Senate Judiciary Chairman Calls on FBI to Release All Information About Hillary Email Case to the Public

chuck-grassley-ap

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Top Republican leaders in the House and Senate are talking about next steps in the Hillary Clinton email investigation — namely, making sure that all of the information comes out in the open.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday that “we need more information” about the FBI’s decision-making process, following a bizarre press conference in which FBI director James Comey said that he found “evidence” that Clinton potentially violated the law yet he will not recommend indictment. Meanwhile, Breitbart News has learned that Oversight Committee heavy-hitters Trey Gowdy and Jim Jordan are meeting Tuesday afternoon to discuss the case.

Now Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is going one step further and calling on the FBI to fulfill all Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests pertaining to the investigation.

Here is Grassley’s statement:

While Director Comey made it clear that Secretary Clinton and her staff were ‘extremely careless’ in handling classified information, he also recommended no criminal prosecution even though ‘gross negligence’ regarding classified information is a crime.  If it wants to avoid giving the impression that the FBI was pulling punches, because many people in a similar situation would face some sort of consequence, the agency must now be more transparent than ever in releasing information gathered during its investigation.

Even Director Comey said there should be extraordinary transparency.  That means more than simply giving the public a brief summary of his view of the facts.  It should include the actual evidence so the public can make an educated decision on its own about the judgment and decision-making of all the senior officials involved.  There are plenty of FOIA and congressional requests pending that have been on hold because of the ongoing nature of the investigation, so now the FBI should respond fully and completely to all of them.

If Republicans want to seize Comey’s words as an opportunity, they need to act fast. For their purposes, there can be no shrugging and calling it a day.

Compelling the FBI to release all information on the case would be a good step for them. Calling a select committee of Congress or appointing a special prosecutor would be an even better step.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.