Top Dem says FBI is prioritizing Trump-sought investigations

[still_one]

A top senator is accusing the FBI of keeping Democrats in the dark about the agency’s disclosures to Republican-led Senate committees, revealing that the FBI later made a mea culpa and pledged not to repeat the apparent violations of congressional oversight norms.

Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Monday that the bureau was improperly providing documents and other information to Republicans, sometimes without even informing Democrats of their existence.

“I am deeply concerned that by violating its own policies the FBI is again succumbing to political pressure from Republicans to damage the Democratic presidential candidate,” Wyden wrote in his letter, obtained by POLITICO.

“Providing documents to committee majorities without disclosure to the minority is unacceptable,” Wyden later added. “Providing access to documents for review by Republican staffers without notice to, or inclusion of, Democratic staff is also unacceptable.”

Wyden’s letter is the latest salvo in the ongoing partisan battle over Senate Republicans’ investigations targeting top Obama administration officials, including the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden.

Those investigations are being helmed primarily by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Democrats have accused their GOP counterparts of using the probes to boost President Donald Trump’s reelection chances by targeting the president’s political opponents, most notably Biden.

Wyden listed several instances in which he says the FBI provided documents to the majority party without informing Democrats or giving them access to the information.

For example, according to Wyden, the FBI allowed Republican aides to view sensitive documents related to an FBI briefing Trump received shortly before assuming office, but Democrats were “not informed of or provided an opportunity to participate in this review.” A similar practice was followed for documents related to defensive briefings provided to the Trump campaign and presidential transition staff, Wyden said.

The senator cited an Aug. 7 letter from the FBI’s congressional affairs director stating that the agency has “surged resources in order to expedite the processing” of the GOP requests for information related to the Trump transition team. According to Wyden, the letter also states that the FBI’s compliance is due to “extraordinary and unique circumstances, and should not be construed as precedent setting in any regard.”

Wyden said FBI congressional affairs staffers “described these circumstances as an oversight that will be remedied going forward.” He also said that in a staff-level phone call earlier this month, those FBI aides “declined to discuss” whether the agency had determined that the Republicans’ investigations serve a valid legislative purpose.

“Nonetheless, the representatives of the FBI stated that providing this sort of highly sensitive information to committees without clear jurisdiction over such matters was indeed extraordinary and would not be repeated in the future,” Wyden added.

Representatives for the FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wyden’s letter. Taylor Foy, a spokesman for Grassley, noted that Wyden never requested such information from the FBI.

“Nevertheless, Sen. Grassley has frequently called on all administrations to respond to oversight requests from members of Congress’ majority and minority parties,” Foy added. “It appears that the FBI is committed to doing that with these requests — many of which date back to when Sen. Grassley chaired the Judiciary Committee.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/top-dem-says-fbi-is-prioritizing-trump-sought-investigations/ar-BB183XaT?ocid=msedgdhp

Just a reminder COMEY was FBI

[Baitball Blogger]

1. Comey was also a Republican.

Comey also played favorites and exposed the investigation on Clinton and kept mum about the investigation on Trump.

I think there is more to Comey.

[HuskyOffset]

2. Hmmmmm...

Am I correct in translating these statements:

According to Wyden, the letter also states that the FBI’s compliance is due to “extraordinary and unique circumstances, and should not be construed as precedent setting in any regard."

“Nonetheless, the representatives of the FBI stated that providing this sort of highly sensitive information to committees without clear jurisdiction over such matters was indeed extraordinary and would not be repeated in the future,” Wyden added.

to mean: "it's OK for the Republicans to do now, but Democrats will not be allowed to do it in the future."

???

[still_one]

3. You got it