Investigating the Investigators at DOJ and FBI


Why do heads seem to be rolling—or at least tilting—at the Department of Justice and FBI?[hr]

[quote]Eight high ranking Department of Justice and FBI officials have been removed, reassigned or are rumored to be leaving. They include the top FBI agents who worked on two of the agency’s most high-profile investigations in the past two years: the probe into Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of classified information as secretary of state, and the Trump-Russia collusion investigation.[/quote]

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]here’s been a great deal of news coverage about allegations of collusion between President Trump and Russia; much of the reporting apparently accurate and some of it not.

Less attention has been given to concurrent investigations that seem to be claiming scalps even if indirectly.

The investigations into the investigators include Congressional inquiries and a multi-faceted probe launched by Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz surrounding the FBI decision not to prosecute Clinton. Specifically, Horowitz—who was appointed by President Obama—said he’s reviewing:

  • Allegations that FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik should have recused themselves.
  • Allegations of improper political contacts by Kadzik.
  • Allegations that Justice Department and FBI employees improperly disclosed non-public information and were influenced by improper considerations in releasing certain documents just before the 2016 election.

Below are some of the players. Their inclusion in this article does not imply any wrongdoing. None of those mentioned are formally accused of any improper activities. Their past or pending job status may not be related to the controversies discussed. To the extent that any have commented, they firmly deny any misconduct and are staunchly defended by supporters and colleagues.[hr]

Fired: Sally Yates, Deputy Attorney General

Sally Yates, former Deputy Attorney General

Alleged philosophical mutiny for failing to defend presidential order on immigration; alleged politically-motivated “unmaskings.”

Under questioning from Congress, Yates admitted that as Deputy Attorney General under Loretta Lynch, she engaged in the sensitive practice of unmasking and reviewing classified documents from “Trump, his associates or any member of Congress.” Later, as Acting Attorney General, Yates ordered Justice Department attorneys not to defend President Trump’s ban on certain Muslim visitors from entering the U.S.

Latest: President Trump fired Yates in January 2017. She was both praised and criticized for her stance on the travel ban. Since her firing, Yates has attacked President Trump in public referring to him as as “shamelessly unpatriotic,” saying he has “indifference to truth,” and claiming his “respect for the rule of law” is “in tatters.”[hr]

Departed: Peter Kadzik, Department of Justice liaison to Congress, Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs.

Peter Kadzik, former Justice Dept. Asst. Attorney General

Alleged conflicts of interest with the Hillary Clinton campaign and alleged disclosure of nonpublic information for political reasons.

During the FBI investigation of Hillary Clinton, Kadzik appeared to tip off Clinton presidential campaign chairman John Podesta about two issues: an upcoming hearing where a Justice Department official would be asked about the Clinton emails, and the timing of the release of some Clinton emails. Kadzik previously worked for Podesta as an attorney. He denied any wrongdoing.

Latest: Kadzik left the Justice Department in January 2017 and works in private practice.[hr]

“Retiring”: Andrew McCabe, FBI Deputy Director

Failure to exclude himself from leading the Hillary Clinton email probe despite alleged conflicts of interest.

Appointed by James Comey, McCabe led the FBI investigation that determined Hillary Clinton should not be prosecuted for her mishandling of classified emails. McCabe’s wife had reportedly received $700,000 for her unsuccessful Virginia senate campaign from close Clinton ally Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe. (McAuliffe was also said to be under FBI investigation regarding campaign contributions from a Chinese businessman. He has not been charged and has denied any wrongdoing.)

Latest: News reports say McCabe will retire in early March when he’s eligible for his full pension.

Andrew McCabe, FBI Deputy Director

[hr]”Reassigned”: James Baker, FBI General Counsel

James Baker, FBI General Counsel

Reportedly under IG investigation for allegedly improperly leaking information.

Baker also served as counsel for McCabe during Congressional questioning. Separately, Baker was allegedly in contact with a reporter who published the first story about an anti-Trump “dossier” alleging ties between Trump and Russia. (The reporter denies Baker was a source.) The dossier was presented shortly before the election as if it were an intelligence investigative file. But it turned out to be political opposition research funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Congress is investigating whether the FBI improperly used the dossier to convince a secret court to authorize wiretaps to surveil Trump associates. The FBI reportedly secretly offered to pay the author of the dossier to keep pursuing leads after the election, but the deal wasn’t ultimately consummated.

Latest: Baker has reportedly been reassigned. His supporters have told reporters the reassignment is unrelated to the investigations and that he did nothing wrong.[hr]

[hr]”Transferred”: Peter Strzok, the top FBI agent on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team

Peter Strzok, FBI official

Alleged anti-Trump political bias.

Strzok is identified as the FBI official who softened language and watered down key findings in the Clinton email probe. He was the top FBI agent on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team investigating alleged Trump-Russia collusion and number two in FBI Counterintelligence office during Hillary Clinton email investigation. Strzok oversaw FBI interviews with Trump National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn (who plead guilty to lying to the FBI).

While Strzok worked on the Trump-Russia investigation, the Inspector General unearthed anti-Trump text messages Strzok had exchanged with FBI attorney Lisa Page, a fellow member of Mueller’s team with whom Strzok was reportedly having an illicit affair.

Latest: Strzok was ousted from Mueller’s team and transferred to human resources in August after the controversial anti-Trump text messages were discovered.[hr]

Shifted: Lisa Page, FBI lawyer and McCabe senior adviser

Alleged anti-Trump political bias. 

Page was on the FBI Mueller team investigating alleged Trump-Russia collusion. She had exchanged anti-Trump text messages with Strzok, the top FBI agent on Mueller’s team, with whom she was reportedly having an illicit affair.

Latest: Page left the Mueller team last summer. Reports say the move was unrelated to the controversy.

[box type=”download”]Excerpts from text exchanges between FBI couple Strzok and Page who served on the Mueller team investigating Trump:

Page: “I cannot believe Donald Trump is likely to be an actual, serious candidate for president” and “God(,) Trump is a loathsome human.”

Page: “I just saw my first Bernie Sander [sic] bumper sticker. Made me want to key the car.”

Strzok: “He’s an idiot like Trump. Figure they cancel each other out.”

Strzok called Trump “awful” and “an idiot” and said Clinton should win “100,000,000-0.’’

Strzok on Election Day when he learned Trump could win: “f*****g terrifying.”

Strzok: “I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s [believed to refer to McCabe] office that there’s no way he gets elected — but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk. It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.’’

Page texted that she hoped Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan “fails and crashes in a blaze of glory.” Strzok replied that Republicans need “to pull their head out of that *ss. Shows no sign of occurring any time soon.”[/box]

[hr]Fired: James Comey, FBI Director under President Obama

Comey originally served under George W. Bush and briefly under President Trump. Once he was fired by Trump in May 2017, Comey secretly leaked a memo to the press to engineer the appointment of a special counsel to investigate alleged Trump-Russia collusion.

James Comey, former FBI Director

[hr]”Demoted”: Bruce Ohr, Associate Deputy Attorney General at the Department of Justice

Bruce Ohr, Justice Dept. official; Photo courtesy C-SPAN

Alleged improper political conflicts.

Bruce Ohr arranged to meet with the co-founder Fusion GPS, the political opposition research firm that compiled the anti-Trump “dossier,” according to court filings. Fusion GPS also hired Ohr’s wife, Nellie.

Latest: Ohr still works at the Justice Department, but was reportedly recently removed as associate deputy attorney general.[hr]

Investigator: Robert Mueller

Special Counsel investigating alleged Trump-Russia collusion in 2016 US election. Former FBI Director 2001-2013 under Bush and Obama. Mueller served as FBI Director under Comey when Comey was a top Bush Justice Department official.

Robert Mueller, former FBI Director, Special Counsel investigating alleged Trump-Russia collusion

[hr]Investigator: Michael Horowitz

Obama-appointed Department of Justice Inspector General investigating a wide range of alleged misconduct within FBI and Department of Justice.

Michael Horowitz, Department of Justice Inspector General

[hr]

The above is a news analysis.[hr]

Buy the New York Times bestseller “The Smear” or check it our from your local library.


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61 thoughts on “Investigating the Investigators at DOJ and FBI”

  1. excellent information and reporting, a must read for straight up truth about the nefarious acts of the Clinton criminal enterprise supporters.

    1. Let’s not forget the timelines…the DNC/Clinton campaign was using Fusion GPS (Bruce and Nellie Ohr) around June 2016. This is period of time that FBI (other agencies) were seeking and possibly obtaining FISA warrants on Trump campaign officials (possibly using and colluding Russian purchased opposition research) During this same period, Strozk was “investigating” and exonerating Hillary Clinton’s e-mail scandal. Strozk was also apparently in McCabe’s office conspiring with Lisa Page (McCabe during this time is accepting $700,000 for wife’s campaign from Terry McCauliff- Clinton/DNC ) on how to proceed with interference of 2016 Presidential election or Trump Presidency. The FBI pretended not to know about or “use” Trump Dossier in summer 2016 (although may have been evidence for FISA warrants earlier…Media outlets had been shopped Dossier month before BuzzFeed released (or McCain bought copy from foreign national and “gave” to FBI, although had access for months in October 2016)…

      …now the FISA warrants, obtained by the now disgraced Strozk, we’re used to record General Flynn late November/December as a “transition team member” showing Flynn lied about talking to “Russians” DURING FBI INTERVIEWS WITH PETER STROZK…Strozk (unknown by the master investigator and boss, Mueller) is not removed from the Mueller team until IG notifies Mueller of Strozk, Page, McCabe sessions. This over a year from the initial Strozk conflicts of interest, involvement with exoneration of Clinton, obtaining FISA warrants with GPS (Russian intelligence?) and 6 months after the same TAINTED FBI agent does the interview with FLYNN (knowing about possibly illegally obtained wiretaps)…

      …we are being told that Mueller discharged Strozk from the team immediately upon being notified of collusion/bias e-mails…all evidence obtained through work of Strozk, McCabe, wiretapping should all be inadmissible

  2. How much of this has to do with the Obama plan to embed people into various departments to maintain his legacy? It seems though many of these people are obvious loyal Democrats and that had to be known. Was their placement, within the departments part of that plan? How many of them had influence in not enforcing government record laws, both with Mrs Clinton, but also Eric Holder and Lois Lerner? It appears the Obama Administration pulled some pretty fancy deception to avoid complying with FOIA requests. Apparently, if you don’t have to worry about prosecution you can do and say anything.

    1. Someone so concerned about “ his legacy “ must be concerned his actions would be questioned or found wanting.
      I think our former President has reason to be concerned as his “legacy “ seems to be the first semi-black guy to have been elected to the office.
      Substance?
      Pretty unAmerican overall.

  3. Here is someone else that investigators seem to have overlooked: Appointed March, reassigned in December. Someone else high up in FBI counterterrorism blotted his copybook.

    The following is very curious. At the FBI a change in jobs after just nine months just doesn’t happen. I am convinced he was moved from Washington for a reason. He has a nice plum job now. But why?

    Bradley ‘Grant’ Mendenhall Named Special Agent in Charge … – FBI.gov Dec 4, 2017 – FBI Director Christopher A. Wray has named Bradley Grant Mendenhall as the special agent in charge of the Indianapolis Division.
    FBI Announces Executive Appointments — Mar 21, 2017 – Bradley “Grant” Mendenhall Named Assistant Director for the Counterterrorism Division. Mr. Mendenhall most recently served as a deputy assistant director in the Counterterrorism Division. Mr. Mendenhall entered on duty with the FBI as a special agent in 1990, and was first assigned to the Milwaukee ..

    1. “…It seems though many of these people are obvious loyal Democrats…” And what is your definition of a ‘loyal democrat’?!

  4. Bitterly Disappointed Whistleblower

    I can nominate some FBI agents that need to be fired. They don’t follow the fourth amendment. Sadly I what many of them look like but I don’t know their real names.

  5. I was struck by the phrase in the first paragraph regarding alleged collusion between Mr. Trump and Russia, saying, ” . . . much of it apparently correct . . . ” I had been under the clear impression that investigators had found the allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia had NOT been apparently correct. What have I been missing?

    1. “Apparently correct” (along with “some of it not”) refers to the news coverage of the allegations of collusion, not the allegations themselves.

    2. Everything?
      Five members of the Trump campaign, including one of Trumps sons, and two GOP operatives outside it, have admitted to communicating with people they knew were associated with Russian intelligence services during the campaign, about the stolen emails and leaks. One of the people who’ve admitted to collusion (Smith) have committed suicide, two others are being prosecuted, at least one of them has turned state’s witness.
      Trumps campaign manager – Paul Manafort – has registered as a Russian agent and is being prosecuted for laundering Russian money.
      The person Trump appointed National Security Adviser and gave top secret clearance is also a paid foreign agent – and Trump knew that when he appointed him.
      Trump used a signing statement to announce his opposition to measures intended to protect US targets from future Russian hacking, and is currently stalling the sanctions Congress decided upon.

      1. Just about any idiot would know that an unsecured server would be a smorgasbord of info for any foreign intelligence service.The CIA would be extremely negligent if they didn’t look into Medvedev’s or Putin”s open servers so why expect the Russians to act differently. If Hillary is that stupid,or corrupt I’d want that exposed too.

      2. “Trumps campaign manager – Paul Manafort – has registered as a Russian agent”

        Well, he registered as a foreign agent doing work for a Ukranian political party. But hey, Ukranian, Russian, what difference does it make? A Slav’s a Slav, right?

  6. Sharyl: I believe Joe meant that as a serious question. I too am under the impression that collusion has not been established. So there may be some fine distinctions that we are missing.

    I did note that the administration approved weapons sales to the Ukraine (congress notified 12/13) which may have prompted James Clapper on 12/18 to declaim Trump’s behavior appeared as though he was handled as a Russian asset. Odd for assets to arm their handler’s opponents. But what do I know. I’m not a former DNI schooled in the nuanced of the grand game.

  7. Yeah, I wondered about that statement too. Looks to me like Russia has indeed been working to throw the election….both for Hillary and against her later on, via the Internet and social media groups…but the more we dig, the more we find clear connections of deliberate Hillary involvement to Russia to change the election. If anything. That Fusion GPS dossier from Russian officials and journalists and funded by Hillary, Obama, and the election-manipulating DNC is a good starting point for that conversation.

  8. There is a guy known as Craig calling into Infowars, claiming to have first hand knowledge of the gun running with Fast and Furious. He is claiming FF was also a clandestine effort for moving guns to the middle east to take out Gaddafi, followed by the beginnings of ISIS. Maybe the Mexican drug cartel sting was all a smoke screen. Seems somewhat plausible, as nobody was ever convicted for using any of the FF guns in Mexico.

    From an admin that thought we would think we would buy the video excuse after Benghazi, I would not take anything at face value from any of Obama’s cabal.

    See if Infowars will give you his contact? Might be an interesting rabbit hole.

  9. Seems your statement about alleged collusion between President Trump and Russia needs correction. The only thing correct is the many allegations, not any collusion. If any allegations were correct the main stream media would have demanded President Trump be sent to Guantanamo!!!

    What is interesting is there was Russia collusion but with DNC and Hillary campaign. The Trump investigation is only to obfuscate. We need AG Sessions to wake up!!!

  10. I’m sorry but there’s no there, there. Honestly, Atkinson is ginning up a story that just doesn’t hold together.

    Clickbait.

  11. Cindy[REDACTED] (@Bunky7777)

    So what is going to happen when all is said and done and all this money is wasted to investigate a non crime? Collusion is not illegal nor criminal. Sounds good though doesn’t it.

  12. What has amazed me is how a political oppo research document paid for by DNC ends up being part of the FBI’s request for FISA warrant to Spy on Trump. The question is the link between the DNC team paying for the original dossier and how it gets to FBI — and how FBI wanted to get them to continue the research. Amazing how that doesn’t interest the Main Stream Media at all…

  13. Regarding the news coverage about allegations of collusion between President Trump and Russia, you claim that “much of the reporting apparently accurate…”

    That statement right there is not the least bit accurate! “Much,” if not most, of the news coverage concerning Trump/Russia collusion is not only inaccurate, it’s laughable in its absurdity.

    You know better, Sharyl.

  14. Dear Sharyl, great work as always. I read your piece on Townhall. Another great article. I fear without the “Rising Up” of the People. Every crooked, corrupt individual involved in all the D.C. BS will go free. You know it, I know it and the American Public knows it. We CANNOT let all this Bull to get swept under the rug as usual. Americans need to come together and rid our government of those who CHOOSE to harm us and those who daily break laws We The People are FORCED to comply with. Keep up the great work.

  15. Look at NY AG Sneidermann, Carl Ghattas, Jim Rybicki, and others who are coordinating this coup. True Pundit will release the list next week. It’s scary.

  16. “apparently correct” is nazicrat Propagandist (fakenews inc. ) speak for we’re making it up as we go along & we will never ever print the truth. We are Alinskyite Social Fascist activist journalists aka Nazicrats & we never ever will let the truth of our nazicratisimo out of the bag….Never

  17. The news media has been peddling, usually unchallenged, the notion that some of the info in the dossier is correct. If Sharyl is buying that line, I wish she’d clarify exactly what she considers to be accurate about its contents.

  18. Dave in Mexico Beach

    Once all the players and their actions are put together the picture that forms is one of political collusion by the FBI/DOJ to elect Hillary Clinton and destroy the opposition. Americans can’t allow this to happen otherwise it becomes the new normal.

  19. We all know how the FBI, NSA and CIA has you under their sites and threat.

    Please watch your back sister warrior. We can not afford to lose your Dignity and Ethics.

    May the New Year bless you better than we deserve, the spoiled consumers who have let you down.

  20. These people claim Trump has no respect for “rule of law,” yet they are quite willing to commit criminal acts to ensure government stays under control of Bolshevik Criminals. Hypocrisy, thy name is (list all involved.) Purge them all!

  21. Sharyl: The real paydirt is probably in having legit law enforcement locate and interrogate members of the Obama sponsored hacker coterie given cover by CIA (NSA wouldn’t have them). The tossed their expensively developed tools ‘over the transom’ just after election to be able to continue to use them without obvious attribution now. Likely were bird dogging selected non commie prog politicians and LEOs … leads developed by their flagrantly illegal activity used to target with more explainable techniques. Wiki Vault 7 indicates well funded.

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