Two House Republicans are demanding “the immediate removal” of Under Secretary of State Patrick Kennedy after newly released information from the FBI showed he attempted to cut a deal with the FBI to shield Hillary Clinton from scrutiny over her handling of classified emails.
“We find Under Secretary Kennedy’s actions extremely disturbing,” Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform panel and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said in a statement.
The two Republicans sent letters to Secretary of State John Kerry and Inspector General Steve Linick calling for Kennedy’s removal and an immediate investigation into his actions.
Newly released FBI documents depict Kennedy seeking to reverse the classification of one of Clinton’s emails related to the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. Kennedy promised to “archive the document in the basement of [the State Department] never to be seen again.”
The FBI official, who State Department officials said is now retired, asked Kennedy for an increase in FBI personnel in Iraq in return for the favor.
“Those who receive classified intelligence should not barter in it,” Chaffetz and Nunes said in the statement. “That is reckless behavior with our nation’s secrets. Someone who would try to get classification markings doctored should not continue serving in the State Department or retain access to classified information.”
In the letter to Kerry, Chaffetz and Nunes said Kennedy “may have inappropriately influenced the review of Secretary Clinton’s emails.” Read their letter below:
