It doesn’t make sense to prosecute him for leaking a document that was not “classified” at the time he leaked it. The DOJ classified afterwards.
Which of youse guys is right? It looks to me as if it makes a huge difference. If it's not classified, is it even breaking a law to leak it? Imprudent and a firing offense, no doubt. But prosecutable?
It was “classified” AFTER Comey leaked it. That is an absolutely verifiable and undeniable FACT!
Oh and it was a “confidential classification” which is the lowest category of classified material and it was done by the FBI not the DOJ.
All I know is that the Inspector General referred James Comey to the DOJ for prosecution. I like to think Michael Horowitz knows the law and would not have made a criminal referral regarding Comey if it was crystal clear no crime had been committed.
So I defer to IG Horowitz. If he thinks Comey committed a prosecutable crime, then I defer to him.
It is not being disputed that what Comey did was illegal. It is agreed that what he did was illegal. The only reason DOJ said they would not prosecute was because it would be difficult to prove Comey’s intent. They are not saying what he did was legal or that the memo was not classified.
The Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz sent a referral to the Justice Department about memos Comey leaked, which he testified was done in the hopes they would spark a special counsel investigation. Although prosecutors found the watchdog’s findings compelling, they decided against prosecution under classified information protection laws because of there being too much uncertainty surrounding Comey’s intent. Comey has denied leaking classified information in his memos.