Cornyn blasts Clinton for avoiding ‘important laws’

“It’s pretty clear based on published reports that Secretary Clinton went out of her way by paying money out of her own pocket to avoid important laws that Congress has passed to guarantee the American people actually know what their government is doing,” Cornyn said during a speech on the Senate floor. “And I’m talking particularly about the Freedom of Information Act.”

The Texas Republican has repeatedly called on the Justice Department to appoint a special prosecutor to handle the Clinton email case, citing widespread concern that politically appointed officials could suppress the results of an FBI investigation.

“We may never know the full extent to which her irresponsible actions have affected our military endeavors, our diplomatic efforts, our overall national security, or the lives and safety of those who serve in the intelligence community or in harm’s way trying to keep our country safe,” Cornyn said.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch has said she has seen no evidence of an attempt by Justice Department officials to interfere with the FBI probe. She has promised the matter will be handled impartially by her agency.

“The Justice Department should pursue this case as aggressively as it would any other case involving any other person where there’s been concern about mishandling of classified information, because the American people deserve nothing less,” Cornyn said Monday.

Cornyn’s comments came hours before Clinton downplayed “misinformation” about the classified nature of her emails during a Fox News town hall event.

She has faced renewed scrutiny in the week since the public learned her former IT assistant, Bryan Pagliano, had been granted immunity in the FBI investigation into her use of a private email server.

Reports released last year indicated Clinton paid Pagliano, a State Department official, out of her own pocket to maintain the personal server she kept in her Chappaqua, New York, home.