Hawkeye Reporter

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has released internal FBI emails and an FBI Electronic Communication that indicate Department of Justice officials chose not to pursue a criminal investigation into alleged campaign finance violations by Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee. The documents suggest that, despite evidence presented by FBI agents that Clinton and the DNC may have intentionally concealed payments related to efforts targeting then-candidate Donald Trump, DOJ officials declined to move forward.

The Federal Election Commission previously fined Clinton and the DNC in 2022 for misrepresenting campaign expenses connected to payments made to Fusion GPS. Fusion GPS was hired for opposition research that led to the creation of the Steele Dossier, which contained unverified claims about Trump’s connections with Russia.

Richard Pilger from the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section and J.P. Cooney, who worked at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia at the time, were identified as making the decision not to open an investigation. Both later played roles in reviewing or participating in Jack Smith’s Arctic Frost investigation.

Grassley stated, “Courageous whistleblowers came to my office years ago to sound the alarm that the Justice Department inappropriately interfered in efforts to investigate potential criminal activity committed by Hillary Clinton and her campaign.” He added, “These records show the same partisans who rushed to cover for Clinton rabidly pursued Arctic Frost, which was a runaway train aimed directly at President Trump and the Republican political apparatus. I appreciate Attorney General Bondi and FBI Director Patel’s efforts to turn over the information I requested, and I’ll continue investigating this matter.”

The FBI EC and related emails are available online. Grassley has also sent a follow-up letter to both DOJ and FBI regarding these findings.