# Why Does FBI Director Get to Decide Wrongdoing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 10, 2016, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-fbi-director-get-to-decide-wrongdoing/759579 "2016-07-10T17:54:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-fbi-director-get-to-decide-wrongdoing/759579/1 "2016-07-10T17:54:25Z")
I see the FBI and the FBI Director no different than a cop or P.I. Since when do cops decide guilt or innocence? I don"t follow why FBI Director Comey is not obligated to present the FBI’s objective findings to the US Attorney General for her to decide if any further legal proceeding are warranted (regarding the Clinton server mess)? Why does the FBI Director get to rush to judgement? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-fbi-director-get-to-decide-wrongdoing/759579/2 "2016-07-10T17:58:03Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > I don"t follow why FBI Director Comey is not obligated to present the FBI’s objective findings to the US Attorney General for her to decide if any further legal proceeding are warranted (regarding the Clinton server mess)? You may recall AG Lynch publicly promising to follow the Director’s recommendations as a way of assuring the public that she wasn’t biased towards Clinton. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-fbi-director-get-to-decide-wrongdoing/759579/3 "2016-07-10T18:17:05Z")
I see. No, I guess I got lost in the fray. Thanks for pointing this out to me. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-fbi-director-get-to-decide-wrongdoing/759579/4 "2016-07-10T18:18:51Z")
Cops routinely decide which laws to focus their attention on, and many things that are technically illegal are ignored by enforcement, usually by directive from the chief of the department. For example, simple possession of marijuane is rarely or never enforced by many police departments. Hence, the police decide which potential offenders are brought before a grand jury or a prosecutor. When a cop walking a beat makes a judgment, he is not judging whether a behavior is legal or illegal, but judging whether thee is an offense that can be successfully prosecuted. From the cop on the beat to the FBI director, this “rush to judgment” is within their practical jurisdiction. Our system of civil order and justice is based on the presumption that they do not err over-frequently. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-fbi-director-get-to-decide-wrongdoing/759579/5 "2016-07-10T18:35:35Z")
There is also the issue of whether it’s worth prosecuting in the scheme of things. To use the same example, while technically illegal, pot possession isn’t looked on as particularly serious by most cops. It’s a waste of time they could be using to deal with offenses more damaging to society. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-fbi-director-get-to-decide-wrongdoing/759579/6 "2016-07-10T18:58:56Z")
In addition to above, the FBI Director _doesn’t_ get to decide wrongdoing. He makes a recommendation based on the evidence he’s gathered whether it’s a winnable case. That’s all he did. In this particular instance, Comey is a pretty solid expert on this kind of case so his recommendation carries extra weight. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-fbi-director-get-to-decide-wrongdoing/759579/7 "2016-07-10T20:05:51Z")
Even at street level, cops are expected to make a guess as to whether a given case is likely to win in court or even be taken seriously enough by a prosecutor to take it to trial. The justice system is too crowded at every level to withstand any cases with slim hopes. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-fbi-director-get-to-decide-wrongdoing/759579/8 "2016-07-10T20:14:57Z")
Sweet Lord, this has nothing to do with beat cops discretion. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-fbi-director-get-to-decide-wrongdoing/759579/9 "2016-07-10T21:17:15Z")
Wouldn’t the FBI still forward the file and their recommendations to the AG? I know the AG said they would accept whatever they recommended. Giving them a nice excuse to avoid the political fallout of letting HRC slide. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-fbi-director-get-to-decide-wrongdoing/759579/10 "2016-07-10T21:31:21Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Sweet Lord, this has nothing to do with beat cops discretion. Go back and read the first 2 sentences in the OP. > [@aceplace57](#): > > Wouldn’t the FBI still forward the file and their recommendations to the AG? That’s exactly what happened. That part wasn’t made public, though. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-fbi-director-get-to-decide-wrongdoing/759579/11 "2016-07-10T22:39:21Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Wouldn’t the FBI still forward the file and their recommendations to the AG?.. Yes, and that’s also exactly what happens with local police departments and DA’s offices. State & federal prosecutors can decide to prosecute or not prosecute regardless of what the relevant law enforcement agency recommends. The actual decision on guilt or innocence is of course made by the court. ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-fbi-director-get-to-decide-wrongdoing/759579/12 "2016-07-10T22:53:01Z")
Every time a kid at school touches another kid, technically that is a crime. Assault or battery. What if they referred each and every one of these to the district attorney? Another thing to consider is that district attorneys are busy, so only some cases can be passed along for prosecution. Not enough time, courts, judges, etc. to prosecute each and every single case. Not to mention full jails. Read through all your city laws some time. Like leash laws, jay walking, smoking marijuana, etc. Imagine if all of those were prosecuted. Each person leaving a bar is probably a DUI. Should they pull over every one of them and give them a test? Once you finish reading the city laws, ready your county laws, then state laws. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-fbi-director-get-to-decide-wrongdoing/759579/13 "2016-07-11T03:45:33Z")
He’s also a former US Attorney & Deputy Attorney General; therefore, he’s a lot more knowledgeable of the law than your average beat cop. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-fbi-director-get-to-decide-wrongdoing/759579/14 "2016-07-11T16:05:41Z")
> [@Me\_Billy](#): > > Every time a kid at school touches another kid, technically that is a crime. Assault or battery. I get the point you are trying to make, but you overreached on this one. First of all, “assault” doesn’t involve contact at all - it is the intimation or threat of physical contact. “Battery” is defined as “unlawful physical contact”. I know of no statute anywhere that makes it unlawful for a child to simply touch another child. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-fbi-director-get-to-decide-wrongdoing/759579/15 "2016-07-11T23:59:27Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > I get the point you are trying to make, but you overreached on this one. First of all, “assault” doesn’t involve contact at all - it is the intimation or threat of physical contact. “Battery” is defined as “unlawful physical contact”. I know of no statute anywhere that makes it unlawful for a child to simply touch another child. That’s what “assault” is in your state. In mine, “assault” involves not only physical contact, but also injury. A threat to cause physical injury is “aggravated harassment in the second degree” and plain old “harassment in the second degree” includes > [@](#): > > 1. He or she strikes, shoves, kicks or otherwise _subjects such other > person to physical contact_, or attempts or threatens to do the same; or > 2. He or she follows a person in or about a public place or places; or > 3. He or she engages in a course of conduct or repeatedly commits acts > which alarm or seriously annoy such other person and which serve no > legitimate purpose.(emphasis added) So yes, this statute makes it unlawful for a child\* to touch another child , just like it makes it illegal for my supervisor to grab my arm to keep me from leaving a room. That doesn’t mean the police are going to arrest anyone in either case without something more. \*assuming the toucher is over the age of 7