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Trouble in paradise?

Uh-oh. Did James Comey commit a crime by leaking his memos via 'a friend?'



According to former FBI Director James Comey, he leaked "the content" of his memos to the press (which he referred to as a bunch of annoying seagulls at the beach) via "a friend." Thanks to the Washington Post, we now know who that was:
The goal, apparently, was to force the appointment of a Special Counsel to investigate possible illegal activities. The problem? The act of leaking the documents looks like it may have been illegal itself. According to legal scholar, writer, and George Washington University Law School professor Jonathan Turley, those "documents could be viewed as a government record and potential evidence in a criminal investigation." As such, passing them to the press would violate federal law:
The problem is that Comey’s description of his use of an FBI computer to create memoranda to file suggests that these are arguably government documents. Comey admitted that he thought he raised the issue with his staff and recognized that they might be needed by the Department or Congress. They read like a type of field 302 form, which are core investigatory documents. The admission of leaking the memos is problematic given the overall controversy involving leakers undermining the Administration. Indeed, it creates a curious scene of a former director leaking material against the President after the President repeatedly asked him to crack down on leakers.

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Besides being subject to Nondisclosure Agreements, Comey falls under federal laws governing the disclosure of classified and nonclassified information. Assuming that the memos were not classified (though it seems odd that it would not be classified even on the confidential level), there is 18 U.S.C. § 641 which makes it a crime to steal, sell, or convey “any record, voucher, money, or thing of value of the United States or of any department or agency thereof.”
Uh-oh. Comey, as you may recall, is not a guy who's super-concerned with the handling of such material. If he was, he would have made sure that Hillary Clinton faced charges. So, maybe he didn't think - or care - that his decision to leak these memos would constitute a crime. Time will tell if anyone else feels like prosecuting the matter. Knowing how government works, I wouldn't hold your breath.


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