Paul Sperry, who writes for the New York post has written a story about FBI agents who feel they were betrayed by Comey, who went out of his way to make sure Hillary and her aides were not charged with any crimes. They call the immunity agreements and allowing evidence to be destroyed, unprecedented. They feel that Comey intentionally sabotaged the investigation.
Feeling the heat from congressional critics, Comey last week argued that the case was investigated by career FBI agents, “So if I blew it, they blew it, too.”
But agents say Comey tied investigators’ hands by agreeing to unheard-of ground rules and other demands by the lawyers for Clinton and her aides that limited their investigation.
“In my 25 years with the bureau, I never had any ground rules in my interviews,” said retired agent Dennis V. Hughes, the first chief of the FBI’s computer investigations unit.
Instead of going to prosecutors and insisting on using grand jury leverage to compel testimony and seize evidence, Comey allowed immunity for several key witnesses, including potential targets.
Here are a few of the unprecedented moves Comey made during the investigation:
Did not allow FBI agents to search the computer belonging to Cheryl Mills.
Allowed Mills to destroy the computer along with the evidence therein.
Giving immunity to targets of the investigation.
Allowed witnesses under immunity agreement to “forget” everything they knew about the illegal set up.
gave Hillary “voluntary witness” status that kept the questioning from being taped or under oath.
Smith said Congress should subpoena the case’s agents to testify about the direction they received from Comey and their supervisors: “It would be interesting to see what the results would be if those involved with the investigation were questioned under oath.”
Comey made the 25 agents who worked on the case sign nondisclosure agreements. But others say morale has sunk inside the bureau.
“The director is giving the bureau a bad rap with all the gaps in the investigation,” one agent in the Washington field office said. “There’s a perception that the FBI has been politicized and let down the country.”