FBI Says Hillary Clinton Was "Extremely Careless"
(Metairie, La.) – U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-La.) today released the following statement upon the conclusion of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's inappropriate and controversial email practices during her time as secretary of state. The FBI concluded they will not recommend pursuing criminal charges. FBI Director James Comey has previously stated, “We (the FBI) don’t normally make public our recommendations to the prosecutors….”
“Hillary Clinton gravely mishandled sensitive information and put our national security at risk—not by mistake, but as part of an elaborate system of private servers and the like designed to hide politically damaging information,” Vitter said. “Despite the facts uncovered during the FBI's investigation, today's announcement essentially gives her a pass based on politics, pure and simple. The American people are sick and tired of the Washington elite insiders living under a different set of rules than everyone else, and Director Comey’s statements today sets a dangerous precedent moving forward.”
In a press conference this morning, Director Comey recommended no criminal charges against former Secretary Clinton, although he said that she was "extremely careless" and her colleagues were irresponsible in the handling of sensitive information. Comey continued noting that “this is not to suggest that in similar circumstances, a person who engaged in this activity would face no consequences.” Click here to read Director Comey’s remarks.
Last week and just days before Comey was expected to make a public recommendation, Bill Clinton met with Attorney General Loretta Lynch aboard a private plane at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport, raising serious concerns over conflicts of interest. A formal announcement from Lynch on the Justice Department's next steps in this case is expected in the near future.
Vitter has been a vocal advocate for pushing the U.S. State Department to turn over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s records from her private email domain, including emails regarding the State Department’s decision against designating Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), citing concerns about conflicts of interest between Clinton, the Clinton Foundation, and her position as Secretary of State. As of yet, he has not received an adequate response. Click here to read more.
In 2015, Vitter also wrote to the Inspector Generals of the Department of State and Inspector General of the Intelligence Community over Administration efforts to shut out oversight of Secretary Clinton’s emails. Click here to read more. Following Vitter’s letter, the Intelligence Community IG (ICIG) responded that Vitter “correctly state(d), that the ICIG had not had unfettered access with regard to the (ICIG) ongoing review of classified Intelligence Community (IC) information in personal emails of State Department employees.
