NEWLY revealed FBI records show there is “extreme bias” against President Donald Trump among senior leadership at the FBI, the White House said.
The accusation came hours before Mr Trump was to speak at the FBI training academy in Quantico, Virginia. The president, who has described the agency as “in tatters”, is to speak at a ceremony at the FBI campus for law enforcement leaders graduating from a programme a i m e d a t r a i s i n g standards.
Deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley told Fox News Channel that edits to former FBI director James Comey’s statement on Hillary Clinton’s private email server and text messages from a top agent critical of President Trump are “deeply troubling”.
“There is extreme bias against this president with high-up members of the team there at the FBI who were investigating Hillary Clinton at the time,” he said.
It comes as special counsel Robert Mueller pushes on with a probe of possible Trump campaign ties to Russia.
Mr Gidley said Mr Trump maintains confidence in the FBI’s rank-and-file.
Edits to the Comey draft appeared to soften the gravity of the bureau’s finding in its 2016 investigation of Mrs Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state.
Mr Gidley said the disclosure of politically charged text messages sent by one of the agents on the Clinton case, Peter Strzok, were “eye-opening”.
Mr Strzok, who was in the room as Mrs Clinton was interviewed, was later assigned to Mr Mueller’s team to investigate potential co-ordination between Russia and the Trump campaign. He was re-assigned after the messages were uncovered this summer.
About 200 leaders in law enforcement from around the country attended the FBI National Academy programme aimed at raising law enforcement standards and co-operation.
Coursework included intelligence theory, terrorism and terrorist mindsets and forensic science.
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