The Commercial Appeal

Trump claims FBI ‘plotting’ though report found no bias

-

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump disputed findings by the Justice Department on Friday that former FBI Director James Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email probe was not politicall­y motivated, declaring that there was “total bias” at the FBI and that the “top people” at the agency were “plotting against my election.”

The department’s inspector general report, while critical of the FBI and Comey personally, did not find evidence that political bias tainted the investigat­ion of Clinton’s email practices in the months and days leading up to Trump’s election.

But on Friday, after tweeting that he did a “great service” to the nation by firing Comey, Trump marched out to the White House North Lawn to talk with “Fox & Friends” for more than half an hour, claiming the report “totally” exonerated him, then pointing to accomplish­ments he said he’s achieved and complainin­g about not getting proper credit.

Then he turned to other reporters and went over the same list for another 20 minutes.

On the inspector general report that found no political bias in the FBI’s final conclusion­s, he said, “The end result was wrong. There was total bias.”

“Comey was the ring leader of this whole, you know, den of thieves. It was a den of thieves,” he said.

Trump’s comments came after the IG’s 500-page report that said Comey was “insubordin­ate” in his handling of the Clinton investigat­ion because he broke agency protocol. The report also rebuked FBI officials for exchanging anti-Trump text messages during the 2016 campaign.

But it said, “We found no evidence that the conclusion­s by the prosecutor­s were affected by bias or other improper considerat­ions; rather, we determined that they were based on the prosecutor­s’ assessment of the facts, the law and past department practice.”

Trump’s supporters have argued that the findings are proof of political bias at the FBI’s highest levels that then tainted the Russia investigat­ion, first led by the FBI and now by special counsel Robert Mueller. Mueller’s probe includes a look into whether Trump himself tried to obstruct justice by firing Comey.

Trump said Friday, as he has before, that the Mueller probe, too, “has been totally discredite­d.”

“The IG Report is a total disaster for Comey, his minions and sadly, the FBI,” Trump tweeted earlier. “Comey will now officially go down as the worst leader, by far, in the history of the FBI. I did a great service to the people in firing him. Good Instincts.”

Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, told “Fox & Friends” that the report casts doubt on whether Trump will ever agree to an interview with Mueller’s team because “why would he get interviewe­d by a corrupt investigat­ion?”

Trump himself said he had “reservatio­ns.”

Thursday’s report documents in painstakin­g detail one of the most consequent­ial investigat­ions in modern FBI history and reveals how the bureau, which for decades has endeavored to stand apart from politics, came to be entangled in the 2016 presidenti­al election. It underscore­s efforts by FBI and Justice Department leaders to juggle developmen­ts in the Clinton investigat­ion – she had used private email for government business while secretary of state – with a separate probe that was then unknown to the American public into potential coordinati­on between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Clinton supporters believe Comey’s actions, far from hurting Trump, may well have torpedoed her chance of becoming president.

The IG found the FBI director erred when he announced in July 2016 that Clinton had been “extremely careless” with classified material but would not be charged with any crime, and again months later when Comey told Congress just days before the election that the investigat­ion into Clinton’s emails had been reopened. Comey concealed from the Justice Department his plans to make a public announceme­nt until the morning he did so, even though such statements are normally handled by the Justice Department, if at all, the report says.

“We found that it was extraordin­ary and insubordin­ate for Comey to do so, and we found none of his reasons to be a persuasive basis for deviating from well-establishe­d Department policies in a way intentiona­lly designed to avoid supervisio­n by department leadership over his actions,” the report says.

Trump supporters, and then the president himself, quickly focused on the report’s recounting of anti-Trump text messages from two FBI officials who worked the Clinton probe and later the Russia case, including one in which an agent says, “We’ll stop it,” with regard to a possible Trump victory.

The report suggests that text from Peter Strzok, who was later dropped from Mueller’s team, “implies a willingnes­s to take official action to impact the presidenti­al candidate’s electoral prospects.” It did not find evidence that those views seeped into the investigat­ion.

FBI Director Chris Wray told reporters the FBI accepted the report’s findings and was making changes, including requiring further training for FBI employees and re-emphasizin­g the importance of objectivit­y. In a New York Times opinion piece released after the report, Comey said he disagreed with some conclusion­s but respected the watchdog’s work.

Also criticized in the report was Comey’s decision, despite the discourage­ment of the Justice Department, to reveal to Congress that the FBI was reopening the investigat­ion following the discovery of new emails.

The FBI obtained a warrant nine days before the presidenti­al election to review those emails, found on the laptop of former Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., – the husband of top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin – and ultimately determined there was nothing that changed its original conclusion.

The report faulted the FBI for failing to act with more urgency in reviewing emails from Weiner’s laptop, saying the inaction had “potentiall­y far-reaching consequenc­es.” Clinton supporters say her name could have been cleared well before the election had the FBI moved faster to review the emails. Comey said had he known earlier about the laptop’s import it might have affected his decision to notify Congress.

The report also notes that Comey, despite chiding Clinton for mishandlin­g government business, occasional­ly used personal email himself to discuss FBI matters.

“But my emails,” she said, reacting in a three-word tweet.

 ??  ?? President Donald Trump speaks to reporters Friday on the North Lawn of the White House. The president said an FBI report “totally” exonerated him and then he listed his accomplish­ments. EVAN VUCCI/AP
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters Friday on the North Lawn of the White House. The president said an FBI report “totally” exonerated him and then he listed his accomplish­ments. EVAN VUCCI/AP
 ??  ??
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States