Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson wants copies of the full transcripts from interviews the Office of Special Counsel conducted with two officials who indicated the former FBI director began drafting a statement exonerating Hillary Clinton before interviewing her or her closest aides.
Johnson, R-Wis., sent a letter to Adam Miles, acting special counsel for the Office of Special Counsel, on Sept. 8 requesting the full, unredacted transcripts from the office’s interviews with two officials worked with former FBI Director James Comey — James Rybicki, Comey’s chief of staff, and Trisha Anderson, the principal deputy general counsel of national security and cyberlaw.
Both officials worked closely with Comey at the FBI.
“The information may shed light on the FBI’s decision-making process during the FBI’s investigation, the FBI’s interactions with other federal entities, the FBI’s distinction between ‘extreme carelessness’ and ‘gross negligence,’ and the potential harm done by Secretary Clinton’s use of a private email server,” Johnson wrote.
The Office of Special Counsel launched an investigation into Comey’s handling of the FBI’s probe of Clinton’s use of a private email server after Democrats in Congress alleged last fall that Comey’s actions violated the Hatch Act.
During its investigation, the Office of Special Counsel interviewed Rybicki and Anderson and the two indicated Comey had begun drafting a statement exonerating Clinton in either April or May — before the FBI interviewed up to 17 key witnesses, including Clinton and some of her close aides.
Comey’s work on the draft exoneration statement also began before the Justice Department entered into immunity agreements with Cheryl Mills, Clinton’s chief of staff while she was secretary of state, and Heather Samuelson, who was the State Department’s White House liaison.
The Senate Judiciary Committee revealed late last month Comey began to draft a statement exonerating Clinton after receiving redacted transcripts from Rybicki and Anderson’s statements.
Johnson said the unredacted transcripts, as well as other information from the Office of Special Counsel related to its probe, could “further explain the scope, course and nature of the FBI’s investigation.”
