It is quite stunning sometimes how easily we are drawn into a partisan perspective, and how most of our media sources help us down that trap. The standard liberal message from the FBI Inspector General’s report was that the FBI was largely cleared of wrongdoing. However, the report also revealed some stunning sloppiness, casualness and incompetence in how citizens are legally surveilled. Even if Trump is a dangerous crook (he is), Republicans are right to complain about how the investigation into him was conducted by the rank and file at the bureau.
Such violations by law enforcement would normally be pounced on by civil libertarians, who have also typically dominated the more activist part of the Democratic party. However, rather little concern has been heard from that part of the left. It is to the credit of the New York Times that the problems in the FBI were a front page story today. It is a very strange world indeed when we have to rely upon Republicans to criticize law enforcement (and of course they do so for ALL of the wrong reasons).