12/18/2017

2016 ELECTION/FBI/INTELLIGENCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “An FBI agent’s reference to ‘an insurance policy’ in a much-debated text message was meant to convey that the bureau needed to aggressively investigate allegations of collusion between Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia, according to people familiar with his account.
The agent didn’t intend to suggest a secret plan to harm the candidate but rather address a colleague who believed the Federal Bureau of Investigation could take its time because Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was certain to win the election, the people said.
The text was one of many that have recently emerged in which FBI Agent Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page disparaged Mr. Trump, calling him an ‘idiot’ and ‘loathsome human,’ among other things.
Republicans have cited the texts as evidence of bias. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa), who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote the Justice Department: ‘Some of these texts appear to go beyond merely expressing a private political opinion, and appear to cross the line into taking some official action to create an ‘insurance policy’ against a Trump presidency.’…
Ms. Page and Mr. Strzok couldn’t be reached for comment.”

-Del Quentin Wilber, “In FBI Agent’s Account, ‘Insurance Policy’ Text Referred to Russia Probe,” The Wall Street Journal online, Dec. 18, 2017 02:16pm