The United States Department of Justice has opened a new investigation into former Secretary of State and Democratic Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton amid allegations of pay-to-play politics and illegal activities during her tenure as Secretary of State. The probe will examine whether Clinton sought donations to the Clinton Foundation in exchange for policy favors, as well as if certain tax laws were violated.
The Justice Department will also be looking into any potential outstanding issues surrounding Clinton's use of a private email server. Former FBI Director James Comey described Clinton's use of a private email server during her time at the State Department as "extremely careless;" no charges were ever filed against Clinton or any of her aides.
"Let’s call this what it is: a sham," Chief Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill responded. "This is a philanthropy that does life-changing work, which Republicans have tried to turn into a political football. It began with a now long-debunked project spearheaded by Steve Bannon during the presidential campaign. It continues with Jeff Sessions doing Trump’s bidding by heeding his calls to meddle with a department that is supposed to function independently."
Clinton Foundation spokesman Craig Minassian defended Clinton and the Clinton Foundation. “Time after time, the Clinton Foundation has been subjected to politically motivated allegations, and time after time these allegations have been proven false. None of this has made us waver in our mission to help people," Minassian explained. "The Clinton Foundation has demonstrably improved the lives of millions of people across America and around the world while earning top ratings from charity watchdog groups in the process."
The investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server during her time at the State Department weighed over her presidential campaign. Despite being cleared by the FBI in the summer of 2016, President Donald Trump and many congressional Republicans remain convinced that Clinton broke the law. Trump has habitually accused Clinton of being a criminal.
Trump's tweets, of course, are where his grievances tend to be aired.
"Hillary Clinton has been involved in corruption for most of her professional life!"
The president jumped straight to Twitter on the news of the new investigation, excitedly exclaiming "Well, now that collusion with Russia is proving to be a total hoax and the only collusion is with Hillary Clinton and the FBI/Russia, the Fake News Media (Mainstream) and this phony new book are hitting out at every new front imaginable. They should try winning an election. Sad!"
The president has also accused long-time Clinton aide and confidante Huma Abedin of criminal activity, tweeting "Crooked Hillary Clinton’s top aid, Huma Abedin, has been accused of disregarding basic security protocols. She put Classified Passwords into the hands of foreign agents. Remember sailors pictures on submarine? Jail! Deep State Justice Dept must finally act? Also on Comey & others"
Trump fired James Comey in on May 9, 2017. In October 2017, House Republicans launched their own probe into Clinton emails, as well as into claims that Clinton played a role in selling uranium to the Russians.
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