August 31, 2019
Inspector General Michael Horowitz, an Obama appointee, was tasked with investigating if former Director of the FBI, James Comey committed a crime in his handling of seven memos he created documenting his interactions with then President-elect Trump and President Trump. On Thursday he released his report.
Based on the Office of Inspector General report Attorney General William Barr concluded that Comey’s actions did not rise to the level of criminality. However the 79- page report is a stunning indictment of how Comey violated FBI policies, and used his position of power to effect an outcome to satisfy his own self-interests and personal desires.
Comey’s first memo documented the January 2017 briefing to President-elect Trump, which was jointly conducted with the intelligence community directors. The first half of this meeting involved briefing Trump on Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. During the latter half Comey met one-on one with Trump to inform him about the now de-bunked Christopher Steele dossier. Perplexingly, Comey only informed Trump about the “salacious” aspects of the report, and never told Trump that Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the DNC funded this report.
The OIG report sheds light on why Comey may have left out vital information pertaining to the report in his briefing with Trump. This meeting was not just a briefing, it was an attempt to set-up the president-elect. According to witnesses interviewed by the OIG, significant planning occurred and many discussions took place among senior FBI officials ahead of this meeting. As stated in the report, FBI officials “said that they discussed Trump’s potential responses to being told about the ‘salacious’ information, including that Trump might make statements about, or provide information of value to, the pending Russian interference investigation”.
Informing Trump that the dossier was actually oppositional research funded by Clinton would have mitigated any possible reaction from Trump, because he would have righty considered it to be nothing more than oppositional research. Clearly, the purpose of this meeting wasn’t just to brief Trump, but to gain information to use against Trump in the FBI Russia investigation dubbed “Crossfire Hurricane”.
Comey described to the OIG that he had a “secure FBI laptop” waiting for him in his car so he could immediately begin memorializing what was stated at the meeting. After the meeting, when Comey arrived at the FBI’s New York Field office, he gave a “quick download” of his conversation with President-elect Trump, via secure video teleconference, to the “Cross Fire Hurricane” team back at FBI headquarters.
It would appear that Comey and his colleagues, investigating Russian interference in the election were eager to find evidence that Trump and his campaign were involved. It’s also apparent that Comey lied when he told Trump numerous times that he was not under investigation.
Just days after this meeting CNN reported that “intel chiefs presented evidence to President-elect Trump that Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information about Mr. Trump, multiple US officials with direct knowledge of the briefings tell CNN.”
CNN acknowledged that this information had been circulating for months, but that they were just now reporting on it because “US intelligence agencies have now checked out the former British intelligence operative…and find him credible enough to include some of the information in the presentation to the..President-elect”.
Undoubtedly, another motivation to brief President-elect Trump on Christopher Steele’s report was to give it credibility. It is evident that this briefing was leaked to the media, knowing that this would green light reporting on the dossier.
This is not the only time that a leak to the media served Comey’s interests to Trump’s detriment. In Comey’s second memo he claimed that at a January 27th dinner with President Trump, Trump asked him for ‘loyalty”. In May 2017 the New York Times published an accounting of Comey’s version of this dinner. Comey’s personal attorney and friend, Daniel Richman, admitted to the OIG that he was the source to the New York Times. However, he claimed that is was not done at Comey’s request.
All seven memos written by Comey were based on his interactions with the then President-elect and then President Trump. These exchanges occurred solely because of Comey’s official position as FBI Director. In spite of this, Comey kept a copy of four of the seven memos in a personal safe in his home, claiming that they were his personal documents, “like his diary”.
The OIG report unequivocally states that these memos are federal records. Further, every FBI official interviewed by the OIG agreed that these memos are official records, and not Comey’s personal property or as Comey stated, just his “aid memoire”.
Shortly after Comey was fired, in May 2017 he gave his three attorneys four of the seven memos. Breaking with FBI regulations, Comey never sought FBI authorization prior to sharing the memos. Even when it was concluded that one of the four memos he shared had classified information on it, Comey still didn’t inform the FBI that he had given them to three individuals outside of the FBI.
Not only did Comey share official FBI records with his attorneys, he asked his friend and attorney, Daniel Richman, to disclose the contents of memo four with the New York Times. Memo four was considered to consist of “sensitive law enforcement” information, because its contents revealed an on-going FBI investigation.
Memo four was Comey’s notes from his meeting with President Trump, in which, according to Comey, Trump asked him if he could “see [his] way clear to letting Flynn go”. “Flynn” is Trump’s former National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, who had been fired, and was under an FBI investigation.
Comey has admitted that his motivation for leaking this sensitive information was to ignite a special counsel investigation. According to the OIG , “Comey had several other lawful options available to him to advocate for the appointment of a special counsel..”. He did not have to resort to leaking sensitive investigative information. Once again Comey used his connections and position of power to promote a personal agenda.
The report concluded that “By not safeguarding sensitive information obtained during the course of his FBI employment, and by using it to create public pressure for official action, Comey set a dangerous example for the over 35,000 current FBI employees…who similarly have access to ..non-public information.”
Comey’s defense for his rule-breaking actions was that it was “something he [had] to do if I love this country…” Apparently Comey believed that he had to save the country from President Trump. This report makes clear that Comey’s actions were far from heroic. It’s unimaginable if everyone in a position of power felt as Comey did, that they alone know what’s best for the country, and it’s ok to do whatever is necessary to promote a personal agenda in the name of self-determined righteousness.
Although Comey is not facing criminal charges for his egregious abuse of power, and rule-breaking, this report has completely vindicated President Trump’s firing of Comey. The storing of federal records in his home, disclosing them without authorization, and leaking sensitive information to the press, are all fireable offenses. Too bad Comey can only be fired once.
Although Comey has not been charged with a crime it would be premature for him to celebrate. The IG has yet to release his findings on the investigation into the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Acts (FISA) warrants that were issued on Carter Page, a Trump campaign aid. Comey signed off on multiple FISA applications, which were based largely on the now debunked Steele dossier. Multiple times, after the FISA warrants were issued, Comey described the dossier as ”salacious and unverified’.
In addition, there is also an investigation into whether Comey and his team of anti-Trump FBI investigators committed violations, or worse, manufactured a justification for opening a counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign. The findings from this investigation, currently underway by U.S. attorney John Durham, is expected to be damning.
Incredibly, shortly after the OIG released this scathing report, outlining Comey’s numerous violations, fueled by his political bias, he tweeted that he was owed an apology. Either Comey didn’t read the report, or his ego will not allow for self-reflection. In actuality, Comey owes the nation an apology for igniting a witch- hunt against a duly elected president costing the American taxpayers more than $30 million, and worse, immeasurable harm to our constitutional republic. This will never come, but hopefully justice will.
