FBI's Comey agreed to mute two other Clinton, Trump investigations until after election

FBI Director James Comey
(Image credit: Getty Images)

FBI Director James Comey's decision to disregard warnings from Justice Department officials and longstanding department protocol to inform Congress that newly discovered emails may be relevant to the Hillary Clinton private email investigation has legal experts and lawmakers in both parties scratching their heads. It is especially puzzling, The New York Times reports, because over the summer, Comey agreed to hold off on issuing subpoenas or taking other steps that would publicize two other preliminary investigations: one into the Clinton Foundation, the other into the Russian-Ukrainian business dealings of Donald Trump's then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

These investigations, neither of which is public, were put on hold until after the election so as not to be seen as interfering in the presidential race, The Times reports, citing federal law enforcement officials. In August, right before Manafort was ousted from the campaign, Ukrainian anti-corruption officials and news reports linked Manafort to secret payments from ousted pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych and alleged that Manafort had lobbied on Ukraine's behalf in Washington without registering as foreign agents.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.