Republicans Hint at Restarting Probes Into Hillary Clinton Dropped by FBI Ahead of 2016 Election

On Friday, a Republican lawmaker suggested that the Republican-led House launch new investigations into failed 2016 Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton after it was revealed that her campaign was responsible for the false ‘Russian collusion’ allegations against her opponent, Donald Trump.

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) responded in an interview on Fox News after co-anchor Sandra Smith pointed out that many in the mainstream media defended the FBI despite the fact that the investigation into Trump’s campaign over the collusion charges was launched despite there being no evidence to indicate they were valid.

“The media was in on this from the beginning, in my view. They’re the ones who were willing to launder out Hillary Clinton’s phony, made-up information about Donald Trump,” he said, adding it was “the same information that she used with her friends at the upper echelon of the FBI to start the ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ investigation.”

“So her media friends are not gonna come out now and say, ‘Oh yeah, you know what? We were wrong, and this is damning,’” Donalds continued. “They’re just gonna laugh it off, cover it for one or two days, and then ignore it. This is really dangerous for our country.”

Donalds continued by saying that the Durham report “clearly shows rank-and-file in the FBI, in three different offices, who had serious concerns about the Clinton Foundation” (the nonprofit organization founded by former president Bill Clinton and former first lady Hillary Clinton after they left office).

After it was revealed that Hillary Clinton had been using a private email server in her New York City home while serving as Secretary of State under Barack Obama, the Justice Department and some branches of the FBI opened at least four investigations into the Clinton Foundation and Clinton herself. She was also being looked at for allegedly erasing emails and documents that were classified and subpoenaed by Congress.

“I think one of the most damning things in this report that really isn’t talked about is that [then-CIA Director] John Brennan actually briefed Barack Obama and then-Vice President Joe Biden” in July 2016 “about what the Clinton campaign was doing,” Donalds said, adding that Congress has “no idea” what his reaction was to the briefing or the fact that the former FBI Director James Comey was overseeing the probe into the Trump campaign.

Obama “could have shut the whole thing down right then and there, and obviously, he did not,” the Florida lawmaker continued.

And at that point, co-host John Roberts brought up the four investigations into the Clintons mentioned in Durham’s report again, noting that they were simply shut down in the months leading up to the November 2016 election, and adding that some Republicans, such as Florida’s Rep. Matt Gaetz, would like to see them reopened.

“If the DOJ and the FBI refuse to do it, should there be congressional investigations?” Roberts asked.

“I totally agree. We should definitely be looking into this,” Donalds responded, going on to note that Durham’s report mentioned how abruptly the investigations were shut down as well as “back-channel” emails and communications between FBI personnel who believed Hillary was going to win the presidency and would retaliate against them if they continued their investigations.

However, there are statutes of limitations on the prosecution of federal crimes, and it is unclear if Clinton could be prosecuted at this time for any violations of federal rules governing the handling of secret documents.

But, Donalds said, the situation “stinks,” and the American people need to know about it. Therefore, I believe it is necessary to resume inquiries into the activities of the Clinton Foundation at the time.