An FBI official accepted sports tickets from a reporter, lied about it to the office and will leave his position without prosecution, the Justice Department’s inspector general revealed in a report Tuesday. The senior official’s name has not been disclosed.
When asked about the tickets, the official reportedly told the inspector general Michael Horowitz that the tickets were provided for free. Horowitz announced on Tuesday that the official had retired. However, in a move of utter hypocrisy, the agent will not be prosecuted for lying to the FBI.
The DOJ decided to prosecute anyone and everyone who lied to the FBI that had some affiliation to President Donald Trump: the FBI prosecuted both George Papadopoulos and Gen. Michael Flynn for the very crime that the FBI official has basically admitted to committing.
The IG report reads, “The OIG investigation substantiated, and the senior FBI official acknowledged, that the official accepted two tickets to a professional sports event from the TV correspondent without paying the correspondent for the tickets. The senior FBI official initially maintained to the OIG in an interview under oath that the official had paid for the tickets, but five days later admitted to the OIG that the official did not.”
Why the no-prosecute decision and the double standard?
The decision understandably was met with heavy criticism from GOP leaders.
North Carolina GOP Rep. Mark Meadows voiced his concern with the decision on Twitter:
Mark Meadows✔@RepMarkMeadows
Total hypocrisy. DOJ prosecutes Mike Flynn and George Papadopoulos for lying to the FBI. But a senior FBI official accepted free gifts from a media member, lied to the FBI about it, and faces no prosecution.
With the DOJ: ‘Lying to the FBI is a crime for thee–but not for me.’ https://twitter.com/OversightGov/status/1052202517382094850 …
Oversight.gov✔@OversightGov
New OIG report about DOJ: Investigative Summary: Findings of Misconduct by an FBI Official for Accepting Gifts From Members of the Media and for Lack of Candor https://www.oversight.gov/node/16951
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter on Tuesday to the FBI asking for the IG report so the double standard could be investigated.
“According to the investigative summary, the official, who has since retired from the FBI, lacked candor in several respects when questioned by your office about his actions,” Grassley wrote in his letter.
The credibility of the FBI is dwindling as more scandals come to life, all of them favoring their own officials and Democrats over Republicans.
