The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee conducted an investigation into how the agencies handled the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server and extensive use of private email.
“Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received unusual treatment from the Obama Justice Department during its investigation of her use of a private email server for sending and receiving classified information.”
The investigation into the Clinton email scandal was “over before it began,” the lawmakers asserted, noting that then-FBI director James Comey admitted to writing a statement exonerating Clinton months before he publicly announced so, and before FBI agents interviewed a number of witnesses, including Clinton.
“Additionally, the FBI was looking for evidence of ‘willful intent’ in Secretary Clinton’s email activities, even though the relevant federal law doesn’t require it,” the lawmakers wrote.
They also noted that Clinton and former president Barack Obama exchanged email communications on her private email server, a fact that came to light after Obama denied knowledge of the server.
Investigators also analyzed the evidence that indicates the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) were biased against Trump.
“Peter Strzok and Lisa Page exchanged more than 40,000 text messages, including messages such as, ‘Trump is a loathsome human,’ the lawmakers wrote. ”Director Comey himself stated, had he known of their bias, he never would have allowed them to serve on the investigative team. Nevertheless, both Strzok and Page served on the Clinton email and Russia investigations, with Strzok playing a leading role.”
The lawmakers recommended the appointment of a special counsel to investigate “not only the decisions made and not made during the pendency of these investigations but also the disparate way these two investigations were seemingly conducted.”
They added, “Confidence in venerable institutions like the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation must be restored so the public can trust these institutions.”