Changes
/* May 2017 */
*[[Sally Yates]] testifies under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee, "And the Russians also knew that General Flynn had misled the vice president and others, because in the media accounts, it was clear from the vice president and others that they were repeating what General Flynn had told them, and that this was a problem because not only did we believe that the Russians knew this, but that they likely had proof of this information. And that created a compromise situation, a situation where the national security adviser essentially could be blackmailed by the Russians. Finally, we told them that we were giving them all of this information so that they could take action, the action that they deemed appropriate. I remember that Mr. McGahn asked me whether or not General Flynn should be fired, and I told him that that really wasn't our call, that was up to them, but that we were giving them this information so that they could take action, and that was the first meeting."<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/05/08/full-transcript-sally-yates-and-james-clapper-testify-on-russian-election-interference/?utm_term=.593699209be7</ref>
*'''9 May.''' Deputy Attorney General [[Rod Rosenstein]] writes memorandum to AG Sessions which includes in part:<ref>https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/05/rosenstein-letter-annotated/526116/</ref>{{Quotebox|<small>'''the FBI's reputation and credibility have suffered substantial damage, and it has affected the entire Department of Justice. That is deeply troubling to many Department employees and veterans, legislators and citizens.'''<br> ... I cannot defend the Director's handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clinton's emails, and I do not understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken....<br> The director was wrong to usurp the Attorney General's authority on July 5, 2016, and announce his conclusion that the case should be closed without prosecution.<br> It is not the function of the Director to make such an announcement. At most, the Director should have said the FBI had completed its investigation and presented its findings to federal prosecutors. The Director now defends his decision by asserting that he believed attorney General Loretta Lynch had a conflict. But '''the FBI Director is never empowered to supplant federal prosecutors and assume command of the Justice Department'''. There is a well-established process for other officials to step in when a conflict requires the recusal of the Attorney General. On July 5, however, the Director announced his own conclusions about the nation's most sensitive criminal investigation, without the authorization of duly appointed Justice Department leaders.<br> '''Compounding the error, the Director''' ignored another longstanding principle: we do not hold press conferences to release derogatory information about the subject of a declined criminal investigation. Derogatory information sometimes is disclosed in the course of criminal investigations and prosecutions, but we never release it gratuitously. The Director laid out his version of the facts for the news media as if it were a closing argument, but without a trial. It '''is a textbook example of what federal prosecutors and agents are taught not to do.'''<br> In response to skeptical question at a congressional hearing, the Director defended his remarks by saying that his "goal was to say what is true. What did we do, what did we find, what do we think about it." But the goal of a federal criminal investigation is not to announce our thoughts at a press conference. '''The goal is to''' determine whether there is sufficient evidence to justify a federal criminal prosecution, then '''allow a federal prosecutor who exercises authority delegated by the Attorney General to make a prosecutorial decision, and then - if prosecution is warranted - let the judge and jury determine the facts.''' We sometimes release information about closed investigations in appropriate ways, but the FBI does not do it ''sua sponte'' (Latin for “of one’s own accord; voluntarily).”</small><ref>https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/05/rosenstein-letter-annotated/526116/</ref>}}
*'''Dir. Comey fired; [[Andrew McCabe]] assumes position as Acting FBI Director'''.
