1. IG Horowitz said the behavior of the FBI following seizure of the Weiner laptop in Sept, 2016 was troubling; their delay in addressing its contents questionable. p234: "....most of the explanations offered...were unconvincing...Faster action could and should have been taken."
2. But it wasn't just a delay in responding to news of the laptop, it was also a concerted effort by management to shift priorities and to assign additional duties to the team/individuals who would have been responsible for executing the Midyear investigation.
3. The IG found: They didn't respond in a timely manner, they shifted priority, & they reassigned agents on the Midyear team to another investigation.
4. "Strzok and the other Midyear personnel reassigned to the Russia investigation were not the only agents in the FBI...not all the Midyear personnel were assigned to Russia. THIS WAS A STAFFING CHOICE, NOT AN EXCUSE FOR INACTION." (IG Report) (emphasis mine).
5. "Staffing decisions are for management to make...Surely the FBI Counter-intelligence Division had talented agents who were not involved in the Midyear investigation who could have fully staffed the Russia investigation.
6. "Such a decision would have eliminated the excuse we were given...about the Russia investigation impacting the ability of agents to address the Weiner laptop issue."
7. Horowitz and the OIG team did not concur with the...opinion that the Russia investigation was more important. IG Report: "From an institutional perspective, we found this explanation unpersuasive and concerning."
8.The IG Report doesn't specify a date for the reassignment of FBI agents from the Midyear investigation to the Russia investigation, except that it occurred after the Weiner laptop was seized. This personnel decision begs the question: Who made the decision to shift the agents?
9. Priestap: " Comey had tasked him with overseeing the FBI's multifaceted efforts to protect the 2016 election from foreign interference. Comey made the reassignment, but Comey has repeatedly said he doesnt remember when he learned of the laptop.
10. IG Report: "Comey said that he recalled first learning about the additional emails on the Weiner laptop at some point in early October, 2016." NOTE: This statement does NOT say he learned of the laptop in early October. It says he learned about "additional emails."
11. This is an important distinction. Bill Sweeney, NYO, made multiple phone calls to FBI HQ over the course of several days. The tally of emails found kept increasing. Again, Comey said " he learned of additional emails in early October."
12. "...although he said it was possible this could have occurred in late September, 2016." Based on Strzok/Page text it is likely Comey learned if the laptop Sept. 28.
13. On Sept 28 Strzok text Page, "Got called to Andy's earlier...hundreds of thousands of emails turned over by Weiner attorney...includes tons of material from spouse."
14. Five minutes later Strzok text Page, " Bill and I were waiting outside his (McCabe)office door. He was down with the director." McCabe told Strzok of Weiner's laptop immediately after leaving Comey's office...certainly McCabe discussed it with Comey.
15. Then later Sept 28, McCabe, Priestap and Strzok discussed the laptop. It was degermined a team did not need to visit NYO as previously discussed.
16. "By no later than Sept 29 the FBI had lesrned virtually every fact that was cited by the FBI in late October as jystification for ibtaining the search warrant for Weiner's laptop, including what the laptop contained."
17. "The Midyear team took no actiin to inform the prosecutors about the laptop or to obtain authority to search it."
On Octiber 28 Comey wrote to Congress stating he was reopening the Midyear investigation. A warrant was obtained October 30.
On Octiber 28 Comey wrote to Congress stating he was reopening the Midyear investigation. A warrant was obtained October 30.
18. On Nov 6, seven days after obtaining a warrant, Comey wrote to Congress stating they did not change their conclusion on the Midyear investigation and it was, again, closed.
19. On June 14, 2018, Devin Nunes told @IngrahamAngle that he had been approached by a whistleblower in late September, 2016, informing him of the information found on Weiner's laptop. Nunes said, "We couldn't do anything about it at the time because it was classified."
