Republicans in Congress have called for Attorney General Loretta Lynch and FBI Director James Comey to answer questions regarding the Hillary Clinton email investigation.
Comey will appear before the House Oversight Committee on Thursday to defend his decision not to recommend criminal charges against Clinton for her use of a private email server while secretary of State. Lynch, who recently faced heavy criticism over her secret meeting with former President Bill Clinton in Phoenix, was called by Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) to appear before the House Judiciary Committee next week.
On Tuesday, Mr. Comey said Mrs. Clinton had been “extremely careless” in her handling of emails containing classified material, but that the FBI was not recommending pressing charges against her. Many Republicans were critical of the decision and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) had called for a hearing on the issue.
“The FBI’s recommendation is surprising and confusing. The fact pattern presented by Director Comey makes clear Secretary Clinton violated the law,” Mr. Chaffetz said in a statement Wednesday. “Congress and the American people have a right to understand the depth and breadth of the FBI’s investigation.”
Mr. Ryan has also said Mrs. Clinton should not receive classified information in briefings given to her as the Democratic presidential nominee.
Ms. Lynch is also set to testify before Congress regarding the Clinton email investigation, said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R., Va.) in a Wednesday statement. A Justice Department spokesman affirmed Ms. Lynch plans to testify next week but said that the appearance had been confirmed since May.
She is expected to appear at an oversight hearing of the Department of Justice next Tuesday, July 12, according to Mr. Goodlatte, who said that Mr. Comey’s recommendation against charges is “uniquely troubling” in light of Ms. Lynch’s meeting with Bill Clinton last week on her plane.
Chaffetz, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, told Fox News Wednesday that he’s looking forward to asking Comey why Clinton should not be charged despite him saying that she was “extremely careless” with classified materials:
“I would really like to know the difference between carelessness and negligence,” Chaffetz said. “His decision is different than I would come to.”
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Chaffetz said that the statute does not state that a person must show intent when possibly mishandling classified information.
He also said that Comey “dispelled” many of Clinton’s past statements about her email server.
Chaffetz called on the FBI to release information from the investigation, including the transcript of their interview with Mrs. Clinton.
He said lawmakers will also be looking into whether the law is being properly applied or whether the laws on handling classified information should be updated.
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