NationalReview | The bureau is conducting a counterintelligence investigation, which
is a whole different beast.
There is no ongoing criminal investigation of President Trump or his
campaign. I realize that may not be what you expect to hear, if you’re
only casually consuming the news. But it’s what FBI director Jim Comey
told Congress, and no available evidence contradicts it.
Democrats are desperate to draw a parallel between Comey’s testimony
Monday before the House Intelligence Committee — about an ongoing FBI
investigation that includes any connections between the Trump 2016
campaign and Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election — and
Comey’s statements in July and October 2016 about the criminal
investigation of Hillary Clinton’s private e-mail server. But if you
listen to what Comey actually told Congress under oath, you get a very
different picture.
Let’s quote the key portion:
As you know, our practice is not to confirm the existence of ongoing investigations, especially those investigations that involve classified matters, but in unusual circumstances where it is in the public interest, it may be appropriate to do so as Justice Department policies recognize. This is one of those circumstances.
I have been authorized by the Department of Justice to confirm that the FBI, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia’s efforts. As with any counterintelligence investigation, this will also include an assessment of whether any crimes were committed.
Because it is an open ongoing investigation and is classified, I cannot say more about what we are doing and whose conduct we are examining. At the request of congressional leaders, we have taken the extraordinary step in coordination with the Department of Justice of briefing this Congress’ leaders, including the leaders of this committee, in a classified setting in detail about the investigation but I can’t go into those details here. [Emphasis added.]
In short, the investigation Comey references is not a criminal
investigation; it’s a counterintelligence investigation, and crimes will
be investigated or charged only if they happen to be uncovered in the
process.
Where does that leave us?
