I do not see a post about a particularly captivating article I just read at Talking Points Memo that I want to share here. I encourage reading the whole thing at Josh’s site. (Title: “There’s Something Fatally Wrong in the IG Report on the FBI and DOJ”)
Josh sorted through the expected findings in the FBI’s IG report that so many have summarized across the media spectrum. He picked up on some aspects of it that should be addressed, though, that are not.
He begins, “...the reason the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails was so freely publicized in 2016 while the Russia probe remained firmly under wraps was, paradoxically, precisely because it was an essential political and procedural probe” and goes on to explain that the IG was concerned about the FBI investing more sources into the Russia probe than the email issue. He continues:
The premise here is that the decision to prioritize the Russia probe over the emails found on the Weiner laptop requires an explanation or is suspicious on its face. But this is frankly absurd.
Then he explains, between the two investigations, why the Russia probe should have been seen as the more urgent of them. In subsequent paragraphs, he describes evidence of the anti-Clinton bias among active and former members of the FBI, which is not addressed in the report (although he acknowledges that may be dealt with in a future report).
Finally, he states that the anti-Clinton bias (which then-Director Comey says did not affect his decisions, but others claim affected team discussions) must also be investigated, a point with which I agree. Perhaps any new report might also explain how anyone in the FBI might have chosen to see “her emails” (a political/procedural probe) as a higher priority during that time than the Russia investigation (a more-than-likely national security issue).
