FBI to review Flynn investigation

Director Christopher Wray ordered the internal action

WASHINGTON — FBI Director Christopher Wray has ordered an internal review into possible misconduct in the investigation of former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn, the bureau said Friday.

The review will examine whether any employees engaged in misconduct during the investigation, and evaluate whether any improvements in FBI policies and procedures need to be made.

In announcing the review, the FBI, a frequent target of President Donald Trump’s wrath, is stepping into a case that has become a rallying cry for Trump supporters — and doing so right as the Justice Department pushes back on criticism that its recent decision to dismiss the prosection was a politically motivated effort to do Trump’s bidding.

The announcement adds to internal scrutiny over one of special counsel Robert Mueller’s signature prosecutions during his investigation into ties between Russia and the 2016 presidential campaign. It underscores how a case seemingly resolved by Flynn’s 2017 guilty plea has instead given way to a protracted, politically charged debate about FBI tactics during that prosecution and the Russia investigation more broadly.

The unusual review will be led by the bureau’s Inspection Division, which conducts internal investigations into potential employee misconduct. Trump has recently been sharply critical of the FBI and two weeks ago even suggested that Wray’s fate as director was in limbo, but an FBI official said Friday that the review had been contemplated for some time.