NYT Claim: Horowitz Report Is a Whitewash; Will Claim That DOJ Only Made "Sloppy" Oopsie Accidents, But Did Not Act With Bias

Spin?

But if it's spin, why lower expectations which can later be easily exceeded?

Who knows. These people are not intelligent. They do a lot of stupid things, as stupid people tend to do.

Russia Inquiry Review Is Said to Criticize F.B.I. but Rebuff Claims of Biased Acts<

A watchdog report will portray the pursuit of a wiretap of an ex-Trump adviser as sloppy, but it also debunks some accusations by Trump allies of F.B.I. wrongdoing.

A highly anticipated report by the Justice Department's inspector general is expected to sharply criticize lower-level F.B.I. officials as well as bureau leaders involved in the early stages of the Trump-Russia investigation, but to absolve the top ranks of abusing their powers out of bias against President Trump, according to people briefed on a draft.

Investigators for the inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, uncovered errors and omissions in documents related to the wiretapping of a former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page -- including that a low-level lawyer, Kevin Clinesmith, altered an email that officials used to prepare to seek court approval to renew the wiretap, the people said.

Mr. Horowitz referred his findings about Mr. Clinesmith to prosecutors for a potential criminal charge. Mr. Clinesmith left the Russia investigation in February 2018 after the inspector general identified him as one of a handful of F.B.I. officials who expressed animus toward Mr. Trump in text messages and resigned about two months ago, after the inspector general’s team interviewed him.

...

More broadly, Mr. Horowitz’s report, to be made public on Dec. 9, portrays the overall effort to seek the wiretap order and its renewals as sloppy and unprofessional, according to the people familiar with it. He will also sharply criticize as careless one of the F.B.I. case agents in New York handling the matter, they said.

At the same time, however, the report debunks a series of conspiracy theories and insinuations about the F.B.I. that Mr. Trump and his allies have put forward over the past two years, the people said, though they cautioned that the report is not complete. The New York Times has not reviewed the draft, which could contain other significant findings.

So, at least, the Times admits it really only hears what it hears.

Trump, meanwhile, is making much more expansive claims about what the Horowitz report will say.

"Now, what you're going to see, I predict, will be perhaps the biggest scandal in the history of our country," the president continued, noting that he is letting Attorney General William Barr "handle it."

"And, if it's historic, you're going to see something. And then, perhaps even more importantly, you have [John Durham's report] coming out shortly thereafter -- the U.S. attorney -- and he's already announced it's criminal," he added.

I don't have much hope for the Horowitz report. It's probably Durham or nothing.

posted by Ace of Spades at 04:37 PM

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