IG Report: Comey Broke from FBI Procedures but “No Political Bias”

HUH?

The first leaks on the Inspector General’s report say James Comey broke from FBI procedures when he delivered his report publicly on the Hillary Clinton email scandal. But it wasn’t political? This is just the beginning of the stories of Comey’s misconduct which will ultimately lead to the obviously conclusion that Comey deserved to be fired and there was no obstruction.

VIA Bloomberg:

Former FBI Director James Comey was “insubordinate” in handling the probe into Hillary Clinton, damaging the bureau and the Justice Department’s image of impartiality even though he wasn’t motivated by politics, the department’s watchdog found.

Although the report issued Thursday by Inspector General Michael Horowitz doesn’t deal directly with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russia meddling in the 2016 U.S. election and possible collusion with those around Donald Trump, the president and his Republican allies in Congress were primed to seize on it as evidence of poor judgment and anti-Trump bias within the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department.

Horowitz said that five FBI officials expressed hostility toward Trump before his election as president and disclosed in his report to Congress that their actions have been referred to the bureau for possible disciplinary action.

“The president was briefed on the IG report earlier today, and it reaffirmed the president’s suspicions about Comey’s conduct and the political bias among some of the members of the FBI,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said of the 500-page report.

Many on the RIGHT are up in arms over the comment that Comey did not act with a political bias. WhichI am finding that conclusion a bit suspect. However, I also interpret this a little differently as well. I think the IG is stating that to defend Comey’s actions against Democrats whining that it was Comey who cost Hillary Clinton the election. Although I am scratching mu head on no political bias.

AG Sessions Defends Firing Comey, Warns DOJ Report Could Prompt more Terminations

From The Hill, Attorney General Jeff Sessions defended the firing of of the FBI’s top two former executives, FBI Director and Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, and warned that the forthcoming IG report on the FBI’s handling of the Hillary Clinton probe could result in more people being fired.

On the eve of the release of a potentially explosive new report, Attorney General Jeff Sessions defended the termination of the FBI’s top two former executives and warned that the forthcoming report on the FBI’s handling of the Hillary Clinton probe could result in more people being fired.

In an exclusive interview with The Hill’s new TV show “Rising,” which aired Thursday morning, Sessions defended the decision to fire ex-Director James Comey, who he said “made a big mistake” that belied a “serious breach of discipline.”

Sessions also made clear that he is open to firing more employees if the Justice Department inspector general’s soon-to-be-released report warrants it.

“I think it will be a lengthy report and a careful report,” he told “Rising” co-host Buck Sexton. “I think it will help us better fix any problems that we have and reassure the American people that some of the concerns that have been raised are not true.”

Everyone awaits the release of the IG’s report later today.

DOJ Inspector General Report Finds Fired FBI Director Comey “Defied Authority” & Obama AG Loretta Lynch Tried to Hide Evidence of Hillary’s Wrongdoing Before Election

DOJ INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORTS CONDEMNS JAMES COMEY AND LORETTA LYNCH …

Welcome to the politicization of the Obama Department of Justice and the real individuals who should be investigated for colluding to impact an election.

The IG report leaked to ABC News, found that former FBI Director James Comey “defied authority” and was “insubordinate” in his behavior at the bureau. Imagine that, Comey thought he was above the law and had a God complex? The IG’s report has been much anticipated and is said to be close to being released in its entirety, all 500 or so pages. Until then, we only have leaks. What we will learn in the IG’s report is that the firing of James Comey was probably the most justified firing in history.

The Justice Department’s internal watchdog has concluded that James Comey defied authority at times during his tenure as FBI director, according to sources familiar with a draft report on the matter.

One source told ABC News that the draft report explicitly used the word “insubordinate” to describe Comey’s behavior. Another source agreed with that characterization but could not confirm the use of the term.

In the draft report, Inspector General Michael Horowitz also rebuked former Attorney General Loretta Lynch for her handling of the federal investigation into Hillary Clinton’s personal email server, the sources said.

The leaks to ABC News also revealed that Obama Attorney General Attorney General Loretta Lynch hid evidence of Hillary Clinton’s wrongdoing from the American public.

In the draft report, Inspector General Michael Horowitz also rebuked former Attorney General Loretta Lynch for her handling of the federal investigation into Hillary Clinton’s personal email server, the sources said.

The draft of Horowitz’s wide-ranging report specifically called out Comey for ignoring objections from the Justice Department when he disclosed in a letter to Congress just days before the 2016 presidential election that FBI agents had reopened the Clinton probe, according to sources. Clinton has said that letter doomed her campaign.

Before Comey sent the letter to Congress, at least one senior Justice Department official told the FBI that publicizing the bombshell move so close to an election would violate longstanding department policy, and it would ignore federal guidelines prohibiting the disclosure of information related to an ongoing investigation, ABC News was told.

IG Horowitz Said to have Found “Reasonable Grounds” FBI Violated Federal Crimes in Bureau’s Handling of Hillary Investigation

IG HOROWITZ ABOUT TO DROP ANOTHER BOMBSHELL REPORT … CONNECTING THE DOTS.

According to investigative reporter Paul Sperry, Inspector General Horowitz found “reasonable grounds” for believing there has been a violation of federal criminal law in the FBI’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation. Imagine that? I thought Comey told us that no reasonable prosecutor would ever have tried this case. The Fix was in from Comey, the Obama FBI and the DOJ from the outset.

A criminal referral could be on the way to Huber …

@PaulSperry

When the IG’s report finally breaks, former FBI director Comey will be put on the hot seat and have much explaining to do. The fix was in and the IG’s report will bring the FBI’s and DOJ’s misdeeds to light.

IT’S OFFICIAL … Confirmed by NY Times, Deep State FBI Spied on Trump’s Camp Using Informant: Code Name: Crossfire Hurricane.

ITS OFFICIAL, THE DEEP STATE IS OUT OF CONTROL AND INDIVIDUALS NEED TO GO TO PRISON ..

We know have confirmation that the FBI spied on a political campaign and actually used an undercover informant to do so. The NY Times article is a must read. So riddle me this Batman, if the FBI had an informant in the Trump political campaign apparatus, how that was authorized one can only imagine, and this mole was supposed to be getting dirt and information on Trump-Russian collusion, then how in hell over one year later of a Mueller Special counsel and even longer FBI investigation has the Deep State come up with nothing to do with collusion? Seriously, they had and informant and still nothing! Maybe because there is nothing and this was a political hit job born out of the Obama administration to get Hillary elected and then destroy a duly elected President of the United States. Folks, this is 1000 times worse than Watergate.

VIA the New York Times, of all places, Code Name Crossfire Hurricane: The Secret Origins of the Trump Investigation.

Within hours of opening an investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia in the summer of 2016, the F.B.I. dispatched a pair of agents to London on a mission so secretive that all but a handful of officials were kept in the dark.

Their assignment, which has not been previously reported, was to meet the Australian ambassador, who had evidence that one of Donald J. Trump’s advisers knew in advance about Russian election meddling. After tense deliberations between Washington and Canberra, top Australian officials broke with diplomatic protocol and allowed the ambassador, Alexander Downer, to sit for an F.B.I. interview to describe his meeting with the campaign adviser, George Papadopoulos.

The agents summarized their highly unusual interview and sent word to Washington on Aug. 2, 2016, two days after the investigation was opened. Their report helped provide the foundation for a case that, a year ago Thursday, became the special counsel investigation. But at the time, a small group of F.B.I. officials knew it by its code name: Crossfire Hurricane.

[...]

In the Clinton case, Mr. Comey has said he erred on the side of transparency. But in the face of questions from Congress about the Trump campaign, the F.B.I. declined to tip its hand. And when The New York Times tried to assess the state of the investigation in October 2016, law enforcement officials cautioned against drawing any conclusions, resulting in a story that significantly played down the case.

Mr. Comey has said it is unfair to compare the Clinton case, which was winding down in the summer of 2016, with the Russia case, which was in its earliest stages. He said he did not make political considerations about who would benefit from each decision.

But underpinning both cases was one political calculation: that Mrs. Clinton would win and Mr. Trump would lose. Agents feared being seen as withholding information or going too easy on her. And they worried that any overt actions against Mr. Trump’s campaign would only reinforce his claims that the election was being rigged against him.

[…]

The F.B.I. obtained phone records and other documents using national security letters — a secret type of subpoena — officials said. And at least one government informant met several times with Mr. Page and Mr. Papadopoulos, current and former officials said. That has become a politically contentious point, with Mr. Trump’s allies questioning whether the F.B.I. was spying on the Trump campaign or trying to entrap campaign officials.

Read the full story at the NYT.