FBI News
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a major focus of The Daily Signal, with reporting, analysis, and commentary on investigations, surveillance, and political controversies.
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4 Takeaways From Top Obama DOJ Official’s Testimony on ‘Rogue’ FBI
A top Obama Justice Department official told a Senate committee Wednesday that she wasn’t aware of many aspects of the FBI’s initial investigation of any connection between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign, and was shocked by others. Sally Yates, deputy attorney general during the Obama administration, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about issues…Fred Lucas -
Why Didn’t the FBI Record the Flynn Interview?
There are so many angles to the FBI-Michael Flynn imbroglio, and most have been covered in great depth across a divergent set of viewpoints. But one aspect that has not been covered, and that opens up a wider lens into FBI policy, is the fact that the FBI refuses to audiotape, much less videotape, interviews…Hans von Spakovsky -
Sen. Lindsey Graham Sets Vote to Subpoena Comey, Brennan, Others Involved in FBI Surveillance
The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on June 4 whether to authorize subpoenas for documents and testimony from more than 50 current or former government officials, including James Comey and John Brennan, as part of the panel’s investigation into abuse of the surveillance process during Crossfire Hurricane. The committee will debate and vote June 4…Chuck Ross -
Text Messages Reveal Peter Strzok Intervened in FBI’s Planned Closure of Michael Flynn Investigation
Former FBI counterintelligence official Peter Strzok intervened at the last minute in early 2017 to stop the bureau from closing an investigation into Michael Flynn, the incoming national security adviser, according to government files unsealed Thursday. The FBI was investigating Flynn and several other Trump campaign associates at the time for possible links to Russia…Chuck Ross -
FBI Ratchets Up Efforts to Combat Crimes Exploiting COVID-19 Fears
The country is (rightly) laser-focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, and the president’s daily press briefings with the coronavirus task force led by Vice President Mike Pence have been a ratings hit because people want to know what’s going on. The American public is leaning on our medical superheroes (the medical practitioners and researchers) to lead…Steven Bucci -
FBI’s Failure to Be ‘Scrupulously Accurate’ With FISA Information Undermines Public Trust and the Process
According to a report this week from the Department of Justice’s inspector general, the FBI failed to be “scrupulously accurate” with information presented to a secret federal court to seek national security-related warrants pursuant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. But a closer read of the report on the FBI’s relationship with the Foreign Intelligence…John G. Malcolm -
6 Key Points From Report to Secret Court on FBI Spying
A former Obama administration lawyer who long defended investigating President Donald Trump’s Russian ties and spying on a campaign aide concludes in a new report that the FBI’s proposed reforms are “insufficient” to prevent abuses from occurring again. The new criticism follows Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s scathing report last month on the FBI’s…Fred Lucas -
Mark Meadows: GOP Will Appeal to Surveillance Court Over Choice to Oversee FBI Reforms
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said Monday that congressional Republicans plan to appeal to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) over its choice to oversee the FBI’s surveillance reforms in the wake of a damning inspector general’s report regarding the bureau’s wiretapping of Carter Page. In an interview with journalist Sara Carter, Meadows criticized the FISC’s pick of…Chuck Ross -
Investigation of Trump-Russia Probe Looks at ‘Actors,’ Agencies Beyond FBI
Attorney General William Barr provided new details of a federal prosecutor's criminal investigation of the origins of the Trump-Russia probe in an interview on Fox News Channel, saying the prosecutor is looking into the activities of federal agencies outside the FBI as well as those of “private actors.” “He’s not just looking at the FBI,”…Chuck Ross -
Attorney General Dismisses Comey’s ‘Nonsense’ on FBI Probe of Trump Campaign
Attorney General William Barr hit back in an interview at James Comey over the former FBI director’s attempts to downplay his role in Crossfire Hurricane, the FBI's counterintelligence investigation of the Trump campaign. In an interview Wednesday with Fox News Channel, Barr disputed Comey’s claim in a “Fox News Sunday” interview that the FBI investigation…Chuck Ross -
Watchdog: FBI Should Have Considered Shutting Down Trump Campaign Probe
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz said Wednesday that the FBI should have considered shutting down its investigation and surveillance of Trump campaign adviser Carter Page much earlier than the bureau did, because the probe was not yielding any evidence that he was working as a Russian agent. “If you’re getting information that isn’t advancing…Chuck Ross -
6 Big Takeaways From Watchdog’s Senate Testimony About FBI Spying on Trump Campaign
The Justice Department’s inspector general, appearing Wednesday before a Senate committee, explained his findings of 17 inaccuracies and omissions by FBI agents in seeking a secret court’s approval to spy on a Trump campaign aide. Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report, released Monday, concluded that the Obama administration’s FBI failed to follow regular safeguards in obtaining…Fred Lucas -
IG’s Report Reveals 4 Spurious Allegations as Basis for FBI Spying on Trump Campaign Aide
A shocking report by the Justice Department’s inspector general lays bare the FBI’s “serious performance failures” in conducting a counterintelligence operation in 2016 against the Trump campaign. Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s 434-page report details numerous mistakes, errors, and omissions by FBI personnel in four applications for special warrants to spy on Trump campaign aide Carter…Hans von Spakovsky -
6 Takeaways From the IG Report on FBI’s Spying on Trump Campaign
The Justice Department’s in-house watchdog released a 476-page report Monday that criticizes some of the FBI’s actions in beginning an investigation of the Trump campaign’s connection with Russian election meddling, but does not concludes that political bias drove the agency’s probe. Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report does answer many questions and verifies some suspicions about…Fred Lucas -
4 Big Questions About the IG Report on FBI Surveillance of Trump Campaign
An internal watchdog’s report on Justice Department surveillance of President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign is slated to arrive in early December—about the same time as a likely House vote on whether to impeach the president. “Now what you’re going to see, I predict, will be perhaps the biggest scandal in the history of our country,”…Fred Lucas -
Justice Demands Former FBI Official McCabe Should Be Prosecuted
Former FBI Deputy Director and Acting Director Andrew McCabe deserves to be prosecuted on charges of lying to investigators. Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen has rejected a request by McCabe to block such a prosecution, Fox News reported Thursday after U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie Liu recommended prosecuting McCabe. This is the right decision by Rosen…Hans von Spakovsky -
The Justice Department’s IG Delivers a Scathing Rebuke of Ex-FBI Director Comey
The Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General on Thursday released its long-awaited “Report of Investigation of Former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey’s Disclosure of Sensitive Investigative Information and Handling of Certain Memoranda.” Between Jan. 6, 2017, and April 11 of that same year, then-FBI Director James Comey memorialized seven one-on-one conversations he…John G. Malcolm -
DOJ Watchdog Says James Comey Violated FBI Policy in Handling Sensitive Memos
The Justice Department’s inspector general sharply criticized James Comey on Thursday, saying in a report that the former FBI director violated bureau policy in the handling of memos that he wrote after conversations with President Donald Trump. The report details how Comey handled seven memos he wrote between Jan. 6, 2017, and April 11, 2017, following interactions…Chuck Ross -
Top FBI Veteran Andrew McCabe Sues Over His Firing
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe sued the Justice Department and FBI on Thursday for his firing last year, which he says was politically-motivated retribution for failing to support President Donald Trump. In the complaint, McCabe accuses the Justice Department and FBI of “unlawful retaliation for his refusal to pledge allegiance to a single man,”…Chuck Ross -
FBI Fires 4 for Leaks, Investigates 10 Other Employees Since 2016
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has investigated at least 14 employees since 2016 for unauthorized disclosures of bureau information and fired at least four, documents show. Several of the FBI employees were recommended for termination, but received lighter punishments, such as suspension without pay. The documents, six pages of summaries of 14 internal investigations released…Chuck Ross