FBI had backup plan to save Russia probe evidence

[fleur-de-lisa]

https://apnews.com/eda560d7427e4840bd988b0c194ed240

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI developed a backup plan to protect evidence in its Russia investigation soon after the firing of FBI Director James Comey in the event that other senior officials were dismissed as well, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions.

The plan was crafted in the chaotic days after Comey was fired, when the FBI began investigating whether President Donald Trump had obstructed justice and whether he might be, wittingly or not, in league with the Russians. The goal was to ensure that the information collected under the investigations, which included probes of Trump associates and possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign, would survive the firings or reassignments of top law enforcement officials. Those officials included special counsel Robert Mueller, who was appointed eight days after Trump fired Comey in May 2017.

Andrew McCabe, who became acting director after Comey was fired, asked investigators to develop a plan to ensure evidence would be protected, said the person, who was not authorized to talk about those discussions publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press. A plan was then created, according to the person, who would not provide specifics. A second person familiar with the talks, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, also said the FBI discussed preserving evidence so that it would outlast any firing or effort to stymie the investigation. A spokeswoman for the FBI declined to comment Tuesday.

McCabe hinted at that anxiety in an interview that aired Sunday with CBS News’s “60 Minutes,” saying he met with investigators after Comey’s firing.

[niyad]

1. I wonder how many tiny little flash drives with all the info are out there, being updated daily.

[woodsprite]

2. Let's just hope they did an outstanding job protecting the evidence.

I have a friend who works for the FBI. Despite everything that Trump has put them through, he still has faith that Mueller will see this investigation through and justice will be served.

[mitch96]

3. Jill Wine-Banks and crew did the same thing during Watergate

She mentioned on MSNBC that the fear of information would be stolen or removed prompted them to copy everything and disseminate it to many locations...
m