In late December, Jeff Sessions ordered a Justice Department review of FBI evidence relating to the so-called “Uranium One” deal, which far-right critics link to Hillary Clinton. It’s a deal that Fox News’ Shepard Smith recently slammed as a right-wing conspiracy because as Secretary of State, Hillary had nothing to do with approving the 2010 transaction. However, Trump has continued to grouse over the Russian collusion probe into his campaign while insisting that Uranium One is the “real Russia story.” And following repeated tweet-complaints from Trump about the Clinton Foundation, the FBI has now announced a corruption investigation into that as well.
The Hill broke the story of how the Justice Department’s newest inquiry will dig into allegations of illegal behavior, including “pay-to-play” favors while Clinton was secretary of state, by the Clinton Foundation. The probe has been confirmed by law enforcement officials, and it’s already going down:
FBI agents from Little Rock, Ark., where the foundation was started, have taken the lead in the investigation and have interviewed at least one witness in the last month, and law enforcement officials said additional activities are expected in the coming weeks.
The officials, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, said the probe is examining whether the Clintons promised or performed any policy favors in return for largesse to their charitable efforts or whether donors made commitments of donations in hopes of securing government outcomes.
The investigation might also dig into issues of tax exemption on behalf of the foundation, and while a source told The Hill that the interviewing FBI agents were “extremely professional and unquestionably thorough,” the New York Times notes that Trump is developing quite a habit of asking prosecutors “to investigate or imprison his political rivals,” which is something that past presidents have made a point of not doing.
Indeed, Trump is still obsessed with “Crooked Hillary” and her associates. He recently called for the jailing of former Clinton aide Huma Abedin while accusing her of turning over government passwords to foreign agents. Trump did so based upon an unsubstantiated report from a far-right publication, which only points toward his continuing grudge over, well, losing the popular vote. And while POTUS recently dissolved his “voter fraud” commission, he did so while blaming states for not cooperating. In other words, he’s still bizarrely angry over not “winning” … even though he’s now POTUS.
(Via The Hill & New York Times)