The FBI ordered an internal review of the handling of the bureau’s investigation of retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn.
FBI Director Christopher Wray made the call as he faces increased pressure from Republicans, who say he has been too resistant to disclosing secrets about the Trump-Russia investigation that they believe unfairly targeted President Trump and the people around him.
The “after-action” investigation, announced on Friday, will be carried out by the bureau’s Inspection Division and will focus on two areas: first, evaluating the FBI’s role in the Flynn investigation and rooting out any misconduct by current FBI employees, and second, evaluating the need to change bureau policies as a result of the Flynn case.
A statement said that the FBI will evaluate whether disciplinary measures will be necessary for any current employees, although the bureau lacks the prosecutorial authority to bring a criminal case. The statement also said the FBI lacks the ability to take any disciplinary action against former employees.
The Justice Department filed earlier this month to dismiss charges against Flynn, who cooperated with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators after pleading guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. The transcripts of the Flynn-Kislyak calls are being declassified by acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell.
In moving to drop the charges, the Justice Department said that after reviewing newly disclosed materials, it agreed with Flynn’s attorneys that his interview with the FBI should never have taken place because his conversations with the Russian ambassador were “entirely appropriate.” Flynn said he is “innocent” and never lied, and his lawyers claimed their client was set up.
Last week, Judge Emmet Sullivan, who is overseeing the Flynn case, appointed a retired New York federal judge, John Gleeson, to serve as an amicus curiae to “present arguments in opposition to the government’s Motion to Dismiss” and to address “whether the Court should issue an Order to Show Cause why Mr. Flynn should not be held in criminal contempt for perjury.” On Thursday, Washington’s federal appeals court gave Sullivan a 10-day period to explain his reasoning for not immediately agreeing with the Justice Department to dismiss the charges.
Wray said the after-action review will “complement” the “already substantial assistance” the FBI has been giving U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Jensen, the federal prosecutor from eastern Missouri appointed by Attorney General William Barr to review the Flynn case. The FBI said that “under Director Wray’s leadership, the FBI has been fully transparent and cooperative with Mr. Jensen, and the FBI’s help has included providing special agents to assist Mr. Jensen in the fact-finding process.”
Jensen told Barr earlier this month that he “concluded the proper and just course was to dismiss the case” and advised Barr on his conclusions.
The FBI director said his decision to authorize an FBI review stemmed from the fact that Jensen “has developed sufficient information to determine how to proceed in the Flynn case” but that Jensen’s ongoing inquiry would continue to take priority.
Earlier this week, Flynn’s lawyers told the appeals court that Jensen’s review “unearthed stunning evidence of government misconduct and Gen. Flynn’s innocence.”
Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the ranking Republican on the House Oversight Committee, and Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana sent a letter to Wray earlier this month that said what they found “even more concerning” than information unearthed about the Flynn case by Jensen was that they “continue to learn these new details from litigation and investigations — not from you.” They further stated, “It is well past time that you show the leadership necessary to bring the FBI past the abuses of the Obama-Biden era.”
Brian Hale, the FBI’s assistant director for the Office of Public Affairs, defended Wray, saying the bureau chief “has fully cooperated and been transparent with” the DOJ’s reviews of the Flynn case and of the broader counterintelligence investigation into the ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, code-named Crossfire Hurricane.
Trump nominated Wray to take over the FBI after he fired FBI Director James Comey in May 2017, but in recent weeks, he has signaled his frustration with the director.
Trump said that the “jury is still out” on Wray during a recent appearance on Fox & Friends. The president said that he told Barr to “handle it,” but he also said, “In theory, I’m chief law enforcement officer.”
Barr defended Wray, telling CBS News that he “has always supported and been very helpful in various investigations we’ve been running.” Barr referenced Jensen’s review of the Flynn case as well as the investigation of the Trump-Russia investigators being carried out by U.S. Attorney John Durham. The attorney general said Wray “cooperated fully” with both inquiries.
In response to Friday’s news, the House Judiciary Committee’s account tweeted: “Good. We asked Director Wray to complete a similar review weeks ago. General Flynn deserves justice!”
Flynn’s lawyers have touted recently released FBI records as being exculpatory evidence that was concealed from the defense team. The documents suggest that then-FBI agent Peter Strzok and the FBI’s leadership stopped the bureau from closing its investigation into Flynn in early January 2017, though investigators had uncovered “no derogatory information” as of early January 2017. Emails from later that month showed that Strzok, along with then-FBI lawyer Lisa Page and several others, sought ways to continue investigating Flynn, including by deploying the Logan Act.
