OIG: Priestap Made the Decision to Open Crossfire Hurricane

DOCUMENTED

J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.

J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building. Ajay Suresh. CC BY 2.0.

“Following receipt of the FFG information, a decision was made by the FBI’s then Counterintelligence Division (CD) Assistant Director (AD), E.W. ‘Bill’ Priestap, to open Crossfire Hurricane…” Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz, written statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee, December 11, 2019

That is the Inspector General, not a column. Horowitz told the Senate the opening decision was Priestap’s and “reflected a consensus reached after multiple days of discussions and meetings among senior FBI officials.” The date on the case is July 31, 2016. The predication Horowitz described was information from a Friendly Foreign Government about a conversation involving campaign adviser George Papadopoulos.

The OIG review’s examination text, hosted by the Department of Justice, says Priestap “approved the case opening” and told investigators that the FFG information plus the FBI’s cyber intrusion work on the July 2016 Democratic National Committee hacks created a counterintelligence concern the Bureau was “obligated” to investigate. It also says Priestap was Strzok’s supervisor and “the official who ultimately made the decision to open the investigation.”

Horowitz separately wrote that Priestap’s exercise of discretion complied with Department and FBI policies, and that the OIG “did not find documentary or testimonial evidence that political bias or improper motivation influenced his decision.” That sentence is an official finding about his opening decision. It is not a finding that the later FISA applications were clean. It is not a jury verdict. It is not a finding that the investigation never touched a campaign.

An Electronic Communication opening a case is not a court. A news story is not the opening EC. Read the OIG pages.

Sources

Michael E. Horowitz, Inspector General. Written statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee. December 11, 2019. oig.justice.gov/node/1100

Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General. Review of Four FISA Applications and Other Aspects of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane Investigation (examination excerpt). December 2019. justice.gov/storage/120919-examination.pdf

Same review, public copy. oversight.gov

Opinion

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

Compiler take

He opened it. Horowitz put his name on the decision. The Bureau then ran a counterintelligence case into a major-party campaign. OIG later said the opening paperwork met a low predication bar and that they did not find a document proving his bias. That is not the same as saying the country got a fair shake. The FISA wreckage is the next chapter, and it is not his alibi for the whole shop.