- FBI failed to fully investigate Hillary Clinton's private email server use and classified data mishandling
- Thumb drives with sensitive data, including Obama's emails, were not thoroughly reviewed by the FBI
- Top FBI officials declined further searches of the drives despite their relevance to the Clinton probe
US former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is once again under scrutiny in the United States after a report claimed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) "failed to fully investigate" Clinton's use of a private email server and mishandling of highly classified information during her time working with the Obama administration. The report comes days after US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard alleged that the Obama administration manufactured the 'hoax' around Donald Trump's Russia link.
The FBI received "thumb drives" from a "confidential source" that contained official data acquired via cyber intrusions - including emails from President Barack Obama -- the federal agency "barely glanced" at it, according to a declassified appendix to a June 2018 Justice Department (DOJ) inspector general report.
US Senator Chuck Grassley's office released a statement on the DOJ's Clinton annex report, alleging that then-FBI Director Comey, Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, former Agent Peter Strzok, and others failed to perform additional, targeted searches of the drives, even though they contained information relevant to the inquiry.
"This document shows an extreme lack of effort and due diligence in the FBI's investigation of former Secretary Clinton's email usage and mishandling of highly classified information," Grassley said.
According to Grassley, the thumb drives contained highly sensitive information exfiltrated from US government agencies, including the Department of State, as well as then-President Barack Obama's emails and, potentially, congressional information. The thumb drives were reportedly never reviewed as part of the Clinton investigation, contrary to the recommendation of a draft FBI memorandum.
The report was penned by then-DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, who holds the same position at the Federal Reserve Board and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It is not known if the FBI has carried out any other thorough investigations of the said hard drives since the 2018 watchdog report was released.
The federal agency's Cyber Division had tried to obtain access to the hard drives during the 2016 campaign cycle to carry out targeted searches for information relevant to the Clinton probe. However, the request was rebuffed, according to a Fox report.
Then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe also asked then-US Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates if he could refer to the drives for the bureau's probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election, but again, the request was shot down. This was reportedly done due to concerns that the FBI's probe parameters were too wide and didn't properly safeguard privileged information.'
Hillary Clinton Mailing Controversy
Before she was sworn in as Secretary of State in 2009, Clinton set up a private email server at her home in New York. During her four years in office, she relied on this server for official as well as private communications rather than using official State Department email accounts maintained on federal servers.
Clinton's mailing system courted controversy after a New York Times 2015 report claimed that the system "may have violated federal requirements" and was "alarming" to current and former government archive officials.
However, the FBI later determined that Clinton's server did not contain any information that was clearly marked classified and cleared her of all charges.
