House Judiciary Committee Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) have announced an investigation into the handling of the Hillary Clinton email scandal by the FBI and Department of Justice. The two committees will also investigate why the FBI didn’t announce its investigation into then-GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign associates. From The Washington Examiner:
The probe will be conducted by two congressional panels responsible for overseeing the Justice Department and government operations in general. The investigators will review then-FBI Director James Comey’s various decisions pertaining to the Clinton investigation, such as his unusual announcement that she should not face indictment.But they will also review whether the Justice Department erred in its handling of investigations pertinent to President Trump’s campaign.”Our justice system is represented by a blind-folded woman holding a set of scales,” House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte and House Oversight and Government Reform Chair Trey Gowdy said in a joint statement. “Those scales do not tip to the right or the left; they do not recognize wealth, power, or social status. The impartiality of our justice system is the bedrock of our republic and our fellow citizens must have confidence in its objectivity, independence, and evenhandedness.”
Back in August, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told the FBI that the committee discovered in unredacted parts of transcripts that former FBI Director James Comey decided to write a statement to exonerate Hillary before the department finished its investigation.
Comey exonerated Hillary in July 2016, even though he listed numerous instances of careless mishandling of classified information during her tenure as secretary of state.
A few days before Comey made his announcement, then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch met with Bill Clinton on a tarmac. Just the two of them and they supposedly talked about grandchildren. However, in August, Professor Jacobson blogged that a senior DOJ official helped edit talking points for President Barack Obama’s administration for a statement about the meeting. As the professor asked, why would she need people at the DOJ to help draft these points if only she attended the meeting?
Kemberlee blogged in September that Judicial Watch released a bunch of Hillary’s emails that showed more mishandling of classified information. Hillary has often said that she did not transmit classified information on her home server, but as Kemberlee pointed out, that claim has been debunked numerous times.
The Washington Examiner continued:
They’ll also review the “FBI’s timeline in respect to charging decisions,” an apparent reference to reports Comey began drafting the statement announcing his decision before the investigation’s conclusion. At the time, Gowdy complained the FBI failed to investigate whether Clinton’s actions reflected criminal intent.”I didn’t see any questions on the issue of intent,” he [Gowdy] said in August. “[Comey] said he didn’t go forward with charges because she didn’t have specific criminal intent.”he lawmakers also plan to review decisions that redounded to President Trump’s benefit.Those include the “FBI’s decision to publicly announce the investigation into Secretary Clinton’s handling of classified information but not to publicly announce the investigation into campaign associates of then-candidate Donald Trump.” They’ll also consider Comey’s decision to notify Congress, in the final days of the election, that a review of newly-obtained Clinton emails was underway.”The Committees will review these decisions and others to better understand the reasoning behind how certain conclusions were drawn,” Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican, and Gowdy said. “Congress has a constitutional duty to preserve the integrity of our justice system by ensuring transparency and accountability of actions taken.”
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