Sabah report, the pardons seemed an effort to remove the stain on his term of the Russia interference probe.

Those pardoned by Trump were Michael Flynn, Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, George Papadopoulos, and Alex Van Der Zwaan. All of them pleaded guilty or were convicted at trial as a result of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia.

Mueller's investigation yielded no proof of criminal coordination or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russian officials in the 2016 election, Fox News reported.