Article in "Townhall" by Katie Pavlich
(some may be missing because of shoddy editing, link at bottom of page):
Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz released an 83-page long report Thursday morning. It details misconduct by fired FBI Director James Comey and his handling of memos he wrote to memorialize conversations with President Trump. This report is separate from the highly anticipated IG report about the origins of the Russia investigation and FISA abuse.
"We conclude that the Memos were official FBI records, rather than Comey's personal documents. Accordingly, after his removal as FBI Director, Comey violated applicable policies and his Employment Agreement by failing to either surrender his copies of Memos 2, 4, 6, and 7 to the FBI or seek authorization to retain them; by releasing official FBI information and records to third parties without authorization; and by failing to immediately alert the FBI about his disclosures to his personal attorneys once he became aware in June 2017 that Memo 2 contained six words (four of which were names of foreign countries mentioned by the President) that the FBI had determined were classified at the “CONFIDENTIAL” level," the report states.
In other words, the memos Comey claimed were his were not, they were FBI property and written on an FBI computer. Further, when he was fired he had no authority to keep them and they were classified.
"Comey told the OIG that he considered Memos 2 through 7 to be his personal documents, rather than official FBI records. He said he viewed these Memos as “a personal aide-mémoire,” “ like [his] diary” or “like [his] notes,” which contained his “recollection[s]” of his conversations with President Trump. Comey further stated that he kept Memos 2, 4, 6, and 7 in a personal safe at home because he believed the documents were personal records rather than FBI records," the report continues (bolding is mine). "Comey's characterization of the Memos as personal records finds no support in the law and is wholly incompatible with the plain language of the statutes, regulations, and policies defining Federal records, and the terms of Comey's FBI Employment Agreement. By definition, Federal records include “all recorded information, regardless of form or characteristics, made or received by a Federal"
