Tweet of the day: Bias? What bias?
Social media were tailor-made for a day like yesterday. Predictably, Twitter exploded following the release of the inspector general's report on the Clinton email investigation.
CNN's Jake Tapper gave the official spin on the bureau's anti-Trump bias:
DOJ IG: "found no documentary or testimonial evidence directly connecting the political views these employees expressed in their text messages and instant messages to" decisions made about the Clinton investigation through the July 2016 conclusion 1/
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) June 14, 2018
yet IG also said those political views from FBI Deputy Assistant Director Peter Strzok and special counsel Lisa Page expressed in text "messages cast a cloud over the FBI investigations to which these employees were assigned."
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) June 14, 2018
2/
3/ The IG is very specific about that though -- saying no evidence anything impacted the decisions through July 2016, when announcement made to not prosecute Hillary Clinton.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) June 14, 2018
4/ Of this August 2016 text, the IG is quite critical:
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) June 14, 2018
Lisa Page: “[Trump’s] not ever going to become president, right? Right?!”
Peter Strzok: “No. No he won’t. We’ll stop it.”
5/ IG says that exchange "is not only indicative of a biased state of mind but, even more seriously, implies a willingness to take official action to impact the presidential candidate's electoral prospects. This is antithetical to the core values of the FBI..."
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) June 14, 2018
6/ Moreover -- and this is a complicated one so stay with me -- the IG suggests that Strzok may have had bias that impacted a decision to not prioritize the Weiner computer issue -- though how this went down may have ultimately hurt Hillary Clinton.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) June 14, 2018
There are several more from Tapper, but the gist is this: defend the integrity of both the FBI investigation and the I.G. report.
Except there is one tweet from Matt Walsh that absolutely devastates the entire narrative:
FBI Agents: We hate Trump and are explicitly stating our desire to prevent him from being elected
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 14, 2018
IG report: We find no political bias
Oh, well ok then.
The premise of I.G. Horowitz's entire case against FBI bias for Hillary and against Trump rests on the assumption that FBI agents are so "professional" that they can put aside their virulent hatred of a candidate for president and act and make decisions objectively.
To quote Walsh: "Oh, well OK then."