President Obama’s top spokesman said Tuesday that the FBI did not consult the White House about its unexpected decision to release 129 pages of documents related to an investigation into President Bill Clinton’s pardon of Marc Rich, the husband of a wealthy Democratic donor.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said he did see the FBI’s tweet that it had released the documents from the 2001 Rich investigation, and said that was the first time he had seen a tweet from the agency.
Since the release of those documents, Earnest said he hasn’t found anybody at the White House who was consulted about the decision, and reiterated the need for the White House to stay out of Justice Department and FBI business.
The release, one week from Election Day, has drawn fire from Democrats already upset at FBI Director James Comey for his decision last week to tell Congress the bureau was reviewing newly discovered emails potentially related to Hillary Clinton’s private server.
The FBI posted 129 pages from its investigation of Rich, a former hedge-fund trader who faced charges of multiple counts of tax evasion before Clinton pardoned him.
Clinton issued the pardon on his last day in office and it critics regard it as one of his most controversial decisions as president.
