FBI gave top Clinton aide Cheryl Mills immunity in email probe, rep says
Published September 23, 2016
Hillary Clintons former chief of staff Cheryl Mills and two other staffers
were granted immunity as part of the now-closed FBI probe into the former
secretary of states email practices, according to a top House Republican
who questioned whether the numerous deals hindered the bureaus ability to
build a case.
"This is beyond explanation, House oversight committee Chairman Jason
Chaffetz, R-Utah, said in a statement Friday. The FBI was handing out
immunity agreements like candy. I've lost confidence in this investigation
and I question the genuine effort in which it was carried out.
The arrangements detailed by Chaffetz bring the total number of publicly
known immunity deals in the Clinton case to five.
Chaffetz first revealed the additional deals in an interview with The
Associated Press, saying no wonder they couldn't prosecute a case. He said
Mills gave federal investigators access to her laptop on the condition that
findings couldn't be used against her.
Immunity deals should not be a requirement for cooperating with the FBI,
Chaffetz said in his statement.
Chaffetz said the two others granted immunity were John Bentel,
then-director of the State Department's Office of Information Resources
Management, and Clinton aide Heather Samuelson.
Two other people including former IT specialist Bryan Pagliano were
previously identified as receiving immunity deals as well. Chaffetz
committee voted Thursday to recommend holding Pagliano in contempt of
Congress after he again ignored a subpoena to appear before the oversight
panel.
Democrats on the oversight committee pushed back at Chaffetz claims Friday,
saying the immunity agreements were very limited and did not extend to
statements to the FBI or assertions to other investigators, or testimony
before Congress.
Its beyond disappointingbut not surprising in light of the electionthat
Republicans are rushing to leak inaccurate information about this very
limited agreement between Ms. Mills and the Justice Department, Rep. Elijah
Cummings, D-Md., top Democrat on the oversight committee, said in a
statement. Ms. Mills was not immunized for any statements she made to the
FBI, Congress, or other investigators. Of course, Republicans are trying to
make political hay out of this, but the facts are that Ms. Mills cooperated
fully with the Justice Department and Congress.
Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said Republicans are trying to make
something out of nothing by rummaging through the files of a Justice
Department investigation that was closed months ago without any charges
whatsoever.
But Chaffetz revelations fueled GOP concerns about the nature of the FBI
investigation, which determined Clintons actions were extremely careless
but did not lead to any criminal prosecution.
Donald Trump spokesman Jason Miller said the multiple immunity deals "shows
this was without a doubt a criminal scheme.
The yearlong investigation by the FBI focused on whether Clinton sent or
received classified information using the private server, which was not
authorized for such messages.
FBI Director James Comey said in July that his agents hadn't found evidence
to support any criminal charge or direct evidence that Clinton's private
server had been hacked. He suggested that hackers working for a foreign
government may have been so sophisticated they wouldn't have left behind any
evidence of a break-in.
Chaffetz said he is looking forward to asking Comey questions about the
immunity deals when Comey testifies Wednesday before the House Judiciary
Committee.
EM
On the 49th Parallel
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja and Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda is in
anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja na Dk. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda ni
katika machafuko"
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