Top Obama-era officials tangled in watchdog's lawsuit over Clinton Foundation investigation

Washington Examiner ^ | November 30, 2018 03:29 PM | Updated Nov 30, 2018, 08:47 PM | Daniel Chaitin

[E. Pluribus Unum]

A conservative watchdog group announced Friday it had filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Justice Department seeking communications records that relate the FBI's investigation into whether Hillary and Bill Clinton's charity organization participated in pay-to-play schemes or other improper behavior with the U.S. government.

The latest lawsuit by Judicial Watch related to the Clintons, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the FBI denied their FOIA request and appeal this fall, targets the offices of prominent Obama-era officials, including former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, former FBI Director James Comey, and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.

Specifically, Judicial Watch demands the DOJ do a search, and "demonstrate that it employed search methods reasonably likely to lead to the discovery," for "[a]ll records of communication, including but not limited to e-mails (whether sent or received on .gov or non-.gov e-mail accounts), text messages, or instant chats, sent between officials in the offices of the FBI Director, Deputy Director and General Counsel on the one hand, and officials in the offices of the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General and or Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General on the other hand, regarding the closure or possible closure of an investigation into the Clinton Foundation."

The time frame of Judicial Watch's request spans from Jan. 1, 2016, to Dec. 31, 2016, a time when Lynch, Comey, and McCabe all had still been in office.

The Justice Department declined to comment.

[politicianslie]

These conservative witch hunts must stop immediately!

The country must have a strong two party system. If Trumps storm troopers are allowed to continue then the Democrat Party could be seriously damaged to the point that they will not be able to gain control of the White House again even with massive election fraud

Stop it now/sarc

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks E. Pluribus Unum.

[MileHi]

GO JW!

[Ken522]

It seems like Judicial Watch is doing the work that the Justice Department is just incapable of accomplishing!

[MileHi]

They do good work.

[Rurudyne]

“It’s only a witch hunt when you do it!” — most any Left Wing commentator if they were being honest about when the seriousness of the charges matter vs when no amount of evidence or arguments will ever be acceptable because you’re accusing one of our guys

[servantboy777]

>>It seems like Judicial Watch is doing the work that the Justice Department is just incapable of accomplishing!<<

Yea! Right? Ain’t that a hoot?

[Baynative]

The DOJ, FBI and CIA were created by congress. They are controlled by and answer to congress. At any point during the last two years the Judicial committee could have begun the process to have federal marshalls seize all the documents and records pertaining to everything surrounding the fake Russia story, the Uranium 1 scandal, Hillary's emails and the tampering of evidence used to obtain false FISA warrants.

That opportunity is now gone ...probably forever.

[Liz]

ITEM-----When Obama was organizing his foundations (two that we know of) while he was still in office......
then-Clinton Foundation director Donna Shalala reported Obama called her office to get information.

ITEM----Obama gave Michelle $100M taken from the State Dept's Millenium Challenge Fund---to teach Muslim girls in Morocco.
NOW GET THIS: The Obama Foundation is "holding" the $100 million, to be (cough) doled out when needed.

ITEM--- The tax-exempt Obama Foundation recently announced decided to mask the identities of its mega-donors.

As president the Halfrican was laying the groundwork,
giving away billions of our tax to oil-rich Third World African countries....knowing it was coming back to him.

Obama's $1.3B giveaway to Iran was paid in cash Jan 22 and Feb 5 from a little-known fund administered by the US Treasury.
The so-called Judgment Fund is made up of tax dollars Congress has permanently approved in the event it's needed....

SOURCE: fiscaltreasury.gov

The Judgment Fund was established to pay court judgments and Justice Department compromise settlements of actual or imminent lawsuits against the government. It is administered by the Judgment Fund Section, which is a part of the United States Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service. The Judgment Fund Internet Claims System (JFICS) is the application used to process all Judgment Fund claims.

The Judgment Fund is a permanent, indefinite appropriation available to pay judicially and administratively ordered monetary awards against the United States. The Judgment Fund is also available to pay amounts owed under compromise agreements negotiated by the U.S. Department of Justice in settlement of claims arising under actual or imminent litigation, if a judgment on the merits would be payable from the Judgment Fund. The statutory authority for the Judgment Fund is 31 U.S.C. 1304. --snip--

Amounts paid vary significantly from year-to-year. Federal agencies are not required to reimburse the Judgment Fund except when cases are filed under the Contract Disputes Act (CDA) or the No FEAR Act (Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act).

judgment.fund@fiscal.treasury.gov or 202-874-6664.

[Liz]

Judicial Watch demands the DOJ do a search regarding the (A) closure or (B) possible closure of an investigation into the Clinton Foundation
and demonstrate that it (C) employed search methods reasonably likely to lead to the discovery of (D) all official records of communication,
including but not limited to:

<><> e-mails (whether sent or received on .gov or non-.gov e-mail accounts),

<><> text messages, or,

<><> instant chats.

DOJ should demonstrate that it's search methods are reasonably likely to lead to discovery of all official communiques between officials in the offices of the:

<><> FBI Director,

<><> Deputy Director,and

<><> General Counsel, and,

<><> officials in the offices of the Attorney General,

<><> Deputy Attorney General and/ or

<><> Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, and,

<><> Associate Deputy Attorney General.

[Liz]

LOL......good one.

[Liz]

BACKSTORY--Judicial Watch is taking the lead by filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against DOJ for all records of communications involving any investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) into the Clinton Foundation (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:18-cv-02536).

J/W sued after the agency failed to respond to our May 4, 2018, FOIA request......it was J/W's FOIA lawsuit that led directly to the disclosure of the illicit Clinton email system in 2015.Then in August 2016, a related Judicial Watch FOIA lawsuit broke open the email story and began making conflict of interest documents public, revealing Clinton’s shadowy pay-to-play schemes.

This lawsuit showed the sleazy details (WRT Doug Band, Huma Abedin and a Clinton donor with ties to terrorism.)

J/W has since uncovered many other instances of seeming pay-to-play and favoritism for the Clinton Foundation at the Clinton State Department.

<><>In January 2016, the FBI reportedly began investigating the Clinton Foundation, as it expanded from the email probe.

<><>In October 2016, FBI agents were told they did not have “ enough evidence to move forward” with their investigation of the Foundation.

<><>Earlier this year, a DOJ Inspector General report detailed evidence that the Obama DOJ sought to shut down the FBI investigation of Clinton Foundation:

McCabe [who was fired as deputy director of the FBI] told the OIG that on August 12, 2016, he received a telephone call from PADAG [Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, likely Matthew Axelrod ] regarding the FBI’s handling of the CF [Clinton Foundation] Investigation (the “PADAG call”). McCabe said that PADAG expressed concerns about FBI agents taking overt steps in the CF Investigation during the presidential campaign. According to McCabe, he pushed back, asking “are you telling me that I need to shut down a validly predicated investigation?” McCabe told us that the conversation was “very dramatic” and he never had a similar confrontation like the PADAG call with a high-level Department official in his entire FBI career.

Reportedly , senior DOJ officials refused FBI requests to issue subpoenas on Clinton Foundation issues in 2016.

<><> In January 2018, information surfaced that the FBI reportedly launched a new investigation into potential Clinton Foundation pay-to-play, but there has been no indication it is proceeding .

<><>In October 18, 2018, Representative Bob Goodlatte, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, announced the release of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s disciplinary file , which “reminds us how the Obama Justice Department sought to shut down the Clinton Foundation investigation during the 2016 presidential election.” [Emphasis added]

The record shows the Obama Justice Department suppressed a public corruption investigation. It’s time to stop shielding the Clintons and produce records on this miscarriage of justice.

[Liz]

REFERENCE---Included in documents JW received as a result of the lawsuit was a 2009 email in which Clinton crony, Doug Band, directs Abedin and Mills to put Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire and Clinton Foundation donor Gilbert Chagoury in touch with the State Department’s “substance person” on Lebanon. Band notes that Chagoury is “key guy there [Lebanon] and to us,” and insists that Abedin call Amb. Jeffrey Feltman to connect him to Chagoury.

NOTE WELL---An Associated Press report found that more than half of State Dept Secy Hillary Clinton’s meetings or phone calls with government outsiders were conducted with donors for the Clinton Foundation.

Clinton’s ties with Lebanese-Nigerian donor Gilbert Chagoury deserved heightened scrutiny.

“The fact that a major Clinton Foundation donor was denied entry into the U.S. over ties to the terrorist group Hezbollah is deeply troubling, especially when this individual had access to top aides at Hillary Clintons State Department.”

"Several of the documents showed that the Department of State considered buying land for a U.S. Embassy in Nigeria from Chagoury after Clinton’s tenure ended. Clinton’s ties to Chagoury, who donated more than $1 million to the Clinton Foundation, raised several red flags after it came to light that Chagoury had been denied entry into the U.S. last year because of a suspected affiliation with Hezbollah through Lebanese politics."

MONTAGE---hat tip NY post

[Fightin Whitey]

Judicial Watch is doing the work that the Justice Department is just incapable of accomplishing!

True enough.

Pray for Tom Fitton, an American hero!

[minnesota_bound]

Shouldn’t Trump help out? !
Clintons and obamas getting away with felonies!