Former DOJ official and legal guru J. Christian Adams tweeted out what he believes is the big takeaway from the Comey hearing in Congress, and it’s not about Comey:
Big takeaway from #Comey hearing: decision was made by #DOJ, not FBI. DOJ "tradition" and DOJ guidance in interpreting applicable law.
— J. Christian Adams (@ElectionLawCtr) July 7, 2016
DOJ 101: FBI take decision architecture from DOJ lawyers, including on enforce-ability of gross negligence standard for #Hillary. Not #Comey
— J. Christian Adams (@ElectionLawCtr) July 7, 2016
Everyone needs to stop worrying about #Comey, and start asking why #DOJ lawyers believe they can't enforce a gross neg standard.
— J. Christian Adams (@ElectionLawCtr) July 7, 2016
#Hillary escaping is NOT about #FBI bias based on #ComeyHearing, it's about #DOJ bias.
— J. Christian Adams (@ElectionLawCtr) July 7, 2016
Stop wasting time on #Comey. Ask instead why #DOJ expressed "grave concerns" about using law. Or DOJ belief gross neg law is useless.
— J. Christian Adams (@ElectionLawCtr) July 7, 2016
So it was in essence the DOJ all along that chose not to recommend prosecution of Hillary, not the FBI. That’s probably why Lynch felt so comfortable saying she would accept Comey’s recommendation, because she knew it was the DOJ’s recommendation.
I believed Comey was pressured into letting Hillary off the hook, but Adams doesn’t believe that, suggesting it was more about DOJ influence and tradition than about any kind of coercion or pressure. Considering he worked there, I’ll defer to his judgement on this.
Here’s a few more of his tweets as he defended his comments that I thought were relevant:
@mychalmassie But on legal questions, his job is to follow DOJ guidance on interpreting the law.
— J. Christian Adams (@ElectionLawCtr) July 7, 2016
@mychalmassie He did. #Comey said this was #DOJ interpretation and tradition. Some call it "pressure." I don't. It's how it works inside DOJ
— J. Christian Adams (@ElectionLawCtr) July 7, 2016
@CCRooy That's what Comey said, not me."Official guidance" is a fictional term divorced form the real world interplay of the agencies.
— J. Christian Adams (@ElectionLawCtr) July 7, 2016
@calvindanielsll @benshapiro Oh yes he did. He said DOJ tradition and DOJ input led to his interpretation of gross neg statute.
— J. Christian Adams (@ElectionLawCtr) July 7, 2016