FBI referred 14 employees for leaking, fired only 4
The FBI referred 14 employees to the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility for leaking sensitive or classified information, but only four were fired, according to bureau documents obtained by Judicial Watch.
“No wonder the FBI was leaking so profusely. Collectively, these documents show a show lenient treatment for evident criminal activity,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton in a statement.
He noted that even though Andrew McCabe was fired and apparently, according to the documents, referred for a criminal investigation for his leak, the former acting FBI director has not been prosecuted.
The New York Times and the Washington Post frequently published stories on the new debunked Trump-Russia collusion allegations citing anonymous sources close to the investigation.
Judicial Watch said a referral that appears to be directed at McCabe was closed March 20, 2018, four days after McCabe was fired for leaking to the media and lacking “candor” in statements under oath.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions, according to the document, made the final decision to dismiss the employee who had “a remarkable performance record” and “was facing unprecedented challengers and pressures.”
Some of the employees referred to the OPR were suspended without pay for periods ranging from one to 45 days.
An unidentified employee cited for misuse of an FBI database and unauthorized disclosure of classified/law-enforcement sensitive/grand jury information was given a 12-day suspension.
Another was accused of “[i]nvestigative deficiency – improper handling of documents or property in the care, custody or control of the government; unauthorized disclosure – classified/law enforcement sensitive/grand jury information.” OPR gave the employee a 10-calendar day suspension without pay.
Last week, Judicial Watch released records it obtained showing that former FBI Director James Comey — as did former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — held classified documents on an insecure server at home.
However, the Justice Department has decided not to prosecute Comey for leaking the documents, which were memos of his interactions with President Trump that contained classified information, according to a source who spoke to Fox News.
DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz had referred Comey for potential prosecution.
“Everyone at the DOJ involved in the decision said it wasn’t a close call,” an official told Fox News. “They all thought this could not be prosecuted.”
Comey wrote memos of his meetings with Trump prior to his firing. He then passed them to a friend who gave them to the New York Times.
Fox News reported that one of the reasons the DOJ declined prosecution was that the memos labeled “confidential” were given that designation after the fact.
The inspector general report related to Comey’s leaks is separate from Horowitz’s review of alleged Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) abuses.
The report on FISA abuses, essentially a review of the origins of the FBI’s Trump-Russia collusion investigation, has been delayed due to a criminal probe of the matter by Attorney General Bill Barr and U.S. Attorney John Durham.
WND reported former U.S. attorney general Joseph diGenova has pointed out that Durham is conducting a criminal investigation with a federal grand jury of senior former Obama administration officials.
Further, DiGenova has said, Durham’s criminal probe has prompted FBI officials and others to ask Horowitz’s team to re-interview them so they can “correct their testimony.”
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