Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz has already harshly criticized James Comey in two high-profile investigations, so the watchdog’s impending report on abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act could spell trouble for the former FBI director.
Comey handled the FBI’s criminal investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s illicit private email server and her mishandling of classified information, while simultaneously leading the bureau’s counterintelligence inquiry into alleged ties between the Russian government and Trump’s campaign.
Horowitz released a report on the Clinton investigation in the summer of 2018, criticizing Comey for usurping authority that wasn’t his. His August report discussed one aspect of the Trump-Russia investigation — Comey’s mishandling of his memos of conversations with Trump and leaking of information on retired Gen. Michael Flynn. Both reports were unsparing in their critiques of Comey’s tendency to violate DOJ and FBI policies and to act on his feelings instead.
“We have previously faulted Comey for acting unilaterally and inconsistent with Department policy,” Horowitz wrote last month. “Comey’s unauthorized disclosure of sensitive law enforcement information about the Flynn investigation merits similar criticism.”
There’s little reason to believe Horowitz’s next report won’t be as bad or worse for Comey. Since 2018, Horowitz has been reviewing the FISA surveillance warrants targeting former Trump campaign associate Carter Page, and the watchdog is likely scrutinizing every aspect of the FISA approval process, including the FBI’s extensive use of an unverified dossier compiled by British ex-spy Christopher Steele through funding from the Clinton campaign. The head of the FBI plays an integral role in the FISA process — Comey signed and approved three of the four FISA warrant applications and renewals.
Steele put his salacious allegations together in 2016 at the behest of the opposition research firm Fusion GPS, which had been hired by the Clinton campaign through its law firm, Perkins Coie. The FBI knew Steele was desperate for Trump to lose, his dossier was flawed, and he was receiving funding from Clinton, but these facts weren’t revealed to the FISA Court.
Horowitz’s 568-page report on the Clinton investigation was released in June 2018, concluding Comey’s actions were “extraordinary and insubordinate” when he announced Clinton wouldn’t be charged in a speech on July 5, 2016. Comey said Clinton’s email practices were “extremely careless” but also believed “no reasonable prosecutor” would bring charges against her. Comey’s speech was criticized by both Republicans and Democrats.
Comey gave the speech after Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s tarmac meeting with President Bill Clinton in June 2016. Comey told Horowitz he feared that Lynch making the decision to decline charges against Clinton would result in “corrosive doubt” about the process, so Comey wanted to ensure “a sense of justice more broadly in the country — that things are fair not fixed, and they’re done independently.” Horowitz wrote that “Comey did not raise any of these concerns with Lynch” beforehand and concealed his intentions from the DOJ until the morning of his speech. Horowitz didn’t find Comey’s explanations reasonable or persuasive.
“We concluded that Comey’s unilateral announcement was inconsistent with Department policy and violated long-standing Department practice and protocol by, among other things, criticizing Clinton’s uncharged conduct,” Horowitz said. ”We also found that Comey usurped the authority of the Attorney General, and inadequately and incompletely described the legal position of Department prosecutors.”
When Trump fired Comey in May 2017, he cited a letter written by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein which referenced Horowitz’s critiques.
Horowitz’s 83-page report in August harshly criticized Comey’s decision to remove his memos from the FBI after he was fired and to provide contents from the memos to a friend to leak to the media. Comey testified in 2017 that he hoped leaking this information “might prompt the appointment of a special counsel.” Horowitz concluded Comey’s leaks were “an attempt to force the Department to take official investigative actions.” Horowitz said Comey violated the FBI’s guidelines, making it clear it was unacceptable for Comey to use official FBI documents to advance his own goals.
“Comey had several other lawful options available to him to advocate for the appointment of a special counsel, which he told us was his goal in making the disclosure,” Horowitz wrote. “What was not permitted was the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive investigative information, obtained during the course of FBI employment, in order to achieve a personally desired outcome.”
Comey told Horowitz he “had to” to take these actions “if I love this country … and I love the Department of Justice and I love the FBI.” But DOJ’s watchdog again shot down Comey’s reasoning and said the fired bureau director “set a dangerous example” for the rest of the FBI.
Horowitz’s sent a criminal referral to DOJ over Comey’s memos, but DOJ declined to prosecute. Whether that pattern will repeat itself following the upcoming FISA report remains to be seen.
Comey defended the FBI’s use of the Steele dossier earlier this year, saying the FBI tried to see how much of the unverified information could be replicated. But he admitted the dossier wasn’t verified when it was used in the three FISA filings he signed off on them and certified them as verified, saying “that work was ongoing when I was fired.”
Horowitz’s highly anticipated report is expected in the coming weeks.
