FBI leaks reportedly triggered by anti-Hillary Clinton atmosphere

Anti-Hillary Clinton sentiment inside the FBI is prompting leaks meant to damage her campaign before the election, several current and former bureau employees told The Guardian. Reuters narrows the scope to the FBI's New York field office, reporting that according to "two law enforcement sources" familiar with the New York office, "a faction of investigators based in the office is known to be hostile to Hillary Clinton."

"The FBI is Trumpland," one agent told The Guardian's Spencer Ackerman. Another said the agency is "Trumplandia," and Clinton is the "antichrist personified to a large swatch of FBI personnel. The reason why they're leaking is they're pro-Trump." In July, FBI Director James Comey announced his decision not to recommend indictment over Clinton's use of a private email server while secretary of state, and this caused outrage among many in the bureau, several officials said. One former agent told Ackerman that while there are "lots of people who don't think Trump is qualified," they "also believe Clinton is corrupt. What you hear a lot is that it's a bad choice, between an incompetent and a corrupt politician."

Last week, Comey wrote a letter to Congress, stating that the FBI was reviewing newly discovered emails related to the personal server, but they were not sure if they were relevant to the case. He came under fire from many legal experts and lawmakers, including Republicans, who say he inserted himself into the election with his comments, and his move got the ball rolling on more leaks — on Wednesday, Fox News reported the FBI was ramping up an investigation into the Clinton Foundation (Justice Department officials told The Wall Street Journal the claims were "flimsy"), and earlier this week, it was revealed that there is a preliminary inquiry into the Russian business dealings of Paul Manafort, Donald Trump's former campaign manager (he denies any wrongdoing). "The continued leadership failures at the FBI are another reminder we can't let intelligence agencies say 'trust us' and then give them a blank check to probe into Americans' lives," Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told Ackerman. Read the full report at The Guardian.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up