FBI’s Clinton inquiry gets new scrutiny
Inspector general will look at Comey’s pre-election actions
The Justice Department’s inspector general announced on Thursday a wide-ranging review of the FBI’s handling of its inquiry into former secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s email use.
The FBI’s actions kicked off a series of events that the Democratic presidential nominee claimed helped doom her bid for the White House.
Inspector General Michael Horowitz said the review was prompted by requests from federal lawmakers and members of the public.
The internal inquiry will examine whether the Justice Department and FBI followed established “policies and procedures” when FBI Director James Comey publicly announced in July that the bureau would not recommend criminal charges against Clinton related to her use of a private email server at the State Department.
The recommendation was quickly accepted by Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who effectively ceded control of the inquiry to the FBI director after she met briefly with former president Bill Clinton before the conclusion of the investigation.
Horowitz will review the explosive events in the days immediately before November’s general election when Comey announced Oct. 28 that the bureau reopened the inquiry after a new cache of emails was discovered during a separate federal review that targeted former representative Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin. Weiner has been the subject of an investigation into alleged sexually charged communication with a young girl.
The reopened inquiry was closed Nov. 6 — two days before Election Day. Clinton said the episode contributed to her election loss to Donald Trump.
The FBI director’s action in late October went against longestablished Justice and FBI poli- cy not to take action in close proximity to an election that could influence the vote. Comey’s decision also went against the counsel of the attorney general.
The inspector general’s review will not evaluate the merits of the closed criminal inquiry or challenge the conclusions not to prosecute Clinton. It will focus on Justice and FBI policies that guided the probe.
“The review will not substitute the (inspector general’s) judgment for the judgments made by the FBI or the Department (of Justice) regarding the
substantive merits of investigative or prosecutive decisions,” the inspector general said in a written statement. “Finally, if circumstances warrant, the OIG will consider including other issues that may arise during the course of the review.”
Horowitz is likely to review whether Justice or FBI personnel “improperly disclosed nonpublic information.”
Immediately after notifying Congress he was reopening the Clinton probe, the FBI director became the target of withering criticism.
One of the sharpest rebukes came from former attorney general Eric Holder, who was among nearly 100 former Justice officials who expressed their objections in a letter soon after the action.
In a statement Thursday, Comey said he was “grateful” that the inspector general was taking on such a review, and he pledged to “cooperate fully with him and his office.”
“I hope very much he is able to share his conclusions and observations with the public because everyone will benefit from thoughtful evaluation and transparency regarding this matter,” Comey said.
Former Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said that although the campaign “certainly publicly questioned Director Comey’s action,” Clinton officials did not request the inspector general’s inquiry. He said such a review was “encouraging and utterly necessary in order to take the first step to restore the FBI’s reputation as a non-partisan institution.”
Republican and Democratic lawmakers largely welcomed the inspector general’s action.
“It is in the public interest to provide a full accounting of all the facts that led to the FBI and Justice Department’s decisionmaking regarding the investigation,” said Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.
“Our citizens must be able to trust that the FBI, our chief federal law enforcement agency, is non-partisan and does not insert itself into the electoral process,” said a joint statement from Reps. John Conyers of Michigan and Elijah Cummings of Maryland, ranking Democrats on the House Judiciary and House Oversight and Government Reform committees.
“Everyone will benefit from thoughtful evaluation and transparency regarding this matter.” FBI Director James Comey