General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJust to make this clear--3. The report is vindication for Clinton
I had a good chuckle yesterday when Trump said the IG Report vindicated him!! He will never change his mind about this issue.
Jun. 15, 2018, at 9:04 AM
The 500-Page Inspector Generals Report In 900 Words
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-500-page-inspector-generals-report-in-900-words/
By Perry Bacon Jr.
Clinton Emails Inspector General
The FBI seal.
Jose Luis Magana / AP
The long-awaited report by the Justice Departments inspector general examining the departments conduct in the Hillary Clinton email investigation came out on Thursday, and, if nothing else, its exhaustive. At more than 500 pages, it carefully and meticulously unpacks how organizations and individuals acquitted themselves before and after the 2016 election. Of course, very quickly, much of the nuance was stripped out; interested parties President Trump, his supporters, former FBI Director James Comey all found in the report plenty of ammunition to load the gun they were already holding. Cherrypicking aside, however, the report did come to some conclusions.
So lets look at the legal, policy and political implications of the report but also try to keep the nuance while losing some of the complexity (and adding some brevity). Here are four key takeaways from those 500+ pages in about 900 words. (Note: The report is overwhelmingly about the Justice Departments and the FBIs conduct in the Clinton email probe, not the investigations surrounding Trump or his campaigns alleged connections to Russia. Inspector General Michael Horowitz is now looking into elements of the Trump investigation.)
1. Comey looks bad procedurally but not legally ....................
..............That and the damage this report does to Comeys reputation will help Tru mp in continuing to cast the former FBI chief as a villain and the FBI as tarnished. But thats a question of politics, not substance.
2. The FBI looks bad politically but not legally
Remember, this was largely a probe of how the FBI handled the Clinton investigation, not the Trump one. That said, the report highlights some problematic behavior by FBI officials that could hurt the bureaus credibility in the Russia probe. .................
3. The report is vindication for Clinton
The report all but says that Comey was wrong to go public in the ways he did in the Clinton investigation in 2016. This is basically what Clinton has long argued. The report also basically confirms that she should not have been charged with any crime for email use. Of course, that doesnt undo Comeys actions, which may have cost Clinton the election. But still.
4. The report doesnt mean much for the Russia probe and thats what really matters now
The inspector generals report doesnt undermine the Russia investigation not on substance, at least........................................
saidsimplesimon
(7,888 posts)any vindication. imo. This "witch hunt" aimed at honorable, First Lady Clinton, is just a continuation of the "bad old days" of Republican spin. F'em and send them out of public service as they are destroyers, not creators of Democracy, truth, and the American Way.
Start with getting out the vote this November, our Republic is in grave danger without US.
riversedge
(70,302 posts)thegoose
(3,115 posts)This was biased against Hillary from the beginning. It was all tilted in this asshole's favor. And look where we are?
By the way, her "basket of Deplorables" comment was SOOOOOOO CORRECT!
Wwcd
(6,288 posts)I'ts like the retraction of an intended smear, days later & hidden in small print on the back page.
There are items in the Report that are worrisome, however.
I fear the screeches of "Taint" coming from Trump's attys, used as a means to challenge Mueller's investigation, should it end up with the SCourt.
There's a reason McConnel did backflips to prevent Pres Obama from appointing a SC Judge & why Gorsuch was seated .
They knew they had to cover all the legal bases, in the event the coup was challenged.
I wonder also, out of the thousands pf FBI email 's sent back & forth, why the two agents personal ones, came to be among the rest & why they were in there at all. And that they were stated in a way to someday open the door to tainted evidence.
Rudy & his rogue FBI agents know how to plant evidence, just in case.
UGH. Rudy's always been a crook protecting the mobster Trump.
mucifer
(23,565 posts)It's sickening.