The IG report went out of its way, time and time again, to give talking points to the dems and the MSM to say that did not occur and there is zero evidence of it. That's either a whitewash - or obstruction.
You either believe the president - or this report that it DIDN'T happen. It can't be both.
You CANNOT forget that Trump has been saying the complete opposite of what the report is saying regarding the main players in this. They basically just called Trump a liar - or said he doesn't know what he's talking about. That's not a punt.
But it also explains why those at the top like McCabe have been running their mouth so freely - they knew nothing was coming from this.
I do not describe it as a punt to say over and over again there was no political bias and that the investigation was proper.
It says they didn’t find biased intent written down or admitted to, and it says the application cited a subject matter that is covered by the statute authorizing surveillance while being signed off by the appropriate people.
Which is of course not how it is being covered.
He never said there was no political bias. From page iii of the report:
“We concluded that Priestap’s exercise of discretion in opening the investigation was in compliance with Department and FBI policies, and we did not find documentary or testimonial evidence that political bias or improper motivation influenced his decision.”
So, Horowitz is not saying there was no evidence that political bias or improper motivation influenced Priestap’s decision to open the investigation. He’s saying that he found no DOCUMENTARY or TESTIMONIAL evidence of that being the case. Sure, there’s plenty of circumstantial evidence, and it would have been nice if Horowitz had pointed that out, but he punted and stuck to what could be proven through direct evidence (i.e. texts, phone conversations, direct testimony). Based on that type of evidence, he was unable to draw conclusions. That’s probably because Priestap was probably a lot smarter and more discreet than Strozk and Page. To find the documentary evidence will likely require authority that Horowitz doesn’t possess - which Durham does.