FBI director orders internal review of Michael Flynn investigation
FBI Director Christopher Wray has ordered the bureau to conduct an after-action review of the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, the FBI announced Friday.
The review will evaluate the conduct of current employees and whether it merits punishment, as well as any policy improvements needed in light of Flynn's case. The review comes after the Justice Department dropped its case against Flynn, even though Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.
"The after-action review will have a two-fold purpose: (1) evaluate the relevant facts related to the FBI's role in the Flynn investigation and determine whether any current employees engaged in misconduct, and (2) evaluate any FBI policies, procedures, or controls implicated by the Flynn investigation and identify any improvements that might be warranted," the FBI said in a statement provided to CBS News.
The FBI says the review will "complement" the "already substantial assistance" the FBI has been giving to U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen.
Attorney General William Barr told CBS News in an exclusive interview earlier this month that the department believes "a crime cannot be established here because there was not, in our view, a legitimate investigation going on.
Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell has declassified a list of the names of Obama administration officials who requested intelligence reports that "unmasked" Michael Flynn's identity in 2016 and 2017. The reports documented his conversations with Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak.
President Trump has suggested that President Obama and his top officials committed crimes in the last few weeks of the previous administration related to Flynn and the Russia investigation. However, on Monday, Barr said that an ongoing internal Justice Department review into the origins of the probe isn't expected to lead to a criminal investigation into either Mr. Obama or Joe Biden.
President Trump hasn't ruled out bringing Flynn back into his administration, after Flynn was convicted of lying to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. The president has praised Flynn, insisting he was unfairly treated by the "dirty, filthy cops at the top of the FBI."
— CBS News' Catherine Herridge contributed to this report.