The FBI’s Director Christopher Wray revealed yesterday that every FBI official named in the Justice Department watchdog report on Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuse is being reviewed for possible disciplinary action.
Wray, who appeared on Wednesday before the Democrat-led House Judiciary Committee for his first congressional testimony since DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s scathing FISA abuse report was released, pledged to fix the problems.
“The failures highlighted in that report are unacceptable — period,” Wray said. “They don’t reflect who the FBI is as an institution, and they cannot be repeated. The FBI has embraced every last one of the inspector general’s recommendations, but we’re also making a number of improvements above and beyond.”
Republican congressmen repeatedly pressed Wray on whether any FBI officials were going to face the consequences.
“Are all the individuals and agents and supervisors that were involved in all of these abuses … that were in this Horowitz report, are all of them no longer working at the FBI?” Rep. Greg Steube of Florida asked. “Have they resigned or been fired or been removed from their position?”
“At the more senior level of the FBI, the people involved I think in every respect I can think of are gone from the FBI,” Wray said.
Former bureau leaders such as FBI Director James Comey, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, and FBI special agent Peter Strzok have been fired from the bureau in the past few years for reasons not directly tied to FISA.
“As for current employees, there are what I would call more line-level employees who were involved in some of the events in the report, all of those employees … were referred to our Office of Professional Responsibility, which is our disciplinary arm,” the FBI director said.
Horowitz had concluded that the FBI’s investigation was flawed, and he criticized the DOJ and the FBI for 17 “significant errors and omissions” related to secret surveillance court filings targeting Trump campaign associate Carter Page. The filings relied on salacious and unverified allegations contained within British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s dossier.
“I have made very clear that if that process results in recommendations of discipline, then we will impose discipline,” Wray said. “We will hold people accountable.”
Rep. Tom McClintock of California pushed Wray for answers. “Let me ask you — who’s been fired as a result of the inspector general’s report? Who’s been fired?”
“Well, there are a few people who are no longer with the FBI, some of them terminated, some of them left on their own, some of them sued me,” Wray quipped.
Both McCabe and Strzok sued the DOJ and the FBI and specifically named Wray.
Rep. Louie Gohmert asked Wray about former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, who had altered a key document in the Page FISA filings, and wanted to know whether he’d been fired or allowed to resign.
Several months before its first FISA filing against Page, the FBI was informed Page was a source for the CIA in the past, a fact the bureau failed to include in any FISA submissions. A liaison from the CIA reminded Clinesmith of this, but instead of informing the FBI supervisory special agent, Clinesmith altered the email so it would falsely state Page was “not a source.” He’s now under a criminal investigation.
“Mr. Clinesmith is no longer with the FBI — and I don’t think I can comment on a specific personnel matter beyond that,” Wray answered, later adding, “The reason I’m not engaging with you on a specific personnel matter is because my commitment to ensuring proper accountability ensures that even that is done by the book.”
Wray assured Gohmert that “I respect the reason for your question, and I share your passion, both about the reputation of the FBI and about the importance of candor to the court.”
