DOJ declines to prosecute Comey despite finding that he leaked info

By Andy Sullivan

 

FILE PHOTO: Former FBI Director James Comey departs after giving a private deposition to the House Judiciary and House Government and Oversight committees on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., December 7, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department has decided not to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey despite an internal investigation that found he improperly leaked information to the news media, the department's internal watchdog said on Thursday.

 

The Justice Department's Office of Inspector General said Comey asked a friend to share the contents of a memo with the New York Times to pressure the department to launch an independent investigation into his conversations with President Donald Trump.

 

In the memo, Comey described a meeting in which Trump allegedly asked him to drop the FBI's investigation into Michael Flynn, who at the time was his national security adviser. Flynn has since pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with Russian officials.

 

Comey signed off on an investigation into the Trump campaign's possible ties to Russia during the 2016 election and later emerged as a prominent critic of the president after Trump fired him in May 2017. Trump and many of his allies say that investigation should never have begun.

 

The Justice Department appointed a special counsel, Robert Mueller, to handle the investigation after Comey left. That probe unearthed numerous contacts between the campaign and Russian officials but concluded that there was not enough evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy.

 

Mueller's final report did not reach a conclusion as to whether Trump's efforts to interfere with the probe amounted to criminal obstruction of justice, but it also did not exonerate the president. Attorney General William Barr concluded that he did not see enough evidence to bring obstruction charges.

 

The Inspector General said on Thursday that while Comey's memo did not contain classified material, he set a dangerous example when he shared sensitive information to create public pressure for official action.

 

The U.S. Justice Department has decided not to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey despite an internal investigation that found he improperly leaked information to the news media, the department’s Office of Inspector General said on Thursday. Roger Fortuna reports.

 

"Were current or former FBI employees to follow the former Director's example and disclose sensitive information in service of their own strongly held personal convictions, the FBI would be unable to dispatch its law enforcement duties properly," the report said.

 

Comey said on Twitter that people who have accused him of sharing classified information should apologise.

 

"To all those who've spent two years talking about me 'going to jail' or being a 'liar and a leaker'—ask yourselves why you still trust people who gave you bad info for so long, including the president," he said.

 

SECOND TIME

It is the second time Comey has been criticized by the Inspector General's office, which concluded last year that he made a "serious error of judgment" when he announced shortly before the 2016 election that he was re-opening an investigation into Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's use of a private e-mail server when she was secretary of State.

 

Trump said on Thursday: "Perhaps never in the history of our Country has someone been more thoroughly disgraced and excoriated than James Comey in the just released Inspector General's Report. He should be ashamed of himself!"

 

White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham called Comey a "liar and a leaker" and said his decision to share information with the press led to a "baseless, politically motivated, two-year witch hunt."

 

Comey wrote seven memos during the first few months of Trump's presidency, detailing one-on-one meetings in which Comey says Trump demanded loyalty and tried to influence the actions of the FBI, which is supposed to enforce the law in an impartial manner.

 

The Inspector General's report said Comey should not have held on to the memos after he was fired because they were official FBI documents. Comey gave one of them to his friend Dan Richman and told him to share it with a New York Times reporter, according to the report. Richman declined to comment.

 

Congress made redacted versions of those memos public last year.

 

FBI spokesman Brian Hale said the report underscored the need for all agency employees, regardless of position, to obey rules about official records. The Justice Department declined to comment.

 

Some Republicans said the Inspector General's report provides more evidence that the FBI was motivated by political considerations when it started investigating the Trump campaign's contacts with Russia.

 

"This is the first of what I expect will be several more ugly and damning rebukes of senior DOJ and FBI officials regarding their actions and biases towards the Trump campaign of 2016," Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham said in a statement.

 

The Inspector General's office is currently examining the FBI's conduct during the investigation, and Barr is also overseeing two inquiries into the origins of the Mueller probe: one led by John Durham, the top federal prosecutor in Connecticut, and another involving senior intelligence officials.

 

Although the Justice Department will not prosecute Comey, he could face other disciplinary action because the Inspector General's report has been referred to the FBI and the department's Office of Professional Responsibility, which investigates employee misconduct.

 

Democrats in Congress are split as to whether Trump should be impeached for the actions detailed in Mueller's report, while Republicans have largely stood by the president.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-08-30

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(Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Additional reporting by Nathan Layne in New York; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall and Leslie Adler)

The American justice system has once again proven to be flawed.  There is NOT equal justice under American law.  The Clinton charade and Comey free pass will haunt America's application of the law for generations...

 

 

3 minutes ago, Puchaiyank said:

The American justice system has once again proven to be flawed.  There is NOT equal justice under American law.  The Clinton charade and Comey free pass will haunt America's application of the law for generations...

 

I agree.

I disagree this is all about Donald getting caught attempting to obstruct Justice donald doesent like getting caught and please tell donalds daughter and son-in-law to stop using private email ok?

1 hour ago, Puchaiyank said:

The American justice system has once again proven to be flawed.  There is NOT equal justice under American law.  The Clinton charade and Comey free pass will haunt America's application of the law for generations...

 

Your whine is reliant on the ludicrous assertion that the DoJ headed by Trump’s hand picked lackey Billy Barr gave Comey a ‘free pass’.

 

If Comey had broken the law, any law, Barr would have prosecuted him.

 

Comey did not break the law, hence no prosecution

Edited August 30, 20196 yr by Chomper Higgot

" White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham called Comey a "liar and a leaker" and said his decision to share information with the press led to a "baseless, politically motivated, two-year witch hunt." "

" Trump said on Thursday: "Perhaps never in the history of our Country has someone been more thoroughly disgraced and excoriated than James Comey in the just released Inspector General's Report. He should be ashamed of himself!" "

 

Don't forget this guys, " he made a "serious error of judgment" when he announced shortly before the 2016 election that he was re-opening an investigation into Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's use of a private e-mail server when she was secretary of State. ", which helped Trump tremendously in getting elected.

5 hours ago, Tug said:

I disagree this is all about Donald getting caught attempting to obstruct Justice donald doesent like getting caught and please tell donalds daughter and son-in-law to stop using private email ok?

 

So you see nothing wrong in Comey deliberately leaking information to a newspaper he knows to be virulently anti Trump?

 

No breach of trust, ethics, ?

 

 

3 hours ago, stevenl said:

" White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham called Comey a "liar and a leaker" and said his decision to share information with the press led to a "baseless, politically motivated, two-year witch hunt." "

" Trump said on Thursday: "Perhaps never in the history of our Country has someone been more thoroughly disgraced and excoriated than James Comey in the just released Inspector General's Report. He should be ashamed of himself!" "

 

Don't forget this guys, " he made a "serious error of judgment" when he announced shortly before the 2016 election that he was re-opening an investigation into Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's use of a private e-mail server when she was secretary of State. ", which helped Trump tremendously in getting elected.

 

Your point is?

 

Comey appears to be an untrustworthy weasel whose pliable. Bit like a US version of Tarit.

4 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Your whine is reliant on the ludicrous assertion that the DoJ headed by Trump’s hand picked lackey Billy Barr gave Comey a ‘free pass’.

 

If Comey had broken the law, any law, Barr would have prosecuted him.

 

Comey did not break the law, hence no prosecution

 

Interesting. IIRC you weren't so black and white regarding the decision not to prosecute Trump!

 

Clinton, Comey innocent.

 

Trump guilty.

 

Why, because you prefer left liberal politically correct politics and their supporters and therefore always see them in the best possible light perhaps?

 

Once a justice system becomes politically biased it becomes a tool of oppression and no longer serves justice.

 

Comey may not have broken a criminal law but his ill judgement certainly disgraced himself.

6 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

So you see nothing wrong in Comey deliberately leaking information to a newspaper he knows to be virulently anti Trump?

 

No breach of trust, ethics, ?

 

 

 Nothing illegal, hence no prosecution.

 

I’m not sure ethics and breaches of trust is a wise place for any Trump supporter to go.

2 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Interesting. IIRC you weren't so black and white regarding the decision not to prosecute Trump!

 

Clinton, Comey innocent.

 

Trump guilty.

 

Why, because you prefer left liberal politically correct politics and their supporters and therefore always see them in the best possible light perhaps?

 

Once a justice system becomes politically biased it becomes a tool of oppression and no longer serves justice.

 

Comey may not have broken a criminal law but his ill judgement certainly disgraced himself.

No, Trump is not ‘guilty’ or rather their is abundant evidence and a Special Council’s report which lists allegations of crimes, but since as sitting President  he can’t be charged for those crimes, he’ll have to wait a little while longer until he faces justice.

 

Clinton, Comey were investigated and are not indicted because the investigations they were subject to found no crimes.

6 hours ago, Puchaiyank said:

The American justice system has once again proven to be flawed.  There is NOT equal justice under American law.  The Clinton charade and Comey free pass will haunt America's application of the law for generations...

 

It escaped you attention that this decision actually benefits Trump. Trump's communication strategy is to get the Mueller report forgotten. The last thing he wants is to draw attention to his pathetic attempts at obstructing justice.

Barr has again served well his master.

7 hours ago, Puchaiyank said:

The American justice system has once again proven to be flawed.  There is NOT equal justice under American law.  The Clinton charade and Comey free pass will haunt America's application of the law for generations...

 

You must be a comedian! Very funny!

6 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Your whine is reliant on the ludicrous assertion that the DoJ headed by Trump’s hand picked lackey Billy Barr gave Comey a ‘free pass’.

 

If Comey had broken the law, any law, Barr would have prosecuted him.

 

Comey did not break the law, hence no prosecution

Which pretty much sums up the whole deal.

A troll post containing a trolling representation of Trump's name has been removed. 

 

An inflammatory and a reply has been removed. 

Comey should be behind bars for a long time.

20 minutes ago, Thingamabob said:

Comey should be behind bars for a long time.

So now we should lock people up when investigations don’t find they’ve committed a crime.

Some may call him a liar and a leaker. Did he lie? No. Perhaps "whistle blower" more fitting aka making public info regarding obstruction of justice seems commendable.

Trump "leaked" top secret info to the Russians in the oval office shortly after he was sworn in.

His "out" is that he can change classification of any intelligence info at a whim

Launch codes next?

32 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

So now we should lock people up when investigations don’t find they’ve committed a crime.

Funny they dont have the same view of trump.

Edited August 30, 20196 yr by Sujo

4 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

 Nothing illegal, hence no prosecution.

 

I’m not sure ethics and breaches of trust is a wise place for any Trump supporter to go.

Well said!

9 hours ago, Puchaiyank said:

The American justice system has once again proven to be flawed.  There is NOT equal justice under American law.  The Clinton charade and Comey free pass will haunt America's application of the law for generations...

 

 

This seems a tad hyperbolic?

 

J. Edgar Hoover was Director of the FBI for 37 years and he committed god knows how many hundreds of thousands of felonies. And we survived.

 

Surely writing a few memos, and leaking one will not affect us for "generations"?

 

 

 

 

9 hours ago, Puchaiyank said:

The American justice system has once again proven to be flawed.  There is NOT equal justice under American law.  The Clinton charade and Comey free pass will haunt America's application of the law for generations...

 

You are right in one sense, that our justice system is flawed.  The more money you have, the more likely you will get off.   You are correct, that if the deep state is not exposed and punish to the full extent, it will hurt us for generations.

 

However, there is much more serious charges coming soon for Comey, Brennan, Clapper, Clinton, Obama and others.  They have been caught red handed in some very dirty stuff....sedition, treason and worse.  

 

Having worked for the Fed Gov't for a long time with a TS, I know what comes with having a clearance.  Clinton, Obama, Loretta Lynch, and others should be in jail!  It remains to be seen if that will happen, but sadly I have my doubts.  If I did 0.001% of what they did, I would be in prison!

 

Some of the comments here are so far from reality and the truth, that I'm not going to respond to them.  I will say, that this is the tip of the iceberg on what is coming.  Some think the Comey's problems have not even begun, and that this information on him today is nothing compared to what will be coming his way...

 

God bless the military intel folks!

Comey ended up being a sleazy weasel political hack, who tried to undermine a dully elected POTUS by using his power as head of the FBI!

 Rosenstein said:

"Its important for the DOJ to follow established policies and procedures,especially when the stakes are high".

That wasn't on this career professional 's agenda! His first strike was to help clear clinton by deciding the investigation results .Second was to violate FBI procedures to bring about the russian hoax special counsel investigation.

 Stay tune,Fisa investigation coming soon 

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/rod-rosenstein-criticizes-james-comey-without-saying-his-name-in-wake-of-oig-report/

Edited August 30, 20196 yr by riclag

3 minutes ago, JMSIII said:

They have been caught red handed in some very dirty stuff....sedition, treason and worse.  

 

Can you share your knowledge on this subject?

 

 

1 minute ago, mtls2005 said:

 

This seems a tad hyperbolic?

 

J. Edgar Hoover was Director of the FBI for 37 years and he committed god knows how many hundreds of thousands of felonies. And we survived.

 

Surely writing a few memos, and leaking one will not affect us for "generations"?

 

 

 

 

I agree with you about Hoover, he was dirty to say the least.  But I do agree with, if the deep state is allowed to get away with this stuff that has been exposed, and stuff that is yet to come out.  That it will have a long term negative effects on our country.  It's a much different world today than when Hoover was doing his dirty deeds.

Do you think Mr. Barr's plan was to settle the dispute between the 14 angry dem Mueller staff on obstruction while trying  to save what's left of the intel agencies?

1 minute ago, mtls2005 said:

 

Can you share your knowledge on this subject?

 

 

riclag said it very well:   Stay tune, Fisa investigation coming soon.   Yes, stay tuned...

7 minutes ago, riclag said:

Do you think Mr. Barr's plan was to settle the dispute between the 14 angry dem Mueller staff on obstruction while trying  to save what's left of the intel agencies?

I think that they are still cleaning house of the deep state operatives.   AG Barr said it best when he said "I have more questions now, than when I took the job."  AG Barr has to clean out the deep state operatives, if there is a chance in hell of saving these corrupted agencies from the last administration.

 

And, I hope that those 14 Dems, pay the price to the full extent as well!  I think there will be much more on these folks to come.

Edited August 30, 20196 yr by JMSIII
add

2 minutes ago, JMSIII said:

riclag said it very well:   Stay tune, Fisa investigation coming soon.   Yes, stay tuned...

 

So that means what? You know something, but can't share it? 

 

 

11 minutes ago, JMSIII said:

They have been caught red handed in some very dirty stuff....sedition, treason and worse.  

 

Do you even know what Treason ( Article III, Section 3 ) means? Or Sedition y (18 U.S.C. § 2384) ?

 

And what's worse than these two?

 

 

7 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

 

So that means what? You know something, but can't share it? 

 

 

 

Do you even know what Treason ( Article III, Section 3 ) means? Or Sedition y (18 U.S.C. § 2384) ?

 

And what's worse than these two?

Yes teacher, I know both the definition and the codes for treason and sedition.  Just stay tuned...