Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is demanding access to information tied the FBI's probe of Hillary Clinton, saying the decision to recommend no charges "threatens the rule of law."
"Under
President Obama, we have seen the most politicized Department of
Justice in history; I very much hope that politicization has not
similarly corrupted the Federal Bureau of Investigation," Cruz said in a
statement Tuesday. "I join my Senate Judiciary colleagues... in calling
for public transparency of, and full access to, all the information
that the FBI used to come to today’s dubious decision.”
Cruz's comments come after FBI Director James Comey announced
Tuesday morning that while Clinton and top aides were "extremely
careless" about the nation's secrets while she oversaw the State
Department, he would not recommend indicting the presumptive nominee.
That
decision drew immediate and furious backlash from Republicans, who
argue it proves that Clinton is above the law and can't be trusted by
voters.
Cruz added Tuesday that he has "serious concerns about the integrity of Director Comey's decision."
“Director
Comey has rewritten a clearly worded federal criminal statute. In so
doing, he has come dangerously close to saying that grossly negligent
handling of classified information should not result in serious
consequences for high-level officials," he said.
Clinton's
use of a private email server has dogged her campaign for months. While
Democrats tried to close the door on the scandal Tuesday, the push by
Cruz and other GOP lawmakers for access to information tied to the FBI's
Clinton probe virtually guarantees it will continue to have legs in
Congress.
Comey, a Republican who worked in
George W. Bush's administration, stressed the independence of his probe
Tuesday morning during a press conference, saying that no one at the
Justice Department knew what he would say. But the announcement aroused
suspicion from some GOP senators, who noted that in came after Attorney
General Loretta Lynch met privately with Bill Clinton.
Lynch told reporters at the time that they did not discuss the investigation.
Sen. Chuck Grassley
(R-Iowa), the Judiciary Committee chairman, said separately Tuesday
that the FBI "must be more transparent than ever in releasing
information gathered during its investigation."
"There
are plenty of [Freedom of Information Act] and congressional requests
pending that have been on hold because of the ongoing nature of the
investigation, so now the FBI should respond fully and completely to all
of them," he said.
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/286579-cruz-wants-documents-on-fbis-dubious-clinton-probe
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