Senate

Key GOP senator demands answers on FBI’s Clinton review

by Jordain Carney - 11/07/16 6:05 PM ET

Sen. Ron Johnson is demanding FBI Director James Comey hand over details of the bureau’s recent review of emails potentially tied to Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.

The Wisconsin Republican, who chairs the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, sent a letter to Comey Monday, saying his messages to Congress left questions unanswered.

{mosads}”Your two most recent letters to the Committee leave several unanswered questions about this new material and the FBI’s review of it,” Johnson wrote, adding he was requesting additional information “in the name of transparency.”

Comey sent a letter to Congress in late October, 11 days before the presidential election, letting lawmakers know they were opening a new review into emails potentially connected to the investigation into whether mishandled classified information through her use of a private server while leading the State Department.

The FBI director then sent a second letter on Sunday, letting lawmakers know the bureau was ending the review without changing its recommendation that Clinton, now the Democratic nominee for president, not face charges.

His handling of the probe has brought him criticism from all sides. Both Democratic and Republican senators are pledging to hold hearings over Comey’s handling of the case, and Johnson said separately he would continue “oversight” into Clinton’s email server and Comey’s decisions.

Johnson, in Monday’s letter, is asking Comey to detail how many emails the FBI found that were not duplicates, if any contained classified information and of those that included classified information, how many were sent over an unclassified email system.

He also wants to know if the FBI notified the Justice Department about its decision prior to Sunday’s letter to Congress, and if so which Justice officials were told, as well as an overall timeline for when FBI officials first found about the emails and told Justice leadership.

Johnson, who faces a tough reelection fight on Tuesday, also wants to know if the FBI is investigating other State Department employees for mishandling classified information and which Justice officials told the FBI not to send the original letter to Congress in late October alerting them of the review.

A government official told The Hill late last month that the Justice Department’s stance was that the FBI should abstain from taking any actions that could impact the presidential election, though Comey and Attorney General Loretta Lynch did not discuss the matter directly.

Tags Hillary Clinton Ron Johnson