The FBI had at least four ongoing criminal investigations against Hillary and Bill Clinton that were abruptly closed months before the 2016 presidential election. This is according to a report by Department of Justice Special Investigator John Durham.
The FBI had begun investigating allegations that foreign countries and influential organizations were trying to influence the Clintons through donations to their foundation and Hillary’s presidential campaign. Three of the four investigations launched in early 2016 were to examine whether the Clinton Foundation could be linked to “criminal activity”. The investigations involved FBI offices in Arkansas, New York and Washington, which began their reviews while Hillary Clinton was in the midst of her presidential campaign.
The investigation included allegations that an outside commercial entity “likely engaged a federal public official in a flow of benefits scheme of benefits”. In practice, this would have involved large monetary contributions given to a non-profit organization under the direct and indirect control of the federal public official – “in exchange for favorable government action and/or influence”, according to the report.
The FBI’s Washington office further investigated allegations that the Clintons accepted millions of dollars in donations linked to foreign governments. The fourth investigation involved allegations from what was described as “an inside source” that Hillary Clinton continued to accept illegal donations throughout her presidential campaign.
“Beginning in late 2014, before Clinton formally declared her presidential candidacy, the FBI learned from a well-placed [source] that a foreign government was planning to send an individual to contribute to
Clinton’s anticipated presidential campaign, as a way to gain influence with Clinton should she
win the presidency”, the report states.
FBI informant: “The staff ‘were okay’ with it”
According to the FBI informant, Hillary’s campaign staff was fully aware that her campaign was funded by foreign actors and was “perfectly fine” with it.
An unnamed FBI agent who worked on the Clinton campaign investigations also says that everyone at the FBI was “super careful” and “scared” to investigate Hillary Clinton and that they were “tip-toeing around” because they didn’t want to fall out of favor with a person who could be the country’s next president.
All four investigations were closed before the 2016 elections. Some of them on the direct orders of senior FBI officials with ties to the Clinton family. According to John Durham, the FBI has failed to investigate possible illegal donations linked to the Clinton campaign and has not even properly documented its work.
Furthermore, the FBI allegedly either failed or neglected to apply for a wiretap authorization for its “well-placed” informant when he was in close contact with the Clintons and instead eventually asked the informant to sever all ties with the couple.
A spokesperson for the Clinton Foundation argues that the foundation has never been involved in any illegal activities whatsoever and that Durham’s report also proves this.
“None of the Clintons have ever taken any money from the Clinton Foundation — in fact, the Clintons themselves are major donors to the Clinton Foundation”, the spokesperson claims.
