The FBI didn’t flag that some emails from Hillary Clinton’s private email server were marked classified with a “(C)” when they were sent — something that seemingly would have been one of the first and most obvious checks in an investigation, and one that FBI agents instantly recognized put the facts at odds with Clinton’s public statements.
The Intelligence Community Inspector General noticed it after the FBI missed it, texts between FBI agent Peter Strzok and his mistress, FBI lawyer Lisa Page, reveal. “Holy cow,” Strzok wrote, “if the FBI missed this, what else was missed?”
“Remind me to tell you to flag for Andy [redacted] emails we (actually ICIG) found that have portion marks (C) on a couple of paras. DoJ was Very Concerned about this,” he wrote.
“Found on the 30k [emails] provided to State originally. No one noticed. It cuts against ‘I never sent or received anything marked classified,’” he wrote, referring to statements by Clinton downplaying the danger of her email practices.
Much of the more in-depth investigation considered whether Clinton and her aides emailed materials that were classified but were not marked as such, a harder determination to make. – READ MORE
[give_form id=”79809″] [divider][/divider]Former FBI agents say it may take a long time to wash away the stain of political-bias accusations lobbed against the bureau, which has long been viewed as the nation’s premier law enforcement agency.
Criticism of the storied bureau has been bipartisan. Republicans point to accusations that the agency mishandled the justification for spying on a Trump campaign figure, and Democrats are furious at the FBI’s investigation of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over her email and private server while she headed the State Department.
In between are a slew of embarrassing text messages from an agent involved in both the Trump and Clintoninvestigations, revelations of top officials’ partisan ties, and a wave of demotions and ousters.
“If people start looking at the FBI as a political organization, the taint will be incredible,” said James Wedick, a 34-year agency veteran who now works as an investigator.
John Ligato, who spent 20 years at the bureau, said it’s up to Mr. Comey’s successor to restore confidence.
“Wray just needs to clean house now,” he said. “The FBI needs to heal and show everyone who the bad apples are.”
Mr. Ligato accused Mr. Wray of being slow to act, noting that Mr. McCabe did not leave until accusations of slow-walking the Clinton email investigation surfaced and that Mr. Strzok was not transferred until his affair with Ms. Page was publicly disclosed. – READ MORE
[give_form id=”79809″] [divider][/divider]A new Reuters poll released on Monday revealed that nearly three in four Republicans believe that the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) are working to “delegitimize” President Donald Trump.
Seventy-three percent of Republicans surveyed agreed that “members of the FBI and Department of Justice are working to delegitimize Trump through politically motivated investigations.”
Meanwhile, three in four Democrats believe that “members of the Republican Party and the White House are working to delegitimize the FBI and DOJ in the investigation of Russian tampering in the 2016 presidential election.”
This Reuters poll marks a drastic shift in Republicans’ view of the FBI and DOJ; roughly 84 percent of Republicans said in a January 2015 Reuters poll that they had a “favorable” view of the FBI. – READ MORE