IG Report: No bias?

[SunsetBengal]

The DOJ Inspector General's conclusion that agents weren't acting on political bias is a bit puzzling. While agents were labeled as insubordinate, and violating policy, the IG concluded that the agents didn't show any political bias, despite damning test messages between agents. Messages such as the ones between Lisa Page " (Trump's) not ever going to ever become President, right?" and "Right?", and Peter Strzok "No. No he's not. We'll stop it."


I'll let everyone draw their own conclusions, as to weather those communications show any indications of bias or not.


https://www.npr.org/2018/06/15/620135227/the-huge-justice-department-ig-report-is-out-what-comes-next

Quote:Mark Wilson/Getty Images
The Justice Department's internal watchdog agency unveiled a doorstop-sized report Thursday that provides an inflection point — but no closure — in the never-ending war over the 2016 presidential campaign and its aftermath.
The nearly 600-page opus by Inspector General Michael Horowitz offers political ammunition for both Republicans and Democrats and resolves a few key questions about what happened behind the scenes during some critical moments of the last presidential election year.
Read the report's executive summary here.
But it also confirmed that this saga has no end in sight. Here's what you need to know about what it said — and what will happen next.
The IG says the Justice Department and the feds did not go easy on Hillary Clinton
Horowitz's report excoriates then-FBI Director James Comey, then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch and others for violations of policy, insensitivity toward appearances and other conduct during 2016, but it said none of them acted out of political partisanship.


National Security
Report Condemns FBI Violations In 2016 Clinton Probe But Finds No Political Bias
That's important because charges of "bias" have formed the basis of months of political attacks by President Trump and his Republicans allies against federal law enforcement. Lynch and Comey let Clinton off the hook in the matter of her handling secret information on her personal email server while secretary of state, some in the GOP argue — and, what's more, people inside the Justice Department and the FBI continue working to "frame" Trump.
No, the IG said: "We found no evidence that the conclusions by department prosecutors were affected by bias or other improper considerations; rather, we determined that they were based on the prosecutors' assessment of the facts, the law, and past department practice."
That will not end the charges of "bias" and abuse of power by the president and his allies, especially since the IG report did uncover new evidence that individual people on the inside at the bureau, at least, were decidedly anti-Trump.

FBI officials talked about wanting to "stop" Trump from being elected ...
Exhibit A in the case about "bias" against Trump is the cache of text messages between an FBI lawyer who has since left the FBI and a senior special agent who is, so far, still employed by the bureau. The frank political opinions in those messages have embarrassed the bureau and there were still more in the report on Thursday.
In the newly-released exchange, attorney Lisa Page asks special agent Peter Strzok: "(Trump's) not ever going to become president right? Right?!" Strzok responds: "No. No he's not. We'll stop it."
The IG and congressional investigations have debunked conspiracy theories about a cabal of insiders using their power to unfairly attack Trump — and history records that, in point of fact, Trump was elected in 2016 — but this Page-Strzok exchange shows that there really were people inside the bureau who personally opposed his election.

National Security
Mueller Removed FBI Agent From Russia Probe Over Anti-Trump Messages
Page and Strzok also worked at one time on the unit conducting the investigation into Russia's attack on the 2016 election, and whether anyone on the Trump campaign was involved; they were removed after press reports about their correspondence.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters Thursday messages like those revealed in the report vindicated the worries Trump and his allies have expressed about the ability for federal law enforcement to be impartial now or going forward.
That comports precisely with Trump's political strategy of attacking Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller and his team, including the accusation that they are perpetuating a political "witch hunt" against him.
... but Strzok also wondered about the substance of the Russia investigation
An attorney for Strzok defended him on Thursday and cited evidence in the report about how strongly he pushed for aggressive investigative techniques in the Clinton email investigation.
There's also at least one key message that suggests Strzok and Page not only didn't join the Russia investigation with clear evidence in hand of wrongdoing by Trump or his campaign, but, instead, with open skepticism about whether they might discover any wrongdoing.
The two officials texted back and forth about offers to join Mueller's team at the time of his appointment. Although Strzok ultimately went on to join Mueller's unit, here's how he responded to a message from Page that mentioned the prospect that Trump might be impeached:
"you and I both know the odds are nothing," he wrote. "If I thought it was likely I'd be there no question. I hesitate in part because of my gut sense and concern there's no big there there."
Strzok later told investigators, as the IG report goes on to describe, that "My question [was] about whether or not this represented a large, coordinated conspiracy or not."