Today is the big day, the day that the Inspector General’s report on the FBI’s mishandling of the Clinton investigation is released:
NPR – A Justice Department watchdog is expected on Thursday to fault former FBI Director James Comey for violating long-standing department guidelines and mishandling the Hillary Clinton email investigation in 2016.
Horowitz’s full report is scheduled to be released on Thursday afternoon. It may also fault former Attorney General Loretta Lynch and others.
It’s already been reported that the report is expected to point the finger at Comey for insubordination.
I’m sure there will be a lot more, but so far I don’t see any juicy leaks yet.
NPR tells us the other subjects that will be in this report:
- Whether deputy FBI director McCabe should have been recused from participating in the Clinton matter because his wife took donations from Clinton’s friend Terry McAuliffe in her unsuccessful run for the Virginia state legislature.
- Whether the Justice Department’s former top lobbyist improperly shared information with the Clinton campaign or should have been recused because of his friendship with campaign chairman John Podesta.
- Whether any other DOJ or FBI employees disclosed nonpublic information about the email investigation.
- Whether the FBI release of some Freedom of Information Act documents in late October and early November 2016 was influenced by improper political considerations.
And what not to expect in the report:
Horowitz did establish some limits about what he’s expected to conclude in his report.
“The review will not substitute the OIG’s judgment for the judgments made by the FBI or the Department regarding the substantive merits of investigative or prosecutive decisions,” the inspector general pledged in January 2017 when he launched the probe.
In other words, if the IG report faults Comey, Lynch or others, it is not expected to second-guess their decisions not to press criminal charges against Clinton.
We’ll bring you the report as soon as it comes out.
As a side note, Today is Trump’s birthday and he’s already told reporters that expects that the findings in the report could be a birthday gift to him. LOL