Ever since FBI Director James Comey sent his letter to Congress about potential new emails related to the Hillary Clinton email server investigation, and got bipartisan blowback from that unusual decision, the FBI and Justice Department have been leaking like a sieve.
Unidentified "federal officials familiar with the investigation" tell The Washington Post that Comey actually showed restraint by waiting until Oct. 28 to deliver his "circumspect" letter to Congress. Comey had been told about the emails before being formally "briefed" on Oct. 27, the officials said, and had ordered FBI investigators to find everything they could about the emails from Clinton aide Huma Abedin without reading them, since they did not have a warrant for Abedin's emails. The metadata was enough to seek a warrant, the officials say, and Comey was concerned that applying for a warrant would lead to a leak. "It could not be done in secret," one official said. "It's a volatile subject and a major topic in the presidential campaign."
At The Wall Street Journal, "officials at multiple agencies" who were "familiar with the matter" described a fight between FBI agents who wanted to aggressively pursue an investigation into the Clinton Foundation and public-corruption prosecutors who thought the agents' evidence was weak or worthless. The Clinton Foundation inquiry, as The New York Times reported Tuesday, was based on allegations from an anti-Clinton book, Clinton Cash, by conservative writer Peter Schweizer. Schweizer tells The Wall Street Journal that his book wasn't meant to be a legal document but instead describes "patterns of financial transactions that circled around decisions Hillary Clinton was making as secretary of state."
"Starting in February and continuing today, investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and public-corruption prosecutors became increasingly frustrated with each other, as often happens within and between departments," The Wall Street Journal reports. The FBI agents were frustrated because they had secretly recorded a suspect in another case "talking about alleged deals the Clintons made," and were angry prosecutors wouldn't let them aggressively follow up; the prosecutors viewed the recording as not-credible hearsay and Justice Department officials became frustrated that the FBI agents were disobeying orders to be discreet in such a high-profile investigation. You can read more about the infighting at The Wall Street Journal. Peter Weber
"We have made a lot of progress as far as denuclearization is concerned and we are talking about a lot of different things. Things are going very well with North Korea," President Trump told reporters Saturday of his Friday conversation with North Korean negotiator Kim Yong Chol.
"That was an incredible meeting," Trump said. "We've agreed to [another summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un], probably the end of February. We've picked a country, but we'll be announcing it in the future. Kim Jong Un is looking very forward to it and so am I."
Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore are thought to be under consideration for the summit's location. Read a "plausible roadmap to peace with North Korea" from The Week's Harry J. Kazianis here. Bonnie Kristian
At least 66 people were killed and dozens more injured Friday when a fuel pipeline in Mexico exploded after being ruptured by fuel thieves. Some 85 people not included in the current death toll are listed as missing as of Saturday morning.
A crowd of people had gathered to collect the spilling fuel in plastic containers when the fireball occurred. Local authorities said the death toll could continue to rise given the severity of the injuries and the number of people whose whereabouts remain unknown.
Illegal pipeline taps like this one, which occurred near the town of Tlahuelilpan about 60 miles north of Mexico City, are a chronic problem in Mexico; an average of 42 taps were drilled daily in the first 10 months of 2018. "Far from stopping the fight ... against fuel theft, it's going to become stronger," said Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Saturday. "We'll continue until we've eradicated these practices." Bonnie Kristian
Jason Van Dyke, the Chicago police officer convicted of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery for his fatal shooting of a black teenager named Laquan McDonald in 2014, was sentenced Friday to six years and nine months in prison.
With good behavior, Van Dyke could be out of custody in three years or less, his lawyer said. The special prosecutor who handled the case had requested a sentence of 18 to 20 years, and the sentence Van Dyke received is for the murder charge alone, not the battery. Each of the battery convictions had a mandatory minimum sentence of six years, and the judge could have ordered them to be served sequentially.
On Thursday, three other officers accused of falsifying reports to justify the shooting were acquitted. Bonnie Kristian
Saturday's third annual Women's March is expected to draw smaller crowds than in previous years thanks to accusations of anti-Semitism among national organizers.
Former Democratic National Committee chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Fla.) formally withdrew her participation Friday, saying she "cannot associate with the national march's leaders and principles, which refuse to completely repudiate anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry."
Other prominent speakers and sponsors from past years — including Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), the Democratic National Committee, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and NARAL — have cut ties as well. Most did not issue specific statements explaining their decision.
For those who do participate, events are organized in Washington, D.C., as well as hundreds of other cities nationwide and around the world. Policy focuses this year include the minimum wage, health care, and opposition to President Trump.
Read The Week's Shikha Dalmia here on the controversy and divisions within the march's ranks. Bonnie Kristian
