DOJ’s Inspector General: FBI and CNN Probe Reveals Collusion Between Ranking Agent and Reporter
While the Democrats will continue their refusal to accept anything that doesn't point to impeachment of President Donald Trump, the bi-partisan Senate Select Intelligence Committee has released a report that does reveal collusion by a ranking FBI agent and a CNN correspondent.
The FBI’s top press officer during the Hillary Clinton and Trump-Russia investigations accepted tickets to a Washington Nationals games from a CNN correspondent and lied about it repeatedly during interviews with the Justice Department’s inspector general, according to a report obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police and Conservative Base.
Michael Kortan, who served as assistant director of public affairs, displayed a “lack of candor” during multiple interviews under oath with the DOJ watchdog about how he obtained the tickets, who we went with, and whether he reimbursed the CNN journalist, according to the report by Inspector General Michael Horowitz.
“The OIG…concluded that Kortan lacked candor under oath when he provided answers to OIG’s questions relating to the September 2016 tickets that were misleading and false,” reads the report, which NACOP obtained through its press contacts.
FBI policy prohibits employees from receiving gifts from “prohibited sources,” including journalists who cover the bureau.
The office of the inspector general (OIG), which is led by Michael Horowitz, discovered Kortan’s contacts with the CNN reporter during a review of his text messages as part of the investigation into the FBI’s activities during the 2016 presidential election.
Kortan’s media contacts and those of other FBI officials are noted on page 430 of the DOJ inspector general’s report from June 14, 2018, regarding the bureau’s handling of the Clinton email investigation.
On Oct. 16, 2018, the OIG separately released a summary of the Kortan investigation (though without identifying him). The summary said that the Justice Department declined prosecution in the case.
The full investigative report shows that Kortan resigned from the FBI on Feb. 16, 2018, while the OIG investigation was ongoing. He could not be reached for comment for this story.
As part of the investigation, OIG investigators searched Kortan’s FBI-issued phones and email accounts, as well as his financial records. They also interviewed Washington Nationals security personnel to ascertain the quality of seats that Kortan was gifted.
Kortan worked closely with the CNN reporter, who is not identified, who he considered him one of his “top five” press contacts.
Kortan accepted Nationals tickets from the reporter at least twice, for a May 9, 2016 game and another on Sept. 30, 2016. He also accepted tickets from a New York Times reporter in either 2014 or 2016.
The OIG report cites text messages which indicate that the FBI official attended the May 9, 2016 game with the reporter. The reporter contacted Kortan on Sept. 27, 2016, offering up four tickets.
“Nats v Marlins Friday night. I have to be away,” the reporter wrote on Sept. 27, 2016. “Can you use four tix?”
“I’m good for 2 tix if that’s OK,” replied Kortan.
