Sen. Chuck Grassley called on Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz to “explore potential conflicts” around the investigation of Clinton’s use of a private email. | Getty Grassley to DOJ watchdog: Probe Clinton email investigation

A top Senate Republican wants the Justice Department’s independent watchdog to probe whether Justice officials investigating Hillary Clinton's email server had any conflicts of interest because of their close ties to the Democratic nominee and her aides.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) called on Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz to “explore potential conflicts” around the investigation of Clinton’s use of a private email, noting that “multiple officials had previous ties to [the] Clintons.”


“The American people deserve to know whether political considerations have improperly affected the handling of this inquiry and understand why key officials failed to recuse themselves to protect the public’s confidence in a fair and impartial inquiry based on merits and the evidence rather than on politics,” Grassley said in the Wednesday letter to Horowitz.

Topping Grassley's list is a request that Horowitz look into whether Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s “involvement in the investigation creates the appearance of a conflict given that she was appointed to the role of U.S. Attorney by President Bill Clinton and she was a partner at a law firm that represented both President and Secretary Clinton.” The letter also specifically cites Lynch’s tarmac meeting with Bill Clinton just days before the FBI announced it would not recommend charges against the Democratic nominee.

Grassley also asked Horowitz to probe “any appearance of conflicts” surrounding Peter Kadzik, Justice’s top congressional liaison. Kadzik appears to have given Clinton’s campaign manager John Podesta a “heads up” about possible public testimony on the email investigation, according to WikiLeaks documents published Wednesday.

The letter also notes that Kadzik represented Podesta during the Clinton-Monica Lewinsky investigation, lobbied Podesta for Clinton to pardon convicted tax evader Marc Rich and has dined with Clinton, too.

“Given these facts, Mr. Kadzik’s relationship with the Clintons and their associates is incompatible with the ability of Congress to have any confidence in his ability to be fair and impartial in advising on decisions about how to respond to Congressional oversight inquiries related to these matters,” Grassley wrote.

Grassley also asked that the IG take a look at Andrew McCabe, the deputy director of the FBI. His wife received a half-million-dollars’ worth of campaign donations from a group connected with a top Clinton ally, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

“Given Gov. McAuliffe’s ties to the Clintons and the control Mr. McCabe later exerted over the Clinton investigation, some have suggested that there is at least the appearance of a conflict,” the letter continued. “All government employees must avoid situations that create the appearance of impropriety.”

The letter also raised a point Grassley has harped on for several days now: a concern that Justice did not allow FBI agents to use investigative tools like search warrants or grand jury subpoenas to compel cooperation with FBI. Instead, agents gave top Clinton aides immunity and agreed to limit searches of their laptops — before promising their attorney's to destroy them.

For example: The FBI immunity deals with Clinton's longtime friend and ex-chief of staff Cheryl Mills and her deputy Heather Samuelson “only permitted the FBI to review email archives from Platte River Networks created after June 1, 2014, and before February 1, 2015, that included emails sent or received from Secretary Clinton’s four email addresses during her tenure as Secretary of State,” the letter said.

“These unusual limitations, coupled with the sheer number of immunity agreements, without any charges being filed, seems to indicate that the Justice Department likely refused to authorize any compulsory process, such as search warrants or grand jury subpoenas,” Grassley wrote.

“It is vital that the American people have confidence in the ability of the Department to be impartial with regard to criminal inquiries related to senior officials and candidates for high office,” the letter continued. “Yet, the Justice Department has failed to appoint a special counsel to ensure that these inquiries are insulated from the appearance that decisions are being made based on political considerations rather than on the merits.”