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Coleman’s memorandum stated that Baker planned to look into the issue further.

We asked Baker about that and he stated he did not recall specifics, but he believed
he asked “somebody on the Midyear team” about the issue.

In the Coleman memorandum’s next and final paragraph, which is undated,


it stated, “It was determined by DD McCabe and EAD Steinbach that any follow on
investigative activity concerning the emails located on Anthony Weiner’s laptop
would be reviewed by the MIDYEAR investigative team.” Coleman said he did not
recall why this entry was undated and was unsure at what point this occurred. He
told us that he shared an office with Steinbach and that this could have been a
dialogue between himself and Steinbach at some point later in October.

2. Email from Bowdich to Comey on October 3

On October 3, at 7:42 p.m., Bowdich sent an email to Comey and McCabe


briefing them on items of interest from that day. Rybicki was cc’d on the email,
which was entitled “Daily Report.” After highlighting three unrelated items,
Bowdich stated, “I asked Randy Coleman to stay behind tomorrow to quickly brief
you on the Weiner matter which is growing more complicated, but it can wait until
then.” Bowdich told the OIG that he did not remember what was “growing more
complicated” with the Weiner matter. Bowdich noted that when dealing with issues
of this type he typically “would have pushed that up to Andy, and/or the Director,
and Baker would have been right in the middle of it.”

Comey told us he did not recall this email and also did not recall what was
“growing more complicated” in the Weiner matter. Comey stated that he was “only
dimly” aware of the Weiner child exploitation investigation at this point in time.

We also asked Rybicki about this email. Rybicki stated that he did not know
what was meant by “the Weiner matter which is growing more complicated.”
Rybicki told us that he first recalled hearing about the issue of Clinton emails on the
Weiner laptop on October “26th into the 27th.” When asked if this email made
Rybicki think that he and Comey were aware of the Weiner laptop issue earlier than
he recalled, Rybicki responded, “I don’t think so.... I remember on the 27th right
when I heard about it thinking this is [unintelligible]. That would, that’s my first
recollection as well of hearing anything about it.”

3. Meeting between Comey and Coleman on October 4

Comey’s Outlook calendar for October 4 contains an entry for “Morning


Briefs” from 8:15 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. that is immediately followed by an entry for
“Meeting w/EAD Coleman” from 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Coleman told us that he
could not recall this briefing with Comey. Coleman stated that staying behind to
brief Comey would be consistent with normal practice, but added that he did not
recall this specific instance. Coleman told us that it would be unusual to have a
one-on-one meeting with Comey and told us someone else would typically be
present at these briefings, such as the DD or ADD. While not remembering this
meeting, Coleman speculated that this may have been a one-on-one meeting with
Comey to discuss Coleman’s upcoming retirement from the FBI in December 2016.

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Coleman told us that he kept regularly took notes in a journal. Coleman’s
notes from October 4 contained the following entry:

(1) Anthony Wiener [sic]


(2) [Unrelated]
(3) Wiener [sic] – texting 15 yo – Sexually Explicit
9/26 – Federal SW – IPhone/IPAD/Laptop
Initial analysis of laptop – thousands emails
Hillary Clinton & Foundation
Crime Against Children
We asked Coleman about these notes and he told us that, given their placement in
his notebook, the notes would most likely represent information he was briefed on
first thing in the morning by his subordinates in the Criminal Investigative Division.
Coleman stated that he may have passed this information to other FBI executives
after the morning briefing with the Director, but he could not remember if that
occurred here.

Comey told us that he did not recall the briefing by Coleman reflected in his
calendar. We asked Comey if this briefing could have been the time in early
October that he recalled being told about the connection between Midyear and the
Weiner investigation. Comey stated:

It’s possible, possible this is what is knocking around in the back of my


head, but I really, see I know the frailty of memory from having done
a lot of this work, at least in my memory it’s much more of an informal
than a meeting about it, but it’s possible.

We showed Coleman’s notes from October 4 to Comey. Comey did not recall being
briefed on the information contained in the notes. When asked about Coleman,
Comey said he “thought very highly of him” and described him as a “straight
shooter.”

We asked Comey if this information was something that he likely would have
“put out of his mind” after being informed of it in early October. Comey responded,
“I don’t think so unless, unless the way it was passed to me was with some, you
don’t need to do anything. We’re doing, we’re running it down or something.
Something that pushed it down on my priority list.”

When asked if he recalled this meeting between Coleman and Comey, Rybicki
stated that he did not. Bowdich told us that it is possible that he would have been
at this meeting between Comey and Coleman, but he had no recollection of it.
McCabe continued to be on travel and was not in Washington, D.C., on October 4.

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