On the 21st local time, the United States Department of Justice released a newly declassified report document concerning the investigation by the FBI into the “emailgate” incident involving former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The report from the DOJ website stated that the document revealed:
The FBI failed to conduct a thorough investigation into
Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server and improper handling of highly confidential information during her tenure as Secretary of State.
△Screenshot of the declassified report by the DOJ on the 21st
According to reports, this latest declassified document is an appendix to a report by the Office of the Inspector General in 2018, which reviewed the handling of the “emailgate” incident by the DOJ and the FBI.
The appendix showed that during the investigation, the FBI obtained some USB drives, but then-FBI Director Comey and others failed to conduct additional, targeted searches on these USBs, despite containing information related to the investigation.
△Screenshot of the declassified report by the DOJ on the 21st
According to the Office of the Inspector General, these USBs contained highly sensitive information, some originating from government agencies such as the State Department, others from the emails of then-President Obama, and possibly even including congressional information.
However, these USBs were never reviewed as part of the “emailgate” incident.
Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, a Republican, stated that this indicates that under Comey’s leadership, the FBI failed to perform basic investigative work when investigating the “emailgate” incident against Hillary Clinton.
He mentioned that this lack of diligence, or perhaps deliberate inaction, contrasts sharply with their efforts to thoroughly investigate allegations of Trump’s ties to Russia.
U.S. Media: The Department of Justice is Deeply Involved in the “Epstein Case”
According to a report by Newsweek on the 21st, as the U.S. Department of Justice disclosed documents related to Hillary Clinton’s “emailgate” investigation, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is facing increasing scrutiny over how his office handled documents related to the Epstein case.
Initially, Sessions promised transparency and claimed these documents were “right here on my desk,” but later withdrew these statements under legal and ethical constraints.
A poll released by CBS on the 20th showed that nearly ninety percent of Americans want the U.S. Department of Justice to release all documents related to the Epstein case. Despite public calls for transparency, the U.S. Department of Justice still insists there is no Epstein “client list” and it is unlikely to disclose more information.
Hillary’s “Emailgate” Incident
In March 2015, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was exposed for using her private email server to handle official emails during her tenure, allegedly violating the Federal Records Act. Clinton subsequently admitted to using her private email to handle about 60,000 emails, of which 30,000 were deleted due to “private content,” and the remaining 30,000 were turned over to the State Department.
In July 2016, then-FBI Director James Comey stated that Clinton’s use of her private email and server while serving as Secretary of State demonstrated a “complete disregard” for government secrets,
but there was no evidence suggesting that Clinton or her staff intended to violate the law. The findings were not sufficient to bring charges against Clinton. On November 6 of the same year, Comey maintained his previous recommendation against charging Clinton.