In light of the fact that the Inspector General’s report ignored the questions about anti-Clinton bias in the FBI’s New York field office and questions about whether Comey’s actions were driven by fears of leaks from that same office, this seems highly relevant.
Last night on Fox News, Rep. Devin Nunes explained that in late September 2016, “good FBI agents” came to him and told him they’d found the Weiner laptop with Huma Abedin’s emails with Secretary Clinton.
Marshall says the reference to late September 2016 indicates the agents basically went to Nunes and other Capitol Hill Republicans immediately after they found the laptop.
I worked with FBI agents as a reporter, and the important thing to remember is they're cops -- with all the good and bad that implies. Like cops, they're mostly conservative and frequently biased. They're smarter than your average beat cop, but they have the same flaws, like a strong belief in the unerring accuracy of their own instincts.
Combine that with access to the power of the federal government, and you can see the problem. This is why they have all those rules about their conduct.
So the same FBI agents who were leaking anti-Clinton information to Republican members of Congress should be investigated, and if verified, fired. Let's see what happens.
These are the name of the senior FBI officials at the NYC office:
Assistant Director in Charge
William F. Sweeney was named assistant director in charge of New York Division in July 2016.
Special Agents in Charge
John Brosnan
Gregory W. Ehrie
George Ennis
Aristedes Mahairas
Charles McGonigal
C. Bryan Paarmann
UPDATE: More from Josh Marshall.
