Investigating the investigators

An FBI official is being investigated after allegedly altering a document connected to surveillance of a 2016 Trump campaign aide, CNN reported Thursday, citing people briefed on the matter.

The alleged altering was reportedly discovered as part of Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz's probe into whether the FBI followed the law and its own policies while applying for a warrant to surveil a former Trump campaign official Carter Page during the 2016 election.

[...]

Sources told CNN that a witness admitted to the change after being confronted by Horowitz's team about the document. Whether the FBI employee still works for the bureau and the person's rank and identity are reportedly unknown.

It is also reportedly unknown whether the document in question played a significant role in the investigation of Page.

  The Hill

How was it altered? That could be important. But as long as we don't know, GOP Trumpets are free to scream about it as proof the investigation was illegitimate.  The Hill should tell us this.  The Post did:

The Justice Department inspector general has found evidence that an FBI employee may have altered a document connected to court-approved surveillance of a former Trump campaign adviser, but has concluded that the conduct did not affect the overall validity of the surveillance application, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

  WaPo

That won't be part of their scream campaign.

The person under scrutiny is a low-level FBI lawyer who has since been forced out of the agency, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss material that has not yet been made public.

The allegation is contained in a draft of Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report analyzing the FBI’s Russia investigation, which witnesses have in recent weeks been allowed to review, people familiar with the matter said. The report is scheduled to be released publicly Dec. 9.

The employee was forced out of the FBI after the incident was discovered, two U.S. officials said. Horowitz found that the employee erroneously indicated he had documentation to back up a claim he had made in discussions with the Justice Department about the factual basis for the application. He then altered an email to back up that erroneous claim, they said.

That conduct did not alter Horowitz’s finding that the surveillance application of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page had a proper legal and factual basis, the officials said.

So,the agent was found out and fired by the FBI itself, and the underlying FISA application still had a proper basis.

Horowitz has been exploring various aspects of the Russia probe but was focused in particular on applications the FBI filed with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to monitor Page’s electronic communications.

Looks like he's turned up nothing to nullify or prosecute.  But the GOP and Trump cabal have until December 9th to make people think he did.  I'm guessing that's why this bit leaked.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.