The Justice Department’s inspector general on Thursday will release the results of its investigation into claims that the FBI failed to follow department protocols when investigating Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, which could give Trump more ammo in his nonstop public fight against former FBI Director James Comey.
But it might also fuel Democratic arguments that the FBI gave Trump an unfair edge by casting doubt on Clinton’s trustworthiness just days before the election.
The investigation was launched in January 2017 by Michael Horowitz, an appointee of President Barack Obama. He conducted a noncriminal review, which means he could not compel former Justice Department or FBI employees or any other witnesses to testify.
But the initiation of the investigation appealed to Republicans, and the report, which is expected to be more than 500 pages, could end up being a perfect present for Trump on his 72nd birthday because it will shine a spotlight on Clinton, as well as Comey, his other nemesis. Trump has argued since taking office that not enough attention is paid to all the questionable moves Democrats made as they ran their losing campaign.
[Paul Ryan: DOJ should turn over documents and ‘spare our country a whole lot of drama’]
A week ago, Trump complained on Twitter about why it was “taking so long” for the report to come out, and made it clear it is eagerly awaiting the report on “Crooked Hillary and Slippery James Comey.” The release of the report could give Clinton and Comey some of the attention Trump thinks they deserve.
For example, Horowitz was tasked with assessing whether a Justice Department official gave nonpublic information to the Clinton campaign.
It’s also expected to criticize Comey for announcing the end of the Clinton investigation in July 2016, when he called Clinton “extremely careless” with classified information but said she would not be criminally charged. Comey then reopened the investigation just days before the election, which many Democrats and Clinton herself say cost her the election.
A draft of the IG’s work product reportedly said Comey’s behavior there was “insubordinate,” and also criticizes former Attorney General Loretta Lynch for how she handled the Clinton probe.
Democrats have said they were hurt most by Comey’s actions during the election. But the IG’s final assessment on that score might still end up helping Trump in his effort to cast the former FBI director as incompetent, and someone who he had to fire.
A damning IG report could help Trump deflect criticism that he fired Comey to scuttle the investigation into Trump’s alleged ties to Russia, and some think the IG report will deliver for Trump.
“The upcoming IG report is likely to be highly critical of the FBI leadership when it comes to decisions made regarding the Clinton email investigation and may also be critical of Justice Department oversight of the FBI,” Jamil N. Jaffer, a former White House lawyer under President George W. Bush, told the Washington Examiner.
Jaffer added that the discovery of problems at the Justice Department or the FBI shouldn’t be an excuse to tear down the institution.
“Even though there may be very real, and potentially serious problems that need to be fixed, these are critical institutions to rule of law in this country and the vicious attacks they have suffered in recent months are simply unwarranted and frankly should be called out as unacceptable,” he said.
But that hasn’t stopped Trump, who may be even more fired up once the IG report comes out. Trump has called Comey a “liar,” a “leaker,” and a “nut job,” and under that kind of pressure, nearly a dozen GOP lawmakers asked the Justice Department and FBI in April to look into what federal statutes he could be investigated for violating.
Horowitz has already helped add fuel to Trump’s attacks by releasing reports on other officials. He already released one on former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who was fired in March. McCabe is named as someone who lied to investigators under oath about his communications with the press, and in April, Horowitz sent a criminal referral to the U.S. attorney in Washington.
The inspector general has also released text messages between former top FBI counterintelligence official Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page. Both were on special counsel Robert Mueller’s team investigating Russia, but left after it was revealed they had pro-Clinton, anti-Trump sentiments.
Lawmakers won’t see the IG report on Clinton until it is released later Thursday afternoon, but they will have a chance to follow up with Horowitz next week, when he goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday and the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees on Tuesday.
