US Justice Department Inspector to Probe DOJ, FBI Pre-Election Actions

VOA NEWS

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department’s Inspector General announced Thursday that he will investigate the actions of the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) during the 2016 presidential campaign.

The stated intention is to determine how FBI Director James Comey and the deputy director handled the probe into Democrat Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, and to ensure that the FBI and the Justice Department followed their own policies and procedures.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Thursday he hopes the investigation follows the evidence.

«This administration has assiduously protected the independence of inspector generals and so we wouldn’t weigh in publicly or privately on any investigative decision made by an inspector general,» Earnest told reporters during the midday White House briefing.

«Presumably, the stakes are even higher for the inspector general who has a responsibility for conducting these kind of investigations of independent law enforcement agencies. I can tell you that the White House was not involved in that decision and anything the inspector general chooses to investigate is something that he or she will do based on their own view of the situation, their own knowledge of the facts and hopefully they will follow the evidence where it leads, if they find any evidence,» Earnest added.

Democrats say Comey’s handling of the email issue and his decision to release a letter about his decision not to prosecute Clinton a few weeks before the election, as one of the main reasons for Clinton’s loss to Donald Trump in the presidential election..