FBI: We take Clinton email report seriously

We have work to do but our institution is strong

There has been no shortage of commentary and debate about the FBI lately, and the new report from the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General is a welcome contribution from an independent voice on events of the

2016 election season. The Bureau is entrusted with a lot of authority to carry out our mission, and with that power comes close scrutiny. That’s as it should be. Fair and independent oversight makes the FBI a stronger organization — and that, in turn, makes our country safer.

While the Inspector General didn’t find any evidence of political bias or improper consideration impacting the investigation under review, all of us at the FBI take this report seriously, and we accept its findings and recommendations. We’ve already taken steps to address many of the concerns it raises.

We’ll change what we need to change and improve what can be made better and stronger, and we’ll move forward with renewed focus and determination. Because that is the essence of the FBI — we learn from the past, we get better at what we need to do, and we continually strive to be the very best we can be.

The IG’s report makes clear that we have some work to do, but I also want our fellow citizens to realize something important about the scope of this report. It’s focused on a specific set of events in 2016, and on a narrow set of employees connected to those events. Nothing in the IG’s report impugns the integrity of our workforce as a whole, or the FBI as an institution.

Next month, the FBI will celebrate its

110th anniversary. Our storied history hasn’t come without missteps and errors in judgment — but we learn from those mistakes, and we forge ahead resolved to be even better. Some things, however, will not and should not ever change.

Our mission, simple and profound, is to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution of the United States. That mission will not change.

We are laser-focused on that mission, even when it is not easy, because we believe in the FBI. We believe in that mission, and we know it comes first. The American people come first. And that will not change.

In my 10 months so far as FBI Director, I’ve met with people in many of our offices across the U.S. and overseas, and I’ve seen the real FBI. I see people of compassion and kindness; people who hold themselves accountable and treat others with respect; people who understand the importance of following the rule of law and adhering to the Constitution. I see 37,000 committed public servants doing extraordinary work with passion, pride and patriotism — and usually with little fanfare.

The men and women of the Bureau protect our country from terrorists, foreign spies and cyber hackers. They rescue our children from predators, free our neighborhoods from the grip of violent gangs, take down white-collar criminals and corrupt public officials, and protect our civil rights.

And they do all that work while adhering to the FBI’s core tenets — the unfailing fidelity to our Constitution that this work demands; the bravery that it deserves; and the integrity that the American people rightly expect. That will not change.

Just this week, we were honored to have 700 new summer interns across the country raise their right hands and take an oath promising to support and defend the U.S. Constitution as they began their work with the FBI. These young men and women, all with a drive and passion for service, represent a select 5% of the record 15,000 applicants this year to our Honors Internship Program.

They’re attracted to a career in the Bureau because they understand the importance of what we do, and how we do it. That means doing the right thing in the right way, and pursuing the facts independently and objectively. That’s the best way — the only way — to maintain trust and credibility with the people we serve. That’s what the good people of the FBI will continue to do. And that, too, will never change.