True Pundit - Mueller Yanks Comey’s Immunity Deal; Falling Out Between Former FBI Bosses Puts Come

a reply to: Xcathdra

Difference is...Comey was not at the FBI anymore.

a reply to: Xcathdra

Comey’s private memos on Trump conversations contained classified material

More than half of the memos former FBI Director James Comey wrote as personal recollections of his conversations with President Trump about the Russia investigation have been determined to contain classified information, according to interviews with officials familiar with the documents.

This revelation raises the possibility that Comey broke his own agency’s rules and ignored the same security protocol that he publicly criticized Hillary Clinton over in the waning days of the 2016 presidential election.

Comey testified last month before the Senate Intelligence Committee that he considered the memos to be personal documents and that he shared at least one of them with a friend. He asked that friend, a law professor at Columbia University, to leak information from one memo to the news media in hopes of increasing pressure to get a special prosecutor named in the Russia case after Comey was fired as FBI director.

“So you didn’t consider your memo or your sense of that conversation to be a government document?” Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) asked Comey on June 8. “You considered it to be, somehow, your own personal document that you could share to the media as you wanted through a friend?”

“Correct,” Comey answered. “I understood this to be my recollection recorded of my conversation with the president. As a private citizen, I thought it important to get it out.”

Comey insisted in his testimony he believed his personal memos were unclassified, though he hinted one or two documents he created might have been contained classified information.

“I immediately prepared an unclassified memo of the conversation about Flynn and discussed the matter with FBI senior leadership,” he testified about the one memo he later leaked about former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

He added, “My view was that the content of those unclassified memorialization of those conversations was my recollection recorded.”

But when the seven memos Comey wrote regarding his nine conversations with Trump about Russia earlier this year were shown to Congress in recent days, the FBI claimed all were, in fact, deemed to be government documents.

While the Comey memos have been previously reported, this is the first time there has been a number connected to the amount of memos the ex-FBI chief wrote.

Four of the memos had markings making clear they contained information classified at the secret or confidential level, according to officials directly familiar with the matter.

A spokesman for the FBI on Sunday declined to comment.

FBI policy forbids any agent from releasing classified information or any information from ongoing investigations or sensitive operations without prior written permission, and it mandates that all records created during official duties are considered to be government property.

“Unauthorized disclosure, misuse, or negligent handling of information contained in the files, electronic or paper, of the FBI or which I may acquire as an employee of the FBI could impair national security, place human life in jeopardy, result in the denial of due process, prevent the FBI from effectively discharging its responsibilities, or violate federal law,” states the agreement all FBI agents sign.

It adds that “all information acquired by me in connection with my official duties with the FBI and all official material to which I have access remain the property of the United States of America” and that an agent “will not reveal, by any means, any information or material from or related to FBI files or any other information acquired by virtue of my official employment to any unauthorized recipient without prior official written authorization by the FBI.”

Comey indicated in his testimony that the memos were in his possession when he left the bureau, leaving him in a position to leak one of them through his friend to the media. But he testified that he has since turned them over to Robert Mueller, a former FBI chief who is now spearheading the investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the presidential race.

It is not clear whether Comey as director signed the same agreement as his agents, but the contract is considered the official policy of the bureau. It was also unclear when the documents were shown to Congress whether the information deemed secret or confidential was classified at the time Comey wrote the memos or determined so afterward, the sources said.

Congressional investigators had already begun examining whether Comey’s creation, storage and sharing of the memos violated FBI rules, but the revelation that four of the seven memos included some sort of classified information opens a new door of inquiry into whether classified information was mishandled, improperly stored or improperly shared.

That was the same issue for which the FBI investigated Clinton, a former secretary of State in the Obama administration, in 2015 and 2016 under Comey. Clinton used a private email server during her tenure that at times contained classified material.

Comey ultimately concluded in July 2016 that Clinton’s email practices were reckless, but that he could not recommend prosecution because FBI agents had failed to find enough evidence that she intended to violate felony statutes prohibiting the transmission of classified information through insecure practices. Clinton at the time was the Democratic nominee for president.

“Although we did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of the classified information, there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information," he said in a decision panned by Republicans and embraced by Democrats.

Now, congressional investigators are likely to turn their attention to the same issues to determine if Comey mishandled any classified information in his personal memos.

In order to make an assessment, congressional investigators will have to tackle key questions, such as where and how the memos were created, including whether they were written on an insecure computer or notepad; where and how the memos were stored, such as inside Comey's home, in a briefcase or on an insecure laptop; whether any memos were shown to private individuals without a security clearance and whether those memos contained any classified information; and when was it determined by the government that the memos contained classified information — before Comey took them and shared one or after.

One avenue for answering those questions is for a panel like Senate Intelligence, House Intelligence or Senate Judiciary to refer the matter to the Justice Department’s internal watchdog, the inspector general, or to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and its inspector general, aides said.

originally posted by: introvert
a reply to: Xcathdra

Difference is...Comey was not at the FBI anymore.

He was when the memos were created. He left the FBI with those documents. Documents the FBI has stated belong to them and are not personal property of Comey's.

a reply to: Xcathdra

Yes - the personal memos are government property and the FBI classified them as such.

For the sake of the investigation? They can classify the memos he handed over that were work related, that is their property, but they cannot classify his personal recollections, which he claims full ownership of, unless they became part of the investigation.

No it applies to more and i cited the portion above in response to shamrocks comments.

No. It doesn't apply. Comey was not at the FBI, nor a member of Trump's cabinet, as are the examples cited.

originally posted by: Shamrock6
a reply to: Xcathdra

inferior officers

Comey had already been fired when the memos leaked. So....

Yea.

and was FBI director when the memos were created. Those memos are not personal but the property of the FBI. He leaked one of those memos to the media - illegally.

originally posted by: Xcathdra

originally posted by: Shamrock6
a reply to: Xcathdra

inferior officers

Comey had already been fired when the memos leaked. So....

Yea.

and was FBI director when the memos were created. Those memos are not personal but the property of the FBI. He leaked one of those memos to the media - illegally.

Id love to hear the rationale of why it would be legal?

a reply to: Xcathdra

As I stated already, the question as to whether he violated the DoJ and FBI policies regarding material handling is not what I'm debating here. I'm debating the applicability of EP and that subject alone.

I think Comey was a moron for creating and leaking the documents in the manner he did. There's no point in trying to get me to argue about that point.

originally posted by: introvert
For the sake of the investigation? They can classify the memos he handed over that were work related, that is their property, but they cannot classify his personal recollections, which he claims full ownership of, unless they became part of the investigation.

No - any document created by a member of the FBI using FBI resources are the property of the FBI. The memos Comey created are the property of the FBI and as such are restricted documents.

originally posted by: introvert
No. It doesn't apply. Comey was not at the FBI, nor a member of Trump's cabinet, as are the examples cited.

I am not sure why you are not understanding that he was the FBI director when he created those documents. That makes those documents property of the FBI and not personal. The FBI stated this in response to Congressional inquiry.

Had Comey just talked about it then he would most likely have been ok. The fact he leaked the memo though is the legal issue since he could not legally do it.

originally posted by: Xcathdra

originally posted by: introvert
a reply to: Xcathdra

Difference is...Comey was not at the FBI anymore.

He was when the memos were created. He left the FBI with those documents. Documents the FBI has stated belong to them and are not personal property of Comey's.

From a source you used earlier:

The requested video is no longer available UP NEXT: Inform News. Coming Up... Autoplay: On | Off Former FBI Director James Comey’s release of his memos to The New York Times was a carefully orchestrated act that appeared designed to shield him from any legal repercussions, whistleblower and ethics lawyers say. While President Trump’s personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, is reportedly preparing a leak complaint against Comey, experts say the fight over Comey’s disclosures is more political than legal. “It’s clear that Comey understood the legal principles [protecting disclosures],” said Stephen Kohn, a lawyer who specializes in whistleblower cases.

But, he said, “Trump’s lawyer was also smart because he’s filing these complaints in places that don’t mean anything. It’s public relations.”

Get over it.

He covered his ass and he committed no crimes.

originally posted by: introvert
a reply to: Xcathdra

Difference is...Comey was not at the FBI anymore.

It just "happened" to have been leaked by of close friend of his. Right.

originally posted by: Shamrock6
a reply to: Xcathdra

As I stated already, the question as to whether he violated the DoJ and FBI policies regarding material handling is not what I'm debating here. I'm debating the applicability of EP and that subject alone.

I think Comey was a moron for creating and leaking the documents in the manner he did. There's no point in trying to get me to argue about that point.

Because of the manner in which he released the memo. A memo that was not legally his but that of the FBI. A memo that contained private information about his conversations with the President in a deliberative context.

The leaked memo violated EP by not obtaining permission first as a inferior officer in the executive branch.

Had he just talked about it he would have a defense. Releasing the memo was the illegal part.

ETA -
Setting that aside the other link I posted it said Trump waived EP for Comey to clear the situation up so its a moot point. It allowed him to speak to Congress.

my apologies.

It did NOT allow him to release the memos.

a reply to: introvert

No he violated the law by releasing the memo.

Not hard to understand. Even the FBI is stating you are wrong in that regard.

a reply to: Xcathdra

No - any document created by a member of the FBI using FBI resources are the property of the FBI. The memos Comey created are the property of the FBI and as such are restricted documents.

Did he specifically create the leaked memo in such a manner?

I am not sure why you are not understanding that he was the FBI director when he created those documents. That makes those documents property of the FBI and not personal. The FBI stated this in response to Congressional inquiry. Had Comey just talked about it then he would most likely have been ok. The fact he leaked the memo though is the legal issue since he could not legally do it.

Do you have a link to the FBI response to congress?

originally posted by: pavil

originally posted by: introvert
a reply to: Xcathdra

Difference is...Comey was not at the FBI anymore.

It just "happened" to have been leaked by of close friend of his. Right.

No. It was done on purpose. I'd like to know why Comey did what he did, but it appears what he did was not against any law.

a reply to: Xcathdra

No he violated the law by releasing the memo.

Which law?

Not hard to understand. Even the FBI is stating you are wrong in that regard.

Link?

a reply to: introvert

Yes he created such memos in such manner.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

.....“So you didn’t consider your memo or your sense of that conversation to be a government document?” Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) asked Comey on June 8. “You considered it to be, somehow, your own personal document that you could share to the media as you wanted through a friend?”

“Correct,” Comey answered. “I understood this to be my recollection recorded of my conversation with the president. As a private citizen, I thought it important to get it out.”

Comey insisted in his testimony he believed his personal memos were unclassified, though he hinted one or two documents he created might have been contained classified information.

“I immediately prepared an unclassified memo of the conversation about Flynn and discussed the matter with FBI senior leadership,” he testified about the one memo he later leaked about former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

He added, “My view was that the content of those unclassified memorialization of those conversations was my recollection recorded.”

But when the seven memos Comey wrote regarding his nine conversations with Trump about Russia earlier this year were shown to Congress in recent days, the FBI claimed all were, in fact, deemed to be government documents.

While the Comey memos have been previously reported, this is the first time there has been a number connected to the amount of memos the ex-FBI chief wrote.

Four of the memos had markings making clear they contained information classified at the secret or confidential level, according to officials directly familiar with the matter.

A spokesman for the FBI on Sunday declined to comment.

FBI policy forbids any agent from releasing classified information or any information from ongoing investigations or sensitive operations without prior written permission, and it mandates that all records created during official duties are considered to be government property.

“Unauthorized disclosure, misuse, or negligent handling of information contained in the files, electronic or paper, of the FBI or which I may acquire as an employee of the FBI could impair national security, place human life in jeopardy, result in the denial of due process, prevent the FBI from effectively discharging its responsibilities, or violate federal law,” states the agreement all FBI agents sign.

It adds that “all information acquired by me in connection with my official duties with the FBI and all official material to which I have access remain the property of the United States of America” and that an agent “will not reveal, by any means, any information or material from or related to FBI files or any other information acquired by virtue of my official employment to any unauthorized recipient without prior official written authorization by the FBI.”

Comey indicated in his testimony that the memos were in his possession when he left the bureau, leaving him in a position to leak one of them through his friend to the media. But he testified that he has since turned them over to Robert Mueller, a former FBI chief who is now spearheading the investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the presidential race. ...........

All memos he created were done so while he was the Director of the FBI and NOT after he left.

a reply to: Xcathdra

All memos he created were done so while he was the Director of the FBI and NOT after he left.

Does that include the memo he gave to his friend?

Remember, the friend had to hand over that specific memo to the FBi that was separate from the rest.

When was that memo created?

a reply to: Xcathdra

Trump didn't waive executive privilege. It was never invoked to begin with, so there was nothing to waive. EP has to be asserted, it is not assumed. That's why aides and Secretaries hold off on testifying before Congress: to allow the President time to decide whether or not to invoke the privilege. Beyond that, again, the President would have a hell of a time claiming conversations he himself has publicly referred to are now covered by EP, which is another reason Trump didn't try to assert EP.

I dunno man, this is starting to turn in to trying to have a conversation with a fence post. EP is not a blanket, always active thing so any argument that begins from the standpoint that it is a non-starter. It's not a law. It's not a requirement. It's an agreement, and as such the understanding is that before speaking about private conversations an underling will give the President a chance to invoke the privilege.

Releasing the memos, if they contain classified information, is illegal because they contained classified information. Not because they "violate" EP.

originally posted by: introvert
a reply to: Xcathdra

All memos he created were done so while he was the Director of the FBI and NOT after he left.

Does that include the memo he gave to his friend?

Remember, the friend had to hand over that specific memo to the FBi that was separate from the rest.

When was that memo created?

My understanding is the memo he turned over to his friend was one of the 7 memos he created while FBI director. If I am not mistaken comey had to return all 7 memos to Mueller, including the one provided to his friend for media release.

Here's something Mueller really did.
He pulled Manaforts bail deal.
Manafort was caught contacting another #ing russian. With ties to Russian intel.