USADaily -
CNN is reporting that the Trump White House violated federal rules by attempting to influence an ongoing investigation by the FBI (and other agencies) into contacts between Donald Trump’s campaign staff and other associates and Russian intelligence during the 2016 presidential campaign.
CNN reports that the Trump White House wanted the FBI and other agencies to help kill news stories about the contacts by going public and claiming that there were no such contacts.
In fact, the FBI and other agencies were and are investigating just that question, whether and to what degree there were contacts between Trump’s associates and Russian intelligence during the campaign. So the FBI refused.
In other words, the Trump White House contacted the FBI during an ongoing investigation and pressured the FBI to issue a conclusion about that investigation that was contrary to fact. Not only is such action inappropriate on its face, but it also violates federal rules that were put in place to preclude exactly this kind of scenario, where a White House attempts to influence an ongoing investigation of itself.
CNN has more:
The Trump administration’s efforts to press Comey run contrary to Justice Department procedure memos issued in 2007 and 2009 that limit direct communications on pending investigations between the White House and the FBI.
“Initial communications between the [Justice] Department and the White House concerning pending or contemplated criminal investigations or cases will involve only the Attorney General or the Deputy Attorney General, from the side of the Department, and the Counsel to the President, the Principal Deputy Counsel to the President, the President, or the Vice President from the side of the White House,” reads the 2009 memo.
The memos say the communication should only happen when it is important for the President’s duties and where appropriate from a law enforcement perspective.
As CNN notes, not only is the FBI investigation, but so are other agencies and Congress.
It’s ironic that the FBI refused to go along with Trump’s pressure, as FBI Director James Comey is widely credited with helping put Donald Trump in office. I had argued a few weeks ago that we should stop calling for Comey to resign, as Comey just might surprise us by being a fair player in dealing with Trump, if only because he needs to clear his record and show that he truly is non-partisan. And so far, that’s exactly what he’s doing.
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