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The IG Report on FBI’s Clinton Probe Reveals This Saga May Be Just Getting Started

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The media has focused almost exclusively on the conclusion of the Justice Department inspector general’s report on the FBI’s handling of the Clinton email probe, which found bias did not impact the probe, as well as the lack of any newly announced indictments or criminal referrals. The goal of course being to downplay the negative findings of the report.

At the same time, the press gave, at most, passing mention to the statement Attorney General Jeff Sessions simultaneously released. But his statement and the findings of the report make one thing clear: This isn’t over.

Here’s why. Throughout the 568-page report, the IG highlighted several areas meriting additional investigation. And Sessions said the report “reveals a number of significant errors by the senior leadership of the Department of Justice and the FBI during the previous administration,” and stressed “this is not the end of the process.”

United States Attorney John Huber continues his work in cooperation with the IG to review certain prosecutorial and investigative determinations made by the Justice Department in 2016 and 2017. Based on his review of the report and his own investigation, Huber will provide recommendations as to whether any matter not currently under investigation should be opened, whether any matters currently under investigation required further resources, or whether any matters merit the appointment of Special Counsel.”

Put simply: There is still much to be done and much to come. What is likely over is the possibility the Justice Department will re-investigate Clinton for mishandling of classified information, or prosecute her. That’s a good thing. Clinton is done. While she may never face justice in a court of law, perhaps losing the presidency is a more prescient and proper punishment. (Read more from “The IG Report on FBI’s Clinton Probe Reveals This Saga May Be Just Getting Started” HERE)

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Anti-Trump FBI Agent Willing to Testify Before Congress — and Leave No Stone Unturned

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By The Blaze. FBI agent Peter Strzok, whose controversial text messages with an ex-FBI lawyer exposed apparent wrongdoing inside the Department of Justice, is willing to testify before Congress, his lawyer said in a surprise letter Sunday.

Strzok’s announcement comes just days after DOJ inspector general Michael Horowitz released his report on the DOJ’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, which Strzok helped lead. . .

According to the Washington Post, Strzok’s attorney, Aitan Goelman, sent House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) a letter Sunday revealing his client is ready to tell his side of the story and potentially “clear his name.”

Goelman said Strzok is willing to testify without immunity and would not invoke his Fifth Amendment rights in response to any question from a member of Congress. He also said Strzok is willing to testify before any committee that requests him. . .

Strzok, in addition to being a key agent in the FBI’s Clinton investigation, was also a lead agent in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation before being removed last year when the internal DOJ watchdog discovered his anti-Trump text messages. (Read more from “Anti-Trump FBI Agent Peter Strzok Willing to Testify Before Congress — and Leave No Stone Unturned” HERE)

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Trump Blasts ‘Sick Loser’ Peter Strzok, ‘Sick Deal’ With Comey, Mueller Connections

By Fox News. President Trump took to Twitter Sunday to blast the FBI agent who was removed from special counsel Robert Mueller’s team after sending anti-Trump text messages to his mistress, calling his actions “Witch Hunt!” and “a really sick deal.”

Trump tweeted: “Why was the FBI’s sick loser, Peter Strzok, working on the totally discredited Mueller team of 13 Angry & Conflicted Democrats, when Strzok was giving Crooked Hillary a free pass yet telling his lover, lawyer Lisa Page, that ‘we’ll stop’ Trump from becoming President?”

The president added, “Also remember that they all worked for Slippery James Comey and that Comey is best friends with Robert Mueller. A really sick deal, isn’t it?”

Through his lawyer, Strzok announced Sunday he’s willing to testify before the House Judiciary Committee or any other congressional panel that invites him. The reported offer to testify came three days after Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz wrote that Strzok’s messaged conversations with FBI attorney Lisa Page created the appearance that investigative decisions may have been motivated by bias against then-candidate Trump. (Read more from “Trump Blasts ‘Sick Loser’ Peter Strzok, ‘Sick Deal’ With Comey, Mueller Connections” HERE)

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Rep. Makes Stunning Accusation Over One IMPORTANT Text Revealed in IG Report; Anyone Who Voted Trump a “Lazy POS”

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By The Blaze. Rep. Ron DeSantis lobbed an accusation at the Department of Justice over a text between anti-Trump FBI agents that was revealed in the Inspector General’s report released Thursday. . .

“The following is in the IG report,” DeSantis tweeted. “Why didn’t Rosenstein disclose this to Congress when we asked for the texts?”

“August 8 2016 Strzok-Page texts,” he added, then posted their exchange.

“Page: [Trump’s] not ever going to become President, right? Right?!” said one text according to the report.

“Strzok: No. No he’s not. We’ll stop it,” was the response from the FBI agent.

(Read more from “Republican Rep. Makes Stunning Accusation Over One Text Revealed in IG Report” HERE)

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IG Report: Do You Support Trump? Then You’re a Lazy POS, According to (At Least One) FBI Employee

By The Blaze. A conversation between the two anonymous employees on the morning of Nov. 9, 2016 (the day after Donald Trump won the presidential election), indicates a mood of remorse over investigating Hillary Clinton, and a distain for Americans who voted for President Trump.

One of the employees, an attorney, is referred to in the probe only as “FBI Attorney 2.” The other “FBI Employee” was not involved in the Clinton investigation, but had quite a bit to say. Here is the exchange between the two:

11:02:22 FBI Employee: “All the people who were initially voting for her would not, and were not, swayed by any decision the FBI put out. Trump’s supporters are all poor to middle class, uneducated, lazy *POS that think that he will magically grant them jobs for doing nothing. They probably didn’t watch the debates, aren’t fully educated on his policies, and are stupidly wrapped up in his unmerited enthusiasm.”

Then the attorney responded: “And it’s just hard not to feel like the FBI caused some of this. It was razor thin in some states…plus, my god damned name is all over the legal documents investigating his staff.”

In case you didn’t read that closely the first time, the attorney said: “My [g**] damned name is all over the legal documents investigating his staff.” (Read more from “IG Report: Do You Support Trump? Then You’re a Lazy POS, According to (At Least One) FBI Employee” HERE)

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Meet the Other FBI Staffers Who Texted About the Clinton Email Investigation

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. . .Perhaps the most shocking information in the IG’s report is the revelation that Lisa Page and Peter Strzok were not the only amorous agents with a habit of texting. There were also “Agent 1” and “Agent 5,” who were involved in the Clinton investigation and, according to the IG’s report “were in a relationship at the time and are now married.” Their communications make for a searing indictment of the culture of the FBI and paint a portrait of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email practices as fiasco.

Agent 1 was one of the key players in the investigation—one of just four “case agents” on the probe—and he not only expressed his political support for Clinton, he advocated against subjecting Hillary to an FBI interview. A few days before the Clinton confab, he sent an instant-message in which he complained about how many agents and attorneys were prepping for the questioning: “… very aggravating making this flow with 20+ voices for disparate information anyway.” Fair enough. But then, as the message goes on he suggests that he has a certain lack of enthusiasm for the whole affair. “We have nothing—shouldn’t even be interviewing” . . .

Asked by the IG about these comments, Agent 1 insisted he hadn’t meant his message: “I don’t want to make it sound like there was no reason to interview her.” As for explaining his “adamantly opposed” comments, Agent 1’s memory seemed to give out.

There are reasons to think that Agent 1 was dissatisfied because the organization was phoning in a politically determined investigation. But there are also reasons to think his unhappiness flowed from an admiration for Hillary. Take his message to Agent 5 after completing the questioning of Clinton: “done interviewing the President.”

And then there’s this heartfelt string of missives from Agent 1 to Agent 5 on November 8, 2016—election day: “You should know; … that I’m … with her.” (The IG helpfully adds in a footnote that “’I’m with her’ was one of the Clinton campaign slogans.”) (Read more from “Meet the Other FBI Staffers Who Texted About the Clinton Email Investigation” HERE)

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FBI Vows to Train Employees to Avoid Bias After Devastating Report

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The FBI will make its employees undergo bias training, Director Christopher A. Wray promised Thursday, after a devastating report found the bureau made bad decisions, has a culture of leaking sensitive information, and may have skewed campaign-season decisions because of bias. . .

The inspector general also said the FBI was rife with people leaking to the press, or holding other cozy relationships that should worry the bureau. Some employees accepted sports tickets, went on golf outings, or had their dinners paid for by reporters. . .

The FBI has been under fire for its operations during the 2016 campaign, when it was conducting several investigations into matters surrounding Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, and also began a probe into Republican candidate Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump fired FBI Director James B. Comey for his handling of the probe, and others have also been disciplined.

The new report said that while bias didn’t appear to affect the big decisions in the handling of the initial investigation into Mrs. Clinton’s email practices, they couldn’t rule out a role for bias in pushing the FBI to focus on the Russia probe in October 2016, rather than go back to review a new set of emails found on the laptop of Anthony Weiner, who was married to Mrs. Clinton’s top personal aide, Huma Abedin. (Read more from “FBI Vows to Train Employees to Avoid Bias After Devastating Report” HERE)

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Irony: Leaker McCabe Outraged After DOJ Leakers Finger Him for Criminal Referral

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By Conservative Tribune. . .That’s what former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe just found out, but he seems oblivious to the irony. The bureau figure who was fired for leaking to the press is now complaining about how unfair it is that there are leaks from the FBI, at the same time as he’s demanding immunity in exchange for his testimony to the Senate committee investigating the bureau’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

McCabe is one of the figures in the middle of several political bias scandals at the FBI, including the discredited “Trump dossier” and apparent spying by the FBI against Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

Back in March, the second-in-command at the FBI was fired by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The reason was simple: McCabe repeatedly leaked sensitive information to the media and then lied about it.

A report from the Department of Justice’s inspector general explained that McCabe was funneling details about a Clinton Foundation investigation to The Wall Street Journal, and was then dishonest about where the leak had come from… namely, himself.

“The report states that McCabe authorized another FBI agent to leak information about an ongoing investigation into (the) Clinton Foundation to The Wall Street Journal, not in the interest of the public, but for his own personal gain,” summarized The Federalist. (Read more from “Irony: Leaker Mccabe Outraged After DOJ Leakers Finger Him for Criminal Referral” HERE)

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New Leak Indictment Spells Disaster for McCabe

By The Hill. The indictment of James Wolfe, 58, former security director of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), has sent shockwaves around Washington. Wolfe faces three counts of violating 18 U.S.C. 1001, for making false statements to criminal investigators, and could easily face serious jail time if convicted. After a year of leaks cascading down Capitol Hill, Wolfe is a cautionary tale for many members, staffers and journalists. Yet, one person should be especially discomforted by the indictment: former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe.

The Wolfe indictment shows the Justice Department has been actively pursuing leaks out of Congress. Given the lack of prior action, members and staffers may have become emboldened over time, but it now appears the Trump administration has been quietly tracking down the source of some news articles. Wolfe was an obvious concern for any allegations of leaks, given his work at the SSCI for three decades, from 1987 to 2017.

The only person who should be more worried than staffers and journalists by the Wolfe charges is McCabe. He is already embroiled as the subject of a referral by the Justice Department inspector general for possible criminal prosecution. This referral by career Justice Department officials is based on their finding that McCabe knowingly lied to investigators about leaking information to the media.

It was bad enough for McCabe that he was involved in the investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who was charged with the same violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001 for lying to investigators. Now, Wolfe is charged under the same provision for a leak to the media. For McCabe not to be charged would lead to a torrent of criticism over the failure of the Justice Department to apply the same standards to its own lawyers.

McCabe’s giving information to the Wall Street Journal is not in dispute. He claims that his boss, at the time FBI director James Comey, knew and either explicitly or implicitly approved of the leak. Comey directly contradicts McCabe and says he failed to tell the truth. In response, McCabe’s lawyer, Michael Bromwich, has ridiculed Comey’s “white knight” account and said that Comey is offering a false narrative. (Read more from “New Leak Indictment Spells Disaster for McCabe” HERE)

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Leaker Found? Former Senate Staffer Hit With Major Charges

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By The Blaze. A former long-time staffer for the Senate Intelligence Committee, James A. Wolfe, 58, was charged on Thursday with lying to the FBI. He is reportedly accused of sharing non-public information of the Committee’s business to members of the press.

Wolfe was charged with three counts of making false statements during an investigation of “the unauthorized disclosure of information,” which was endorsed by the entirety of the Senate. He had previously served as security director to the Committee for 29 years. . .

It’s limited, for now. But as reported earlier on Thursday evening by TheBlaze, a New York Times reporter’s private messages were seized by the Department of Justice. No word yet on whether the two stories are related, for certain. But there are definitely signs.

In the indictment, it’s indicated that after Wolfe handled classified documents related to the “Russia probe,” he exchanged 82 text messages with a reporter the same evening. Later, that same reporter revealed the identity of Carter Page, who was part of the Committee’s investigation. . .

As the security director of the Senate Committee handling the Russia probe for the past 18 months, Wolfe was the person in charge of enforcing security measures during the proceedings, making the charges even more disturbing. He reportedly resigned “last winter.” (Read more from “Leaker Found? Former Senate Staffer Charged With Lying to FBI About Reporter Contacts” HERE)

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Ex-Senate Staffer Faces Charges in Leak Investigation

By The Washington Post. A former staff member of the Senate Intelligence Committee has been indicted and arrested on charges of making false statements to the FBI during an investigation into the leak of classified information, the Justice Department announced Thursday. As part of the investigation, law enforcement officials seized years’ worth of phone and email records of a New York Times reporter, Ali Watkins, who had previously been in a romantic relationship with the staffer, the newspaper reported Thursday evening.

The Senate staffer, James A. Wolfe, was indicted on three counts of making false statements while he served as the committee’s director of security, a position in which he was entrusted with secret and top-secret information provided to the committee as part of its oversight of the intelligence community, the Justice Department said in a statement. Wolfe served in the job for nearly 30 years, from 1987 until last December.

The government alleges that Wolfe lied to FBI agents in December 2017 about “repeated contacts” with three reporters, including through the use of encrypted messaging applications. He is further accused of lying about providing two reporters with “non-public information related to matters occurring before the [committee],” the statement read. (Read more from “Ex-Senate Staffer Faces Charges in Leak Investigation” HERE)

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Watch: Backflipping FBI Agent Accidentally Fires Gun and Shoots Man in the Leg

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By The Denver Post. An off-duty FBI agent allegedly accidentally shot a man in the leg early Saturday after the agent’s gun fell from his holster on the dance floor of Mile High Spirits, according to a Denver police news release.

“The victim was transported to the hospital with a good prognosis,” the news release read.

The name of the agent wasn’t released because he hasn’t been charged, said Marika Putnam, a Denver police spokeswoman. . .

Video of the incident obtained by Denver7 shows a man alleged to be the FBI agent dancing while surrounded by onlookers and then executing a backflip. During the flip, the gun appears to fly out of the man’s holster. The man in the video jumps to pick up the firearm and appears to fire the gun in the process. The man puts the gun back away in the back of his pants and holds up his hands as onlookers appear shocked and scared.

“When the agent retrieved his handgun, an unintended discharge occurred,” the release read. (Read more from “Backflipping FBI Agent Accidentally Fires Gun and Shoots Man in the Leg” HERE)

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Dancing FBI Agent Drops Gun During Backflip and Shoots Man in Leg

By BBC. The fellow customer hit by the bullet was taken to hospital with a non-life-threatening injury.

It is unclear if the agent, who has not been named, will face charges or disciplinary action. . .

The video shows that his wild moves on the dance-floor had attracted an appreciative crowd at the Mile High Spirits and Distillery bar on Saturday night.

But the mood quickly changed when the gun went off. As shocked patrons look on, the agent retrieves his weapon, holds up his hands and leaves the floor. . .

The statement added: “The victim was transported to the hospital with a good prognosis.” (Read more from “Dancing FBI Agent Drops Gun During Backflip and Shoots Man in Leg” HERE)

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IG’s Email Report Will Drop ‘Bombshell’ on Hillary?

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By Lifezette. When the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) inspector general (IG) report is released, it “has the potential to be a bombshell,” former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Thomas H. Dupree Jr. said Wednesday on Fox News’ “Your World with Neil Cavuto.”

The report — expected to be made public June 4 and to discussed during a June 5 meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee — will review the FBI’s investigation of 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server to conduct official business as secretary of state.

Then-FBI Director James Comey cleared Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee against President Donald Trump, of prosecution in July 2016 despite the presence of hundreds of emails to and from her that contained classified information.

“I think this IG report has the potential to be a bombshell,” Dupree told guest host Maria Bartiromo. “I think, depending on what the IG finds went on behind the scenes in 2016, it has the potential for changing the narrative a bit.”

Although the IG report “obviously will not shut down” special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, Dupree predicted the report “very well could change the political conversation we’re having.” (Read more from “IG’s Email Report Will Drop ‘Bombshell’ on Hillary?” HERE)

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Buckle Up: Grassley Announces Hearing Date for Inspector General Report on FBI Misconduct

By Townhall. We are still anxiously awaiting the release of a report from DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz about how the FBI handled the criminal investigation into Hillary Clinton’s repeated mishandling of classified information during her time as Secretary of State.

Although the public report hasn’t been released, it’s coming soon. On Tuesday evening, Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley announced a hearing titled “Examining the Inspector General’s First Report on Justice Department Decisions Regarding the 2016 Presidential Election.” It will be held Tuesday, June 5 at 10:00 a.m. eastern time.

According to early reports, the IG investigation will hold former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe accountable for mishandling a number of elements in the case. (Read more from “Buckle Up: Grassley Announces Hearing Date for Inspector General Report on FBI Misconduct” HERE)

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FBI Is Asking Everyone to Reset Their Internet Routers, Here’s the Crazy Reason Why

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The FBI wants everyone to reset their internet routers to help fend off a malware attack by a Russian hacking group called Sofacy.

Resetting the router may help prevent the hackers from being able to strengthen the malware’s defenses, the agency said through an announcement.

The attack is done through something known as a VPNFilter that targets small office or home office routers, according to the announcement. The malware can collect information, exploit devices and block network traffic. . .

“The size and scope of the infrastructure impacted by VPNFilter malware is significant,” the announcement states. “The malware targets routers produced by several manufacturers and network-attached storage devices by at least one manufacturer. The initial infection vector for this malware is currently unknown.” . . .

“According to the FBI, rebooting your router will destroy the part of the malware that can do nasty things like spy on your activities, while leaving the install package intact. And when that install package phones home to download the nasty part, the FBI will be able to trace that because the US government says it’s seized a critical domain that the Russian hackers were allegedly using,” the website explains. (Read more from “FBI Is Asking Everyone to Reset Their Internet Routers, Here’s the Crazy Reason Why” HERE)

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