Newly Declassified DOJ Watchdog Report Shows FBI Cut Corners in Clinton Email Investigation
I'm archiving "Clinton annex" here to make its text searchable. You can download the annex in PDF format via the link below:
Check my other posts for the previous parts. This is part 4.
III. (redacted) REPORTS RELEVANT TO LYNCH AND COMEY AND IMPACT ON THE MIDYEAR INVESTIGATION
(redacted) In this section we discuss two (redacted) reports that the FBI obtained in (redacted) and (redacted). Both reports included information suggesting that Lynch was attempting to exert influence on the Midyear investigation, or was providing information about the investigation to former Secretary Clinton's campaign. In addition, the first (redacted) report suggested that Comey was taking steps to extend the Midyear investigation to help undermine the Democratic Party.
(redacted) As described in this section, witnesses told us that the reports were not credible on their face for various reasons, including that they contained information that the FBI knew to be "objectively false." Despite this assessment, Comey told the OIG that he was concerned that the information might leak beginning in mid-June 2016, and that this concern was a factor in his decision not to inform Lynch of his plan to make a public statement on July 5, 2016.
A. (redacted) Discovery of the Reports in "Post-8 Data"
(redacted) In (redacted) the (redacted) brought to the attention of the FBI Cyber Division two Russian-language documents that mentioned Attorney General Loretta Lynch. These documents were identified in the "Post-8 data" and were translated into English by an FBI linguist.
(redacted) Both documents app4ear to be (redacted) reports discussing purported communications between Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was at the time the Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and two different individuals who worked for the Open Society Foundations, a family of offices and foundations created by George Soros. The FBI later determined that (redacted) would have likely obtained any communications underlying the two reports (if such communications in fact existed) through a cyber intrusion into the Atlantic Council, a private think tank.
(redacted) The first (redacted) report is dated (redacted) and the verbatim translation states in relevant part:
(redacted) Recent information appearing in the media about the FBI investigating possible facts of corruption connected with the State Department [under Clinton] and the granting of preferences to Clinton Fund donors created a negative reaction within the party, though this information was known to Democratic Party leaders since June 2015. According to Wassermann Schultz [sic], so far the FBI does not have any hard evidence against Hillary Clinton because data was removed from the mail servers just in time.
(redacted) Obama is not in the mood to mar the very final segment of his presidency, his legacy with a scandal around a leading nominee for the [D]emocratic [P]arty. To deal with this he is using Attorney General Loretta Lynch to mount a pressure on FBI [D]irector James Comey. Alas, so far, with no concrete results.
(redacted) Comey is leaning more to [R]epublicans, and most likely he will be dragging this investigation until the presidential elections; in order to effectively undermine the chances for the [Democratic Party] to win in the presidential elections....
(redacted) The second (redacted) report is dated (redacted), and the verbatim translation states in relevant part:
(redacted) By way of forming a consensus relative to the candidacy of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, leading the Democratic Party (DP), sanctioned use of all administrative levers to remove possibly negative effects of the FBI investigation of the business of the Clinton Foundation and the email correspondence of the State Department.
(redacted) Based upon information from Wassermann Schultz [sic], the FBI does not anticipate any kind of direct evidence against Clinton, as there was timely deletion from the email servers. The political director of the Hillary Clinton staff, Amanda Renteria [PH], regularly receives information from Loretta Lynch of the Department of Justice, on the plans and intentions of the FBI. Active work is being done on clarification mostly with potential witnesses: the primary witnesses are a number of computer specialists in the Clinton private circle. They represent the only tools which may be used in this matter. Therefore, the threat is minimal....
(redacted) The FBI Cyber Division provided copies of the (redacted) reports to the Midyear team in (redacted) 2016, respectively. Lawyers in the FBI OGC Cyber Law Unit and Cyber Division analysts also brought copies of the (redacted) reports to Deputy General Counsel Trisha Anderson, who had been involved in issues related to the collection since mid (redacted)
(redacted) According to an email dated March 18, 2016, at the request of Peter Strzok, the lead agent on the Midyear investigation, and the Lead Analyst on Midyear, a Cyber Division analyst searched the "post-8 data" for additional information about the reports. These searches revealed an (redacted) one of the reports, as well as information suggesting that (redacted) Russian of unknown affiliation were involved in drafting and editing both reports.
(redacted) Strzok and the Lead Analyst also requested a Counterintelligence Division analyst to run keyword searches on the "Post-8 data" for various names and terms used in the two (redacted) reports, including Lynch, Clinton, and Comey. These searches revealed variations, drafts, or synopses of the original two reports, but not any underlying communications that the reports purported to describe.