Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report on the FBI’s Russia investigation has been released and it does not look good for the FBI.

The report revealed “at least 17 significant errors or omissions in the Carter Page FISA applications.”

Translation: fake news.

Further, “information from Christopher Steele’s reports — sometimes collectively referred to as the ‘Steele dossier’ — that pertained to Carter Page was relied upon in the Carter Page FISA applications.”

Translation: The dossier was a phony.

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My wife and I told you the dossier wasn’t credible in August 2017 in our book Rogue Spooks. Now, the inspector general has validated that.

Carter Page and any others who believe they were defamed in the phony Steele “dossier” could and should file libel suits.

Let’s not forget who started this: Hillary Clinton. Her campaign should be defendant #1.

Everything about the dossier is classic Hillary M.O. She’s done this all her life. Whether it’s been about Bill’s women or Donald Trump, finding dirt on anyone who crosses her is how she does things: Usually, she sends out private investigators. Here, she went way over the top and hired a foreign ex-spy to get embarrassing information on Trump. As usual, she tried to hide her footprints by wrapping it up with a layer of lawyers to keep it secret.

But it won’t work this time. The secret is out and all fingers point to Hillary.

And the possibility that Hillary didn’t know anything about it? That would be zero.

Its time that Hillary and her enablers are held accountable.

The defendants in the libel action should include the Hillary Clinton campaign, the Democratic National Committee, Christopher Steele, Orbis Business Intelligence, Fusion GPS, Glenn Simpson and Peter Fritsch (co-founders of Fusion GPS and authors of Crime in Progress, which catalogs their actions) and possibly others, such as David Kramer, the former McCain associate whom Simpson accuses of distributing the dossier to the press without permission. Discovery would likely identify others who played a part in the libelous statements.

We need to know the answers to questions like:

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How did Clinton friend and veteran Kremlinologist Strobe Talbott get a pre-publication copy? (Fiona Hill testified that Talbott showed it to her the day before it was published).

Did Talbott’s brother-in-law, the wacky Cody Shearer, a staple of Clinton negative operations, send it to him? And what role did Clinton friend and Shearer sidekick Sidney Blumenthal play in fabricating the lies and concoctions that festoon the dossier?

It’s important to remember that neither the Mueller investigation nor congressional investigations were able to prove that the serious accusations against Carter Page and others were true.

In a libel trial, the burden of proof shifts to the defendant. It is Fusion GPS, Christopher Steele and others who would have to prove that their statements were true.

It’s highly unlikely they will be able to do that.

Horowitz’s report would seem to make criminal prosecutions of the principals less likely, although we do not know what federal prosecutor John Durham will find. But shouldn’t the gang of thieves that conspired to mislead the intelligence community, the media and the president be held accountable civilly, if not criminally?

But the DNC, Hillary Clinton and the companies and law firms involved have deep pockets and it would be well to tap them to secure justice for the victims.

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