Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:29 pm
The FBI has been leaking information to the Trump campaign, and top House Democrats are calling for a federal investigation. If Trump loses on Tuesday, the FBI could be facing a world of trouble.
Rep. Elijah E. Cummings and Rep. John Conyers, Jr., the Ranking Members of the House Committees on Oversight and Government Reform and Judiciary, sent a letter calling on the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice calling for an immediate investigation into the FBI leaks to the Trump campaign.
Here is the full text of the letter:
This morning, Rudy Giuliani—one of Donald Trump’s closest and most vocal campaign advisers—appeared on national television and confirmed that he had obtained leaked information about the FBI’s review of Clinton-related emails several days before FBI Director James Comey sent his letter to Congress last Friday about this matter.
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In fact, Mr. Giuliani went even further and bragged about the information he had obtained, stating: “Did I hear about it? You’re darn right I heard about it.â€
Already, Director Comey’s letter from last Friday had broken with longstanding precedent by confirming publicly that the FBI was in the process of taking investigative steps relating to newly-discovered emails, despite the fact that Director Comey had not yet even seen these emails or determined whether they were “significant.â€
It is absolutely unacceptable for the FBI to leak unsubstantiated—and in some cases false—information about one presidential candidate to benefit the other candidate. Leaking this information to former FBI officials as a conduit to the Trump campaign is equally intolerable.
For example, on Wednesday, Fox News anchor Bret Baier claimed on national television—based on multiple leaks—that the FBI was “actively and aggressively†investigating the Clinton Foundation and that an indictment was “likely.†This morning, however, Mr. Baier was forced to correct his report, admitting that it was “a mistake.â€
These unauthorized and inaccurate leaks from within the FBI, particularly so close to a presidential election, are unprecedented. For these reasons, we are calling on your office to conduct a thorough investigation to identify the sources of these and other leaks from the FBI and to recommend appropriate action.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
If Trump loses on Tuesday, and Democrats take control of the Senate, the FBI is going to facing several congressional investigations. There are already plans to investigate the bureau’s investigation of Hillary Clinton’s emails. It is probable that members of Congress will want to investigate the leaking of information to a presidential campaign.
There is a faction within the FBI that is trying to help Donald Trump win the election. This has been made obvious over the past week.
If Trump goes down, he may set off a firestorm that will make the Congressional investigation into the FBI one of the top political stories of 2017.
A Democratic victory on election day will mean accountability for the FBI.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
