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“Special Agent Strzok in particular was consistently thorough and aggressive, sometimes to the point that put him at odds with senior officials at the Department of Justice,” Goelman said.

The inspector general found that other FBI personnel also exchanged unprofessional and politically biased messages, singling out two unidentified agents and one lawyer for review and possible punishment by FBI administrators.

At a news conference, Wray said that he was “disappointed” by the conduct described in the report and that some employees would be subject to a disciplinary review. He pledged that the bureau would learn from the findings by training all of its executives and employees “so those mistakes will never be repeated.”

Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post

The FBI also will review how it handles recusals and will conduct an internal review “so that every sensitive investigation is conducted to the FBI’s highest standards.”

The report aimed to define once and for all what the FBI and Justice Department did correctly and what was wrong in the Clinton probe, but partisans are likely to seize on different findings to buttress their long-held views about that investigation.

For Trump, the report provides chapter upon chapter of fresh ammunition for his attacks on the FBI, which he has accused of political bias in investigating whether any of his campaign associates may have conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 election.

To Clinton and her supporters, who have long argued that Comey’s decisions robbed her of an election victory, the report is likely to be received as bitter vindication of her claims that the FBI director veered far beyond official policy in speaking publicly about her case, and reopening it in the final days before the election.