FBI official had unauthorized contacts with reporters, solicited correspondents' dinner tickets: IG

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A top national security official within the FBI is under intense scrutiny by the Office of the Inspector General after allegedly accepting improper gifts and taking private meetings with journalists.

Michael Steinbach, former FBI executive assistant director, allegedly took multiple secret meetings with journalists while in his position, including while overseeing investigations into former President Donald Trump's 2016 electoral win.

"The OIG investigation substantiated the allegation that Steinbach had numerous unauthorized contacts with the media from 2014 to 2016," the Office of the Inspector General's report stated. "Evidence gathered from FBI records revealed Steinbach had hundreds of contacts with the media for several years as Assistant Director for the Countert Terrorism Division starting in June 2014 and then after his promotion to EAD of NSB in February 2016."

The report, obtained by the Washington Free Beacon via FOIA request and titled "Findings of Misconduct by a Then-Senior FBI Official for Having Numerous Unauthorized Contacts with the Media, and for Accepting Unauthorized Gifts from Members of the Media," asserts that Steinbach did not file proper authorization requests for his meetings, gifts and expensive banquets with members of the media. 

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FILE - Michael Steinbach, assistant director in the FBI's Counterterrorism Division, listens during a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee on Capitol Hill June 3, 2015, in Washington, DC.  (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

The OIG admonished Steinbach for violating FBI ethics by accepting tickets from members of the press to two black tie events, including the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.

The OIG also reports that Steinbach was treated to social events such as dinners and alcoholic beverages outside the FBI headquarters, similarly violating FBI ethics policy.

Steinbach's improper conduct with members of the press overlaps extensively with his work on Crossfire Hurricane — the investigation into accusations of collusion between former President Donald Trump and the Russian government to steal the 2016 election. However, Steinbach is not being accused of leaking classified material.

Steinbach retired from his position as FBI executive assistant director in February 2017.

The report states that Steinbach refused an interview with the OIG. While the OIG has authority to force an interview with current government employees, Steinbach's retirement has placed him outside the OIG's reach.

"Steinbach retired from the FBI on February 24, 2017, and declined an interview with the OIG. The OIG has the authority to compel testimony from current Department employees upon informing them that their statements will not be used to incriminate them in a criminal proceeding. The OIG does not have the authority to compel or subpoena testimony from former Department employees, including those who retire or resign during the course of an OIG investigation."

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FILE - In this Nov. 2, 2016, file photo, the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover headquarter building in Washington.   (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

Steinbach's improper contact with the media is only the latest in a series of scandals at the FBI that have drawn scrutiny.

The FBI committed an "unspeakable" failure by not addressing U.S. gymnasts' allegations of abuse from now-convicted sexual assailant Larry Nassar.

Attorney General Merrick Garland apologized for the FBI's alleged negligence handling the case at a Senate hearing Tuesday. Nassar was a Michigan State University sports doctor as well as a doctor at USA Gymnastics. He is serving decades in prison for assaulting female athletes, including medal-winning Olympic gymnasts. Nassar's victims sought help from the FBI over his criminal behavior. However, Garland now agrees the FBI's ambivalence was "a horrible institutional failure."