IG report top takeaways: Comey FBI rife with Trump hatred; officials got cozy with reporters

Inspector general Michael Horowitz has released the DOJ's highly anticipated report on the FBI's handling of the Clinton email investigation. Here are some of the biggest takeaways from the IG report:

James Comey, several FBI officials used personal email for official business

The former FBI director used his personal email accounts to conduct official government business, which is a violation of protocol and quite ironic given that Comey was tasked to investigate Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.

“We identified numerous instances in which Comey used a personal email account to conduct unclassified FBI business,” inspector general Michael Horowitz states in his report.

It wasn’t only Comey who used a personal email account. The IG report found that FBI agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page used their personal emails to conduct official business.

Several FBI officials leaked to the press

The Obama FBI under Comey appears to have had an institutional habit of developing cozy relationships with media reporters.

“We identified numerous FBI employees, at all levels of the organization and with no official reason to be in contact with the media, were nevertheless in frequent contact with reporters,” the report states.

The report also found that several FBI employees developed social relationships with reporters.

“In addition, we identified instances where FBI employees improperly received benefits from reporters, including tickets to sporting events, golfing outings, drinks and meals, and admittance to nonpublic social events,” the report adds.

The inspector general announced that there will be separate reports on investigations launched into the FBI officials’ conduct concerning media relations.

A senior FBI official pledged to stop Trump from becoming president

Peter Strzok, the former chief of the FBI’s counterespionage unit, promised to stop Trump from becoming president.

In a text message exchange, Strzok told fellow FBI agent Lisa Page — who was his mistress and a subordinate to fired FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe — that “we’ll stop” Trump from becoming president.

Comey slow-rolled Anthony Weiner laptop investigation with ludicrous claim

Comey told investigators that he did not immediately act upon emails seized from disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s laptop because he claimed that he didn't necessarily know Weiner was married to top Clinton aide Huma Abedin.

It was later revealed that several emails on Weiner’s laptop contained classified information.

IG report: “Several FBI employees who played critical roles in the investigation sent political messages” 

The aforementioned statement shows that there was widespread political bias across the FBI. However, the IG somehow determined that the conclusions of the Clinton email investigation were not infected with political bias. This does not rule out the possibility that other FBI investigations, such as the Russia counterintelligence investigation, were rife with political motives.

FBI attorney’s anti-Trump text: “Viva le Resistance” 

The IG report found that an FBI attorney involved in the Clinton investigation (who later went on to join the Mueller probe) texted the above anti-Trump message to a colleague in the Department of Justice). The unnamed attorney left the Mueller probe in February of this year after his private messages surfaced.

You can read the entire 500+ page Inspector General report here

Editor's note: This article has been updated to remove a quoted phrase, "didn't know," that was not an accurate quotation from James Comey. 

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