In a highly anticipated report on the FBI’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz called former director James Comey’s actions in the case “insubordinate,” according to Fox News.
Further, the report revealed politically motivated text messages between FBI Deputy Assistant Director Peter Strzok — who was a lead investigator on the Clinton case — and Special Counsel to the Deputy Director Lisa Page that contained “statements of hostility toward then candidate Donald Trump and statements of support for then candidate Clinton.”
In one exchange between the two, Page texted Strzok, “[Trump’s] not ever going to become president, right? Right?!”
Strzok replied, “No. No he won’t. We’ll stop it.”
The report was nearly 600 pages in length (read the full report here) and at times contained language that can only be characterized as highly critical of the former director Comey.
“We found that it was extraordinary and insubordinate for Comey to conceal his intentions from his superiors, the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General, for the admitted purpose of preventing them from telling him not to make the statement, and to instruct his subordinates in the FBI to do the same,” Horowitz’s report said.
Comey responded to the report in a Tweet that read, “I respect the DOJ IG office, which is why I urged them to do this review. The conclusions are reasonable, even though I disagree with some. People of good faith can see an unprecedented situation differently. I pray no Director faces it again. Thanks to IG’s people for hard work.”