Des Moines Sun

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has released internal emails and an FBI Electronic Communication (EC) that show Department of Justice officials declined to open a criminal investigation into possible campaign finance violations by Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). The documents reveal that, despite FBI agents presenting evidence suggesting Clinton and the DNC concealed payments to target then-candidate Donald Trump, DOJ officials chose not to pursue the case.

In 2022, the Federal Election Commission fined both Clinton and the DNC for misreporting expenditures related to payments made to Fusion GPS. This firm was hired to produce opposition research known as the Steele Dossier, which included unsubstantiated claims about Trump’s ties to Russia.

The decision not to investigate was made by Richard Pilger from the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section and J.P. Cooney from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Both later played roles in Jack Smith’s Arctic Frost investigation: Pilger helped approve its opening, while Cooney served as Deputy Special Counsel.

According to Grassley, “Courageous whistleblowers came to my office years ago to sound the alarm that the Justice Department inappropriately interfered in efforts to investigate potential criminal activity committed by Hillary Clinton and her campaign,” Grassley said. “These records show the same partisans who rushed to cover for Clinton rabidly pursued Arctic Frost, which was a runaway train aimed directly at President Trump and the Republican political apparatus. I appreciate Attorney General Bondi and FBI Director Patel’s efforts to turn over the information I requested, and I’ll continue investigating this matter.”

The FBI EC and related email communications have been made public following Grassley’s oversight request.