6/14/2018

2016 ELECTION/FBI/HILLARY CLINTON/JAMES COMEY/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Justice Department’s internal watchdog found that former FBI Director James Comey’s actions in the Hillary Clinton email investigation were ‘extraordinary and insubordinate’ and flouted the department’s norms but that Comey was not motivated by political bias. The inspector general released a sweeping report Thursday detailing a series of failures by the top federal officials in charge of the investigation ahead of the election, concluding that the FBI’s actions ultimately ‘cast a cloud’ over the bureau and senior leaders did lasting damage to the FBI’s reputation…A key finding: Comey erred in his decision not to coordinate with his superiors at the Justice Department at critical moments. Horowitz said that Comey was ‘extraordinary and insubordinate,’ and did not agree with any of his reasons for deviating from ‘well-established Department policies. But Horowitz concluded that the prosecutorial decisions in the Clinton case were “consistent” with precedent and not affected by bias or other improper actions. The report is likely to reopen wounds left festering since the 2016 election and breathe new life into the debate over the extent to which Comey’s actions secured Trump’s victory.”

-Laura Jarrett, Jeremy Herb and Manu Raju, “Comey’s actions ‘extraordinary and insubordinate,’ report says,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, June 14, 2018 5:10 pm