Tipsheet

Congress to Lynch: What Exactly Did You Allow The FBI To Investigate? Anything?

Since the non-indictment of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was announced in July by FBI Director James Comey, a number of investigations have been launched by Congress in order to the process. As a result, new information about the case continues to imply Clinton and her aides received special treatment. 

News broke earlier this week the FBI destroyed laptops belonging to top Clinton aides as part of an immunity deal, prompting a letter of inquiry to Attorney General Loretta Lynch from a number of House Committee Chairman. The destroyed laptops were under congressional subpoena at the time. The letter also asks questions about why the scope of the investigation into Clinton's private email server, where she hosted top secret and classified information, was so limited. 

"Last week your staff made available, for an in camera review by our committees, two letters to the Department of Justice (DOJ) from attorney Beth Wilkinson, on behalf of her clients Cheryl Mills and Heather Samuelson (the Wilkinson letters). The Wilkinson letters -- both dates June 10, 2016 -- were incorporated by reference into the immunity agreements for Ms. Mils and Ms. Samuelson related to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's criminal investigation into former Secretary Hillary Clinton's email server," the letter states. "We write to express our concerns about the process by which Congress was allowed to view the Wilkinson letters, that the letters inappropriately restrict the scope of the FBI's investigation, and that the FBI inexplicably agreed to destroy the laptops knowing that the contents were the subject of Congressional subpoenas and preservation letters."

"Further, the Wilkinson letters memorialized the FBI’s agreement to destroy the laptops. This is simply astonishing given the likelihood that evidence on the laptops would be of interest to congressional investigators," the letter continues. "The Wilkinson letters raise serious questions about why DOJ would consent to such substantial limitations on the scope of its investigation, and how Director Comey’s statements on the scope of the investigation comport with the reality of what the FBI was permitted to investigate."

In other words, the FBI was so limited by DOJ in regard to what agents could investigate, it's no wonder there was no indictment or prosecution. Not to mention, the number of immunity deals given to Clinton's top aides, including the Clinton staffer who set up the private server in her home, made prosecutions all but impossible. 

The letter was sent and signed by House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley.