FBI Director Christopher Wray downplayed a damning inspector general’s report Thursday, telling reporters the document’s findings don’t “impugn” the integrity of his agency.
Did we read the same report?
The way Wray tells it, the FBI is doing just peachy. The 500-plus-page Justice Department report, which details the IG’s investigation of the agency’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email scandal, is merely a collection of unflattering details.
“The OIG report makes clear that we’ve got some work to do,” Wray told reporters.
He added [emphasis added], “But let’s also be clear on the scope of this report. It’s focused on a specific set of events back in 2016, and a small number of FBI employees connected with those events. Nothing in the report impugns the integrity of our workforce as a whole, or the FBI as an institution.”
Did Wray even read the report? Because the DOJ document, which details the ethical and morals lapses of more than just a few FBI employees, definitely does not reflect well on the agency as a whole.
Here, let’s walk through some of the more damning details. Right off the bat, there’s this rather alarming claim:
Then there’s this:
Don’t forget this:
The report also noted they investigated allegations that FBI employees “improperly disclosed non-public information regarding the [Clinton] investigation,” and concluded, “Although FBI policy strictly limits the employees who are authorized to speak to the media, we found that this policy appeared to be widely ignored during the period we reviewed.”
This is to say nothing of the fact that the report strongly suggests that certain top agents’ political biases colored their work on the Clinton investigation. Hell, the IG report’s recommendations section alone is nine points deep.
“Disappointed” doesn’t even begin to describe how we should feel about the DOJ’s findings.
