Justice Dept. watchdog won't let witnesses give written feedback on report about FBI's Russia probe
Source: Washington Post
The Justice Department Inspector Generals office has told witnesses who are set to review draft sections of its long-awaited report on the FBI investigation of President Trumps 2016 campaign that they will not be allowed to submit written feedback one in a series of unusual restrictions that some fear could make the final document less accurate, people familiar with the matter said.
As is the case in most inspector general probes, witnesses are being invited to review draft sections of the report and offer comments and corrections, the people said. But unlike most cases they are being told those comments must be conveyed only verbally, the people said. Even though Attorney General William P. Barr and other officials have been working in recent weeks to determine what should be redacted from the report as classified or private information, people familiar with the process said that the entire draft document is marked Top Secret, so anyone who discusses its contents outside a secure government room could be committing a crime.
Witnesses, they said, are being asked to review their sections in a secure area, after signing nondisclosure agreements, according to people familiar with the matter. The witnesses have also been told they will not be allowed to remove any notes they make about the document, the people said. The moves have left some witnesses concerned their objections might not be recorded precisely and incorporated into the inspector generals findings, the people said.
The witnesses, they said, are also concerned that the process gives the inspector general complete control in characterizing any comments witnesses make and leaves witnesses with no ability to create a paper trail that might help them show their words were captured inaccurately. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the political and legal sensitivity of the matter. A spokeswoman for the inspector general declined to comment.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/justice-dept-watchdog-wont-let-witnesses-give-written-feedback-on-report-about-fbis-russia-probe-sparking-fears-of-inaccuracy/2019/11/14/1236d0aa-070d-11ea-b17d-8b867891d39d_story.html
Full headline: Justice Dept. watchdog wont let witnesses give written feedback on report about FBIs Russia probe, sparking fears of inaccuracy
OneCrazyDiamond
(2,029 posts)Rachel Maddow will allow you some public space to correct this.
MadLinguist
(781 posts)OneCrazyDiamond
(2,029 posts)But I am sure that if they (the folks trying to correct the record) won't be allowed to air their grievances withe this "report", I am sure folks in the media, like Rachel Maddow, will afford them all the time they need. Live, and on air.
CaptainTruth
(6,546 posts)Raven123
(4,715 posts)Not that they have any recourse, but one has to wonder whether to be drawn into a trap. Barr will claim corrections were made by those witnesses without proof.
Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(107,088 posts)intrepidity
(7,241 posts)Patriots, tell the DOJ, LOUDLY, to pound sand!
Enough!!
atreides1
(16,046 posts)I always thought that Horowitz had been compromised, before Comey got fired!!!
Gothmog
(143,999 posts)BumRushDaShow
(127,310 posts)DeminPennswoods
(15,246 posts)I'd give verbal feedback, but I'd make a copy or otherwise capture an image of what I was shown, write down my reply, fold the paper(s) up, put them in my wallet and take them home for safe-keeping.
sdfernando
(4,896 posts)Why the dog and pony show?...why did Barr go all over the place to gather information. The outcome was decided (as we all knew) the moment the investigation was announced. 3rd world banana republic....here we come!
nykym
(3,063 posts)we need whistle-blowers.