Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz has asked witnesses to review his report on the Russia investigation which means the long-delayed report is finally getting close to release. However, the current timeline suggests the report still may not become public before Thanksgiving:

Several witnesses have been scheduled or are in talks to review sections of the report dealing with their testimony in the next two weeks, the people said on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. That could mean public release is imminent, though the witnesses will be allowed to submit feedback — which could spark more investigative work and slow down the process…

The Washington Post reported earlier this month that the Justice Department was trying to release the report in the coming weeks, and one person involved in the discussions said Nov. 20 was being eyed as a target date. Another person, though, indicated the report was more likely to be released after Thanksgiving because of the complicated and contentious mix of legal, classification and political issues at play.

Yesterday Sen. Chuck Grassley expressed some concern over the months of delays:

If FISA Inspector General Horowitz report doesn’t come out next week when they said it would then I will be very disappointed & left to wonder WHAT THE GAME IS?? Is someone at FBI or DOJ tying IGs hands??

— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) November 12, 2019

He doubled down on that earlier this morning:

To all the leakers in DOJ tell me IF the Horowitz report will EVER come out. I don’t want a prediction on WHEN. I’ve had enough of those disappointments. Tell “IF”

— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) November 13, 2019

Two months ago the report was submitted to the DOJ for classification markings. Now it sounds like we’ve got another two weeks for witnesses to review the draft. And since the Thanksgiving holiday falls on the 28th this year, there are only two days of November left after Thanksgiving. So a December release is sounding more and more likely.

At this point, we really don’t know much about what’s in the report beyond a review of the FISA application that was part of the “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation. Months ago, there were news stories suggesting Horowitz would come down hard on Christopher Steele. Then, more recently, other stories suggested Horowitz had interviewed Steele at length and found him credible.

Nearly three weeks ago, Fox News reported that the IG report would also provide some insight into the parallel investigation being conducted by US Attorney John Durham.

One source added that DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s upcoming report on alleged FBI surveillance abuses against the Trump campaign will shed light on why Durham’s probe has become a criminal inquiry. Horowitz announced on Thursday his report would be available to the public soon, with “few” redactions.

Durham’s investigation was expanded last month into a criminal probe, giving him the ability to subpoena witnesses. The timing of all of this was believed by many on the left to be aimed at distracting from the Trump impeachment investigation but given what’s happening in Washington today, it appears IG Horowitz wasn’t focused on that.