Inspector general concludes Comey violated FBI policy and set a 'dangerous example' with Trump memos

(Image credit: ALEX EDELMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

published 29 August 2019

The Department of Justice's inspector general has concluded former FBI Director James Comey violated the bureau's policies in his handling of memos documenting conversations with President Trump.

In a Thursday report, the inspector general said Comey, who the DOJ will not prosecute, violated the requirements of his FBI employment agreement, The Washington Post reports. Comey secretly kept some memos at his home and leaked information from one, which described Trump asking him to let an investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn go, to The New York Times through an intermediary.

The former FBI director "failed to live up" to his "responsibility" and "set a dangerous example for the over 35,000 current FBI employees" by not "safeguarding sensitive information," the report says. However, it also says there is no evidence that Comey or his attorneys leaked classified information from his memos to the media, a claim Trump has repeatedly made. Still, Comey was "not authorized to disclose" the "sensitive investigation information" he did, and the FBI's policies make clear that "employees may not, without agency permission, remove records from the Department - either during or after employment," the report says.

Subscribe to The Week

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

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Explore More

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox