Feb. 7 (UPI) — A report released on Wednesday by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee questions how the FBI handled the email investigation of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The report released by Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., includes information that “raises serious questions” about how the bureau applied the rule of law in its investigation of Clinton’s use of a private email server while serving in the Obama administration.
The report states the FBI did not use a grand jury to compel testimony and obtain most of the evidence, “choosing instead to offer immunity deals.”
Also included is what the report says is evidence of substantial edits to former FBI Director James Comey‘s public statement “that served to downplay the severity of Secretary Clinton’s actions” — and new text messages between two FBI employees that disproved Comey’s claim that he hadn’t consulted with the Justice Department or White House.
Text messages between FBI Deputy Assistant Director of the Counterintelligence Division Peter Strzok and FBI attorney Lisa Page, who were romantically involved, criticized President Donald Trump and discussed serving to “protect the country from the menace” of Trump “enablers.”
The texts also include discussions about an “insurance policy” against the “risk” of a Trump presidency, “unfinished business” and “an investigation leading to impeachment.” The couple also wrote about creating talking points for then-Director Comey because President Obama “wants to know everything we’re doing.”
Other texts in the report include Page calling Trump a “loathsome human,” writing “I can not [sic] believe Donald Trump is likely to be an actual, serious candidate for president.” A text by Strzok called Trump “an idiot,” and said Clinton should win.
“These statements raise questions about whether personal political bias may have affected the FBI’s investigation,” the panel’s report says.
Also included is information that senior FBI officials knew about emails on a laptop belonging to former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner weeks before Comey notified Congress, just days before the U.S. presidential election.
Wednesday, President Donald Trump tweeted, “NEW FBI TEXTS ARE BOMBSHELLS!”
