article a second read - based on the quote from the justice dept spokesperson, I think they are signaling that there will be plenty of harsh words for FBI personnel in the IG report, and they confirm an alleged example of an alteration in one of the warrant renewal requests, which may have caused the Durham process to become a criminal inquiry.

So, there is going to be a ton of handwringing over this next week - the Horowitz conclusion is (reportedly) that the FBI investigation was not improper, even if certain actions by people involved were (not unlike his conclusions about the Hill server). Point being, the FBI is a professional organization with internal controls against improper individual actions.

If that is the case, and I think we would be hearing bombs drop if the conclusion was the FBI was spying, then I would greatly prefer to see Barr keep his mouth shut, or simply let his written response stand on its own as an addendum to the report (as the article indicates is customary). If he needs to make a full rebuttal, do it through the Durham report. Admittedly, people with my biases (concerns about Trump and exec authority) will be skeptical of that, and view it as a political rebuttal to a professional, non-partisan IG conclusion. But that will still be far preferable to Barr openly dismissing the IG's conclusions, which will be seen as nothing but partisan.

Just want to summarize my feelings on this before a potential firestorm hits next week.