Page 4 - ARUBA TODAY

A4 U.S. NEWS
Saturday 16 June 2018

Justice report provides ammo for both Trump and his critics

By JONATHAN LEMIRE and The president's lawyers investigation is both disin-
ERIC TUCKER want to paint the dismissal genuous and dangerous."
WASHINGTON (AP) — A as something he was both "Nothing in this report de-
Justice Department watch- authorized to do under the tracts from the credibility of
dog report has turned into Constitution and correct to the special counsel's inves-
Washington's latest Ror- do based on Comey's per- tigation," Blumenthal said,
schach test, with President formance. The White House "and nothing here suggests
Donald Trump and his crit- initially said Trump fired the special counsel inves-
ics each cherry picking Comey over his handling tigation resulted from FBI
what they want to see from of the Clinton investigation, bias or improper conduct.
its findings to either discred- though the president him- Though the report doesn't
it or defend investigators self later muddied that ex- validate all of Trump's
conducting the probe into planation when he said he claims, it does make clear
the White House. was thinking of "this Russia that some employees in-
The 500-page report, which thing." The report did scold volved in the Clinton and
was more than a year in the Part of the the Department of Justice Inspector General's report Comey for announcing subsequent Russia investi-
making, offered a nuanced after its release in Washington, Thursday, June 14, 2018. his conclusion that Clinton gation communicated to
conclusion about the bu- Associated Press should not face charges, each other about wanting
reau's handling of the Hill- saying it was insubordinate Trump to lose.
ary Clinton email probe, ased "at the top level" and and another from a bureau and extraordinary that he Much of the public atten-
criticizing the FBI and its for- "plotting against my elec- lawyer that said "Viva le re- would not have coordinat- tion has been focused on
mer director James Comey tion." sistance." And Trump took it ed the statement with his Peter Strzok, a seasoned
personally but not finding "The end result was wrong. one step further, barreling Justice Department bosses. FBI counterintelligence in-
evidence that political bias There was total bias," Trump out of the White House Fri- It also chastised him for an- vestigator who worked the
tainted the investigation in declared Friday. "Comey day for an unannounced, nouncing, again without Clinton investigation and
the months and days lead- was the ring leader of this early-morning television in- Justice Department back- was later on Mueller's team
ing up to Trump's election. whole, you know, den of terview that turned into a ing, that the investigation until anti-Trump text mes-
But Trump wielded it as a thieves. It was a den of nearly hour-long freewheel- would be reopened be- sages with an FBI lawyer,
blunt instrument on Friday, thieves." ing give-and-take with re- cause of newly discovered Lisa Page, were discovered
bludgeoning the integrity Trump allies seized upon porters, during which he emails on Anthony Weiner's and brought to the special
of the Justice Department text messages between returned time and again to laptop. counsel's attention.
by pointing to the political- agents, pointing to one assert that report had exon- Judgments on how the re- Among the text exchang-
ly-charged communica- from August 2016 that said erated him amid Mueller's port would impact Trump's es that have been made
tion among FBI employees "We'll stop it" with regard to ongoing probe into Russian legal future predictably public is one from August
as proof that the FBI was bi- a potential Trump victory election interference. broke down along party 2016 in which Page said,
"There was no collusion. lines. Rep. Mark Meadows, "(Trump's) not ever going to
There was no obstruction. a North Carolina Republi- become president, right?
The IG report yesterday can, said he thinks the re- Right?!" Strzok responded
went a long way to show port may exonerate Trump by saying, "No. No he's not.
that,' Trump said on the even though it passes no We'll stop it." Those text ex-
White House North Lawn. judgment on his guilt or in- changes caused the in-
"And I think that the Muel- nocence. spector general to evalu-
ler investigation has been "If you look at the fruit of ate whether any of Strzok's
totally discredited." the poisoned tree, you decisions were affected
But Trump's claim was can't have that kind of bias by political considerations,
baseless: the report made in somebody wanting to and raised concerns that
no conclusions about the make sure the president there was a "willingness to
FELIZ DIA DI TATA president's involvement. gets defeated leading an take official action to im-
But its criticism of Comey investigation,"
Meadows pact the presidential candi-
said. "I don't think any of us date's electoral prospects."
— levied by an inspec-
tor general appointed by would want our enemy in- The watchdog office said it
President Barack Obama vestigating us." could not be certain that
It takes a special man to be a DAD — is important to Trump as But Sen. Richard Blumen- the decision to prioritize the
Wishing you an amazing Father’s Day. he tries to inoculate himself thal, Democrat from Con- Russia investigation in Oc-
against accusations that necticut, declared that tober 2016 over scouring
he obstructed justice by "any effort to use this report the Weiner laptop for pos-
www.riu.com firing the FBI director last as an excuse for shutting sible evidence against Clin-
MEXICO ARUBA DOMINICAN REPUBLIC BAHAMAS JAMAICA
May. down the special counsel's ton was free from bias.q