Goodlatte Calls on Justice Department to Investigate Undersecretary Kennedy for Violating the Law

Kennedy may have attempted to bribe the FBI to bury Clinton emailsWashington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today called on Attorney General Loretta Lynch to investigate whether a senior State Department official violated federal public corruption laws by attempting to bribe the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Recently disclosed FBI interview notes pertaining to the investigation of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reveal that Undersecretary of State Patrick Kennedy offered to support the FBI’s efforts to place additional agents in overseas locations if the FBI would agree to declassify certain classified documents found on Secretary Clinton’s private email server related to the Benghazi attacks. Undersecretary Kennedy further stated the declassification would allow him to archive the documents “in the basement of [the State Department], never to be seen again.” This revelation is the latest controversy to surface in the investigation into Clinton’s private email server scandal. In a letter to Attorney General Lynch, Chairman Goodlatte calls on the Justice Department to investigate whether Undersecretary Kennedy violated federal laws and writes: “Undersecretary Kennedy’s attempt to barter away American national security interests for plainly political purposes is appalling, and may rise to the level of a federal crime. Decisions about how or where FBI agents should be stationed in foreign countries to help combat terrorism cannot and should not be made on the basis of anything except national security concerns.” Below is the text of the letter. The signed copy can be found here.

October 18, 2016 Dear Attorney General Lynch: As part of the House Judiciary Committee’s ongoing oversight of Secretary Clinton’s unauthorized use of a private email server during her tenure as Secretary of State, the Justice Department (DOJ)  has provided to the Committee the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) interview notes (302’s) of witnesses, suspects, and the subject of the investigation, Secretary Clinton.  I remain deeply troubled by many aspects of the investigation, and I am still waiting for responses on a number of letters and questions which I expect to receive immediately. However, I write to you today on another matter. The newly-released 302’s raise serious questions about whether Undersecretary of State Patrick Kennedy violated federal laws including public corruption laws by offering a “quid pro quo” to the FBI.  Specifically, the 302’s show that Undersecretary Kennedy offered to support the FBI’s efforts to place additional agents in overseas locations,  including some of the most critical locations in the world for our fight against terrorism, if the FBI would agree to declassify certain classified documents found on Secretary Clinton’s private email server related to the Benghazi attacks.  Undersecretary Kennedy further stated the declassification would allow him to archive the documents “in the basement of DOS, never to be seen again.” Undersecretary Kennedy’s attempt to barter away American national security interests for plainly political purposes is appalling, and may rise to the level of a federal crime.  Decisions about how or where FBI agents should be stationed in foreign countries to help combat terrorism cannot and should not be made on the basis of anything except national security concerns. I ask that the Department of Justice look into this matter. Given the sensitive nature of the participants involved, including former Secretary of State and Presidential candidate Clinton, a separate high ranking official at the State Department, and a high ranking FBI official in charge of America’s counter-terrorism efforts, it is imperative that this matter be investigated and that the investigation be done in an apolitical way with agents who were not involved in the initial Clinton Investigation. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. Sincerely, Bob Goodlatte Chairman House Judiciary Committee

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