FBI sends Congress documents from closed Clinton email investigation


On Tuesday, the FBI delivered to several congressional committees a packet of documents related to its closed investigation into Hillary Clinton's handling of classified information via email during her tenure as secretary of state, along with a letter strongly defending the bureau's decision not to charge Clinton. Sharing classified documents from a closed FBI investigation is very rare, and not surprisingly, the transfer of the Clinton files — an investigative summary, "302" reports on interviews with Clinton and others, and classified emails recovered from her private server — was immediately subject to partisan sniping.
Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee say they requested the files to better understand the FBI's decision and search for evidence to support their call for the Justice Department to open an investigation into whether Clinton lied to Congress in her marathon Benghazi hearing last fall. Democrats say the GOP is baldly trying to harm the Democratic nominee politically; Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said Republicans wanted the files "for the purposes of further second-guessing the career professionals at the FBI," and he asked for the documents to be publicly released so Republicans can't "mischaracterize them through selective, partisan leaks."
For its part, the FBI said it was "providing certain relevant materials" as part of its "commitment to transparency with respect to the FBI's investigation of former Secretary of State Clinton's use of a personal email server," adding that "the material contains classified and other sensitive information and is being provided with the expectation it will not be disseminated or disclosed without FBI concurrence." Pretty much everyone seems to agree that the email controversy has damaged Clinton's standing among voters, and that new material could keep the issue alive during the election campaign. But if classified documents are "actually released or leaked by Republicans," note Matt Zapotosky and Karoun Demirjian in The Washington Post, that "could put them in the awkward spot of defending the release of sensitive information, which they have criticized Clinton for mishandling by using a private server as secretary of state." You can learn more in the CNN report below. Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
6 peaceful homes near small towns
Feature Featuring doors with local topographical maps in Oregon and a 1850s homestead-turned-house in Vermont
-
What would happen to Earth if humans went extinct?
The Explainer Human extinction would potentially give rise to new species and climates
-
The best TV shows based on movies
The Week Recommends A handful of shows avoid derivative storytelling and craft bold narrative expansions
-
Fed chair Powell in Trump's firing line
Speed Read The president considers removing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell
-
Trump trashes supporters over Epstein files
speed read The president lashed out on social media following criticism of his administration's Jeffrey Epstein investigation
-
Judge nixes wiping medical debt from credit checks
Speed Read Medical debt can now be included in credit reports
-
Grijalva wins Democratic special primary for Arizona
Speed Read She will go up against Republican nominee Daniel Butierez to fill the US House seat her father held until his death earlier this year
-
US inflation jumps as Trump tariffs 'bite'
Speed Read Consumer prices are climbing and the inflation rate rose to its highest level in four months
-
SCOTUS greenlights mass DOE firings
Speed Read The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to further shrink the Education Department
-
Cuomo announces third-party run for NYC mayor
Speed Read He will go up against progressive Democratic powerhouse Zohran Mamdani and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams
-
Secret Service 'failures' on Trump shooting
Speed Read Two new reports detail security breakdowns that led to attempts on the president's life