The Republican leaders of the House Judiciary and Oversight committees announced Friday they have wrapped up their review of the FBI's handling of the Hillary Clinton and Russia investigations, and raised concerns about the "thoroughness and impartiality" of the investigations.
In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker and Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz, House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte reiterate prior criticisms of the investigation. Among those critiques are former FBI Director James Comey's handling of the decision not to prosecute Clinton, as well as charges of political bias by now-former FBI agent Peter Strzok and former FBI lawyer Lisa Page.
The lawmakers repeat their call for a special counsel to be appointed to investigate decisions made during both investigations and also what they call the "disparate way these two investigations were seemingly conducted."
Notably, Goodlatte and Gowdy argue that special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation must be "trusted by Americans," writing "there has been no effort to discredit the work of the Special Counsel. Quite the opposite, whatever product is produced by the Special Counsel must be trusted by Americans and that requires asking tough but fair questions about investigative techniques both employed and not employed."
