FBI resumes Clinton Foundation investigation
The FBI has been quietly investigating the Clinton Foundation for months, reviving a probe that was dialled back during the 2016 US presidential election amid tensions between Justice Department prosecutors and FBI agents about the politically charged case, according to people familiar with the matter.
The investigation is being run out of the FBI’s field office in Little Rock, Arkansas, where the foundation has offices in the William J Clinton Presidential Centre, the sources said. Agents were trying to determine if any donations made to the foundation official acts when was US secretary
2009 to 2013.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged the Justice Department to prosecute Clinton and her aides. But while the Clinton Foundation investigation was effectively stopped in 2016, that halt was described by people familiar with the matter as temporary because department officials were concerned that if details of the probe were to become public, it would appear that investigators were trying to hurt Clinton’s chances in the election.
Clinton Foundation spokesman Craig Minassian said: ‘‘Time after were linked to Hillary Clinton of state from time, the Clinton Foundation has been subjected to politically motivated allegations, and time after time these allegations have been proven false.’’
Republicans, in particular, have long raised concerns about what they view as corruption and conflicts of interest at the Clinton Foundation, in particular Hillary Clinton’s dealings with its donors while she was secretary of state.
The Clinton Foundation probe dates back to 2015, when FBI agents in Los Angeles, New York, Little Rock and Washington began looking at a variety of different figures who had made donations to the charity. In 2016, Justice Department prosecutors rejected a request from FBI agents to expand and intensify the investigation, the sources said.
Republican lawmakers had called on US Attorney General Jeff Sessions in July and again in September to explore various Clinton Foundation dealings, as well as other matters, by appointing a special counsel to look into Clinton-related issues.
In November, the Justice Department wrote that Sessions would direct senior prosecutors to look into the cases about which they raised concerns, and hinted that some might already be under investigation.
Trump has repeatedly the Justice Department criticised and said Sessions should look into Clinton and her allies, taking aim most recently at top Clinton aide Huma Abedin.
On the campaign trail, he specifically called for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate the Clinton Foundation.
The Clinton Foundation has raised billions of dollars since it was formed and generally receives high marks from philanthropy watchdog organisations. But because of its global donor base and Hillary Clinton’s former position as America’s top diplomat, it has also faced questions about contributions from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Algeria.