Crossfire Hurricane-Part V

Over the past 30 months, I have noted on a number of occasions that Kimberley Strassel of The Wall Street Journal deserves, but will never get, a Pulitzer Prize for her reporting on the soft coup attempt against a duly elected president conducted by senior officials in the FBI and the CIA. Strassel is a conservative journalist, and it seems Pulitzers are reserved for the "elite" trained hamsters who do "investigative" reports that promote whatever left-wing narrative is au courant.

At the center of the coup attempt, code named "Crossfire Hurricane," were people like Comey, Brennan, Clapper, McCabe and a coterie of other Democrat sympathizers who decided that as 'elite" members of the government they could negate the will of the voters. Democratic leadership in the House and Senate and their media allies agreed and did everything possible to destabilize the new presidency.

Slowly, the truth of their lies, their manipulation, and their vicious attempts at character assassination for anyone and everyone in the new Trump administration is coming out. Former FBI elites, McCabe and Comey are the first to be disgraced. Strassel writes about the just-released FBI IG report:

Mr. Horowitz’s [the FBI Inspector General, IG] report methodically skewers Mr. Comey’s claim that his memos were “personal” and therefore his to keep and use. It notes that he interacted with Mr. Trump only in his capacity as the FBI director, in official settings. He shared the memos with senior FBI leaders. Some memos touch on official investigations, while others contain classified information, which “is never considered personal property.” The report makes clear Mr. Comey knew his claim that the memos were personal was a sham. That characterization, Mr. Horowitz writes, is “wholly incompatible with the plain language of the statutes, regulations, and policies defining Federal records.”

Mr. Comey’s attempt to dig himself out of his disingenuous characterization heightens its absurdity. Asked by the inspector general how a memo describing an official dinner between the FBI director and the president could be considered a “personal” document, Mr. Comey explains that he was also present in his capacity as a “human being.”

Anyone in Mr. Comey’s position would know that the memos were FBI documents and that he had no right to keep them after Mr. Trump fired him. He nonetheless gave them to his attorneys, and scanned and emailed the sensitive information on unsecure equipment. (This is the man who called Hillary Clinton ’s handling of official secrets “extremely careless.”) The inspector general found it “particularly concerning” that Mr. Comey didn’t tell the FBI he’d retained copies, even when bureau officials came to his home to inventory and remove FBI property.

The tragedy is that Comey was not indicted and will serve no jail time. Sadly, it's all about the letter of the law and Comey was devious and cunning enough to protect himself. He has done more damage to the reputation of the FBI than any other Director in history, including J. Edgar Hoover. He deserves to be punished, but that won't happen.

Strassel continues:

Mr. Comey clearly detested Mr. Trump from the start. He abused his power and used leaky, sneaky tricks to undermine the presidency. Mr. Comey told the inspector general he had to do it because it was important to “the Nation,” and “I love this country.” Mr. Horowitz has no time for such self-justification: “Comey’s own, personal conception of what was necessary was not an appropriate basis for ignoring the policies and agreements governing the use of FBI records.” The report points out that if every FBI official acted on “personal convictions,” the bureau “would be unable to dispatch its law enforcement duties properly.”

This is the real merit of the inspector general’s report—its clear, ringing reminder that the rules apply to all. Still, it should disturb Americans that a man who has now been repeatedly admonished for “acting unilaterally”—and who so dishonestly spins his actions and history—held positions of such power for so long.

This entire "Crossfire Hurricane" episode is the most serious breach of government process in my lifetime. It is the capstone scandal originating out of the Obama administration, and its perpetrators should be held to account. Yet, it looks like no one will go to jail and no one will be made to pay for is disgraceful attempt to subvert democracy. That's tragic and infuriating, but in the end, the deep state takes care of its own.

UPDATE:
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In reaction to Comey's outrageous claim that based on the IG report and the fact that he wasn't indicted, he deserves an apology from those who questioned his actions, Glen Reynolds of Instapundit pulls no punches when he writes:

[Comey's] smarmy act has failed to conceal that he’s a sanctimonious prick. Make that a sanctimonious, dishonest, basically corrupt prick, who subordinated his duty to his country to selfish and shallow political and personal motives. He is a disgrace, and it’s a disgrace that he’s so far escaped prosecution.

Couldn't have said it better myself.