Yet Another Bogus Story About Clinton’s “Email Scandal” Collapses

[RockaFowler]

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/45805_Yet_Another_Bogus_Story_About_Clintons_Email_Scandal_Collapses

SNIP

But even that “corrected” number is wildly inflated!

Ari Melber at NBC News reported on Wednesday:

A former federal law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the Clinton investigation tells MSNBC an estimate anywhere near 50 agents is also off base.

“There are currently about 12 FBI agents working full-time on the case,” says the source, who would only speak anonymously about an open investigation.

A former FBI official, also speaking anonymously, says many in the law enforcement community view the large estimates of people assigned to the case as completely improbable.

“147 was such a ridiculous number,” said the source, adding that 50 also sounded unrealistic for this kind of inquiry. “You need an act of terrorism to get 50 agents working on something,” said the former FBI official.

[salinsky]

1. The original WaPo story cited an anonymous lawmaker as the source ...

... for the wildly inflated number.

They should be pressured to divulge the identity of the ratfucker.

[Bill USA]

32. or just the Party of the source. that would be enough.

[noretreatnosurrender]

2. Another Anonymous Source

All of the sources reporting the number of FBI agents working on the investigation have been anonymous sources. Some want to claim 15 - some 50 and others 147. None of us knows the actual number.

[Merryland]

4. Can't wait for Indictment Day... n/t

[rbrnmw]

21. I hope you have a longtime

because there won't be an indictment

[1StrongBlackMan]

27. Curious thing for a Democrat to say ... Are you sure you're in the right spot?

[msanthrope]

31. Kinda like Fitzmas. nt

[virtualobserver]

3. one anonymous source vs another anonymous source- "sounded" unrealistic isn't "direct knowledge"...

why would a former law enforcement official have direct knowledge?

[noretreatnosurrender]

5. I Agree

Why indeed. People need to stop worrying about the # of agents investigating. Every report about the # of FBI agents comes from anonymous sources and should be taken with a grain of salt.

[pantsonfire]

6. The post, who's "source" said 147 now says...

Update March 29 8:10 pm: The article cited in this piece said that 147 FBI agents had been detailed to the investigation, citing a lawmaker briefed by FBI Director James B. Comey. Two U.S. law enforcement officials have since told The Washington Post that that figure is too high. The FBI will not provide an exact figure, but the officials say the number of FBI personnel involved is fewer than 50. The headline has been corrected accordingly. I apologize for the error.

"Two anonymous law enforcement officials to NBC's source close to the investigation"....we won't know until they conclude the investigation. 50 sounds a bit more realistic, given the amount of emails, 60,000 they had to go through......

[NWCorona]

7. "currently "

[tex-wyo-dem]

29. Exactly...

The investigation by the FBI has been going on since at least the summer of 2015. To think the number of agents assigned to the case would remain static over that time is ridiculous. Probably the peak number of agents was reached during the time that the tens-of-thousands of emails had to be reviewed for confidential information, who received/sent such information, etc.

[KoKo]

35. Yes...Currently...is the key word.

“There are currently about 12 FBI agents working full-time on the case,” says the source, who would only speak anonymously about an open investigation.

There could have been many more investigating different aspects of the collection and securing of materials and research and retrieval of additional information over the last many months...but, fewer now because they are nearing conclusion.

[Milestone]

8. And 12 is good?

147. 50. 12. Does it even matter? It seems to me that a person running for president shouldn't even have one full time agent investigating them.

[BernieforPres2016]

10. If you only have 10-20 FBI agents investigating you on a full time basis it is no big deal.

Nothing to see here. There never is with the Clintons. Move along.

[840high]

15. .+1

[Karma13612]

30. +100 eom

Wondering if that is why Hillary has been getting a bit more upset when she is confronted.

Green peace
NY debate vs TONE

[BernieforPres2016]

9. Little Green Footballs? That's some source you've got there

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Green_Footballs

<Little Green Footballs (LGF) is an American political blog run by web designer Charles Johnson. The site critically covers the activities of American right-wing from a center to far-left perspective. For years at its beginning, the site was right wing and known for its advocacy of the War on Terrorism and the Iraq War, as well its strident criticism of political Islam.>

<After eight years of being a leading right wing blog, LGF started condemning racism and the far-right (especially the Belgian party Vlaams Belang). After that, the site abruptly switched sides and now "LGF has become better known for the various fights it picks with many on the right."[who?][4] During the transition period, Johnson deleted many of his more extreme past entries on the site, deleted entire comment sections, and banned many of the former right wing commentators from the site.[5]>

<In early September, 2010, it was discovered that Johnson had begun altering some posts and deleting others which expressed sentiments which were substantively similar to the ones he had recently been condemning others for. In one example, Johnson had been condemning opponents of the Park51 project as "bigots", though he had expressed similar opposition to the proposed Flight 93 memorial, which he described as an "Islamic Shrine". Johnson was discovered to have deleted these posts without acknowledging their deletion.[17] Johnson had also described the lead figure in the Park51 project, Feisal Abdul Rauf, as an "Islamic Supremacist," but later revised that description from the post without acknowledging the change[18]>

Do some of you not realize we're on the internet where the quality of your sources and the veracity of your statements can be checked out in minutes?

[RockaFowler]

13. Hey guess what I can post Wikipedia Pages, too

Here's the original source NBC News. Is that allowed here now??

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fed-source-about-12-fbi-agents-working-clinton-email-inquiry-n548026

And if you want to disparage someone, please check out their own site:
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/44910_About_Little_Green_Footballs

[BernieforPres2016]

16. So if it's only 12 FBI agents it's no big deal huh?

I'm not interested in whatever the founder of Little Green Footballs claims he is or believes in now.

So what is the point of your OP, that the FBI investigation into Hillary's private email server and related issues are part of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy?

[RockaFowler]

19. That the whole story may be bogus

But hey let's just keep posting stories from Anonymous sources

[BernieforPres2016]

22. LOL, you don't by any chance wear a tinfoil hat do you?

You think the FBI investigation into Hillary, the one she and her campaign have acknowledged, might not really exist?

[Bill USA]

33. the IC IG did not make a criminal referral- it was a security referral - Intelligence Community IG &

...State Dept IG


http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=1618460



https://oig.state.gov/system/files/statement_of_the_icig_and_oig_regarding_review_of_clintons_emails_july_24_2015.pdf

IC IG made a referral detailing the potential compromise of classified information to security
officials within the Executive Branch. The main purpose of the refe rral was to notify security
officials that classified information may exist on at least one private server and thumb drive
that are not in the government's possession. An important distinction is that the IC IG did not
make a criminal referral- it was a security referral made for counterintelligence purposes. The
IC IG is statutorily required to refer potential compromises of national security information to
the appropriate IC security officials.

[unc70]

11. Probable number was higher, now been reduced

Given the phases of the investigation, quite likely that "scores" of agents were involved with retrieval and review of more than 60 thousand emails of all types. A lot of tedious work during that discovery phase.

The next phase would require far fewer agents as the significant emails were explored and interviews with lower staff, hackers, and others were completed.

The investigation is now to the point of interviewing principals, senior staff and Clinton herself. This is a small (15?), very senior FBI group headed by Comey plus a similar group of Federsl prosecutors.

I don't know the actual numbers involved, but think there could have been some truth in various of the numbers given.

[Autumn]

12. If only one FBI agent is investigating her that is not a fucking win.

The problem lies in the fact that she is being investigated, and the only one to blame for that is Hillary.

[jmg257]

14. #nothingtoseehere After all, its only 12 or so.

12 is nothing - what's mishandling a couple thousand documents with classified material between friends?

[cosmicone]

17. Anything bad about Hillary and the Bernie people eat it up

with dozens of screeds posted here.

No one is ashamed of looking silly because they double down on it or find ridiculous excuses.

I have started wondering why I need comedy central when I have GD: P

[RockaFowler]

20. Now we can't even post links to favorable sites

What has happened to this place??

[thereismore]

18. Oooh, I would be so relieved if I only had 12 FBI agents after me!

Isn't one enough?

[Marr]

26. lol, right?

They need to put some wheels on this fucking goalpost.



I remember when they were still insisting there was absolutely nothing to the email situation. It was all just a GOP fantasy. Now, hey, there are only 12 FBI agents working on it *full time*, so yeah-- no big.

[nichomachus]

23. The key words here are "full time"

There may have been 147 working part time on the case, but only 12 working full time. Having 12 working full time is an awful lot of agents.

The number are all in how you spin it. Many agents work on more than one case at a time. So it's entirely possible that there were still 147 agents involved -- just not full time.

[RockaFowler]

24. You do know that the 147 was a bogus number

The Post already changed that number
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/03/28/there-are-147-fbi-agents-involved-in-the-hillary-clinton-email-investigation/
There are dozens of FBI agents involved in the Hillary Clinton email investigation


Which of course looks like a lie now, too

[frylock]

37. currently

There are currently about 12 FBI agents working full-time on the case," says the source, who would only speak anonymously about an open investigation.

[Progressive dog]

25. The RW will keep making stuff up

as long as they can get the media to print it. If the reporter who printed this crap actually had a source, he should make the source public. There should be consequences for leaking lies, and there should be consequences for printing them--a retraction is not enough.

[basselope]

28. Not sure the point of this?

ANY number of FBI agents working on it is too many for Clinton.

[BernieforPres2016]

34. The person who made the OP is suggesting the whole FBI investigation story is bogus

That there really may not be an FBI investigation, despite the fact that Hillary and her campaign have acknowledged it.

[Maedhros]

36. I'm laughing at the 'superior' intellect.

Off to the ignore list for you.

[frylock]

38. Phew!

Only a dozen full-time agents?