The attorney handpicked by Attorney General William Barr Bill BarrFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Why a backdoor to encrypted data is detrimental to cybersecurity and data integrity FBI official who worked with Mueller raised doubts about Russia investigation MORE to investigate the origins of the probe into the Trump campaign and Russia's election interference has reportedly found no evidence to support claims from conservatives that the case was a setup by U.S. intelligence officials.

Sources told The Washington Post that John DurhamJohn DurhamSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Barr's Russia investigator has put some focus on Clinton Foundation: report Top Democrats call for DOJ watchdog to probe Barr over possible 2020 election influence MORE, the U.S. attorney chosen by Barr to lead the investigation, told the Justice Department's inspector general (IG), who conducted his own probe, that he has found no evidence to support claims that a Maltese professor who spoke with former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos was secretly a U.S. intelligence asset.

Allies of the president have claimed for months that the professor, Joseph Mifsud, who spoke with Papadopoulos about the possibility of obtaining Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonThe Memo: Trump furor stokes fears of unrest Bloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida Hillicon Valley: Productivity, fatigue, cybersecurity emerge as top concerns amid pandemic | Facebook critics launch alternative oversight board | Google to temporarily bar election ads after polls close MORE's stolen emails, was actually an asset of U.S. intelligence agencies seeking to set up the Trump campaign on criminal charges.

ADVERTISEMENT

Sources close to the investigation added to the Post that the draft report written by IG David Horowitz is likely to detail instances of misconduct by FBI agents involved with the investigation but to conclude that top FBI officials did not act with political bias during the 2016 election.

“His excellent work has uncovered significant information that the American people will soon be able to read for themselves,” a spokeswoman for the Justice Department told the Post of the report's upcoming release. “Rather than speculating, people should read the report for themselves next week, watch the Inspector General’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and draw their own conclusions about these important matters.”

Republicans have argued since the inception of the now-shuttered special counsel investigation into the Trump campaign that the probe was launched improperly based on unfounded accusations detailed in a dossier crafted by an ex-British intelligence agent, Christopher Steele, and used by the Obama administration to hurt President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden says voters should choose who nominates Supreme Court justice Trump, Biden will not shake hands at first debate due to COVID-19 Pelosi: Trump Supreme Court pick 'threatens' Affordable Care Act MORE's chances of being elected.

Top former officials at the FBI have roundly dismissed that claim, arguing that the investigation was conducted without political bias.