Horowitz: No Documentary Evidence Bias Drove His Opening Decision

OFFICIAL FINDING

Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building in Washington, D.C.

Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building. Voice of America. U.S. government work.

“We concluded that AD Priestap’s exercise of discretion in opening the investigation was in compliance with Department and FBI policies, and we did not find documentary or testimonial evidence that political bias or improper motivation influenced his decision.” Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz, Senate Judiciary written statement, December 11, 2019

That is an official finding about one decision: opening Crossfire Hurricane. Horowitz also wrote that the information in the FBI’s possession was limited, that predication policy set a low threshold, and that the case was opened for an authorized purpose with sufficient factual predication under that policy. He noted there was no requirement to consult or even notify Department officials before opening a counterintelligence case on a major-party presidential campaign.

The same OIG review found serious errors in the Carter Page FISA applications — errors attributed to other FBI personnel, including later criminal conduct by Kevin Clinesmith. Those findings are not a finding that Priestap signed a false FISA. Do not upgrade. Do not collapse.

Commentary that OIG “cleared the entire FBI” is false as a description of the report. Commentary that Horowitz “proved Priestap opened a hoax” is also false. The report said what it said about his opening decision, and something else about FISA.

Sources

Opinion

The following is commentary by this site. It is not a finding of fact and not a legal conclusion.

Compiler take

They love the sentence about no documentary evidence of his bias. They skip the sentence about a low bar and no duty to tell the Department before targeting a campaign. A clean opening memo is not a clean investigation. Horowitz already proved that on FISA. Priestap still owns the start button.