Inspector General's report will be critical of Comey, Lynch, and McCabe

The Department of Justice Inspector General’s report won’t be out until next week. Prior to that, a draft report has been sent around to the principles (Comey, McCabe, etc,) for their review. Once the IG incorporates their response a final draft will be released to the public. Wednesday, ABC News revealed some tidbits from the draft report, saying it will be critical of former FBI Director James Comey.

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One source told ABC News that the draft report explicitly used the word “insubordinate” to describe Comey’s behavior. Another source agreed with that characterization but could not confirm the use of the term…

The draft of Horowitz’s wide-ranging report specifically called out Comey for ignoring objections from the Justice Department when he disclosed in a letter to Congress just days before the 2016 presidential election that FBI agents had reopened the Clinton probe, according to sources. Clinton has said that letter doomed her campaign…

Horowitz’s draft report cited Comey for failing to consult with Lynch and other senior Justice Department officials before making his announcement on national TV.

No doubt this will also add some credence to the idea promoted by Hillary and her supporters that Comey’s behavior was responsible for her loss in 2016. However, the report also seems likely to bolster President Trump’s case that Comey deserved to be fired. That could make it more difficult for Special Counsel Mueller to make an obstruction of justice case against Trump (assuming that’s something he’s looking into). So it sounds as if neither side is going to be completely happy with this report.

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The report also criticizes AG Lynch for her tarmac meeting with Bill Clinton and Andrew McCabe for the delay in digging into the contents of a laptop owned by Huma Abedin and Anthony Weiner:

ABC News has confirmed that Horowitz’s draft report went on to criticize senior FBI officials, including Comey and fired FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, for their response to the late discovery of a laptop containing evidence that may have related to the Clinton investigation…

It took weeks for the FBI to start analyzing the laptop’s contents, and Horowitz’s draft report criticized senior FBI officials for how long the laptop languished inside the bureau, sources told ABC News.

What should we make of all of this? Well, someone featured in the report, having received a draft, is leaking information to ABC News. Curiously, nearly all of this material is well-worn ground. We’ve been talking about Comey’s announcement and the Lynch-Clinton tarmac meeting forever. We’ve talked about how long Weiner’s laptop sat in McCabe’s office since January. What’s missing from this leak is anything new or surprising.

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For instance, does the IG say anything about anti-Trump animus at the FBI as exemplified by the texts of Peter Strzok and Lisa Page? ABC says it “was unable to ascertain information” about that. So it looks like we’re going to have to wait at least another week to get any of that new material.

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