FBI Did Not Target Domestic Groups Based on 1st Amendment Activities, Concludes DOJ Inspector General

DOJ’s IG has issued a report exonerating the FBI from charges that it targeted domestic groups (and one individual) for investigation based on their First Amendment activities. (“In sum, the evidence in our review did not indicate that … the FBI targeted any of the groups for investigation on the basis of their First Amendment activities.”)  The report does, however, criticize FBI on the ground that the factual predicate for some of the investigations was weak, that some of the investigations were continued too long, that some involved indications of state rather than federal crime, that some information was retained inappropriately, and that in some instances investigations were misclassified.  Appendix A of the report includes a letter from FBI's Deputy Director indicating that the Bureau will pursue the remedies to these mistakes suggested by the IG.
Note that the report may be useful in the classroom from a case study perspective or as a primer on certain investigative predicates.