Chuck Grassley has pushed for additional scrutiny of Clinton’s email use during her tenure as secretary of state. | AP Photo FBI could leak Clinton email investigation, Grassley warns

The FBI could leak internal reports of its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a home-brewed email server if the Obama administration stifles the inquiry, Sen. Chuck Grassley warned on Friday.

A hypothetical leak could occur, he said, if officials believed Clinton was not being prosecuted for political reasons.


“Is there going to be political interference? If there’s enough evidence to prosecute, will there be political interference?” the Iowa senator asked during a meeting on Friday with the Des Moines A.M. Rotary club, according to a report in the Des Moines Register.

“And if there’s political interference, then I assume that somebody in the FBI is going to leak these reports and it’s either going to have an effect politically or it’s going to lead to prosecution if there’s enough evidence," he said.

Grassley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, has pushed for additional scrutiny of Clinton’s email use during her tenure as secretary of state, a subject that has dogged her throughout the 2016 campaign cycle.

But Grassley said that he wouldn’t break the law by "encouraging" a document leak.

“I wouldn’t be encouraging it because if it’s a violation of law, I can’t be encouraging a violation of law,” he said. “This is kind of my own opinion, this is something I’ve heard.”

Conservatives blasted President Barack Obama last week for comments he made to Fox News host Chris Wallace, alleging he was exerting undue political pressure on the FBI.

Wallace asked Obama if could "say flatly" that Clinton "did not jeopardize America’s secrets."

"I've got to be careful because, as you know, there have been investigations, there are hearings, Congress is looking at this," Obama said, while admitting that he hadn't looked into "every aspect" of her email use. But, he said, "I continue to believe that she has not jeopardized America's national security."

Obama also said, however, that he would "guarantee that there is no political influence in any investigation conducted by the Justice Department or the FBI" and that "nobody gets treated differently when it comes to the Justice Department, because nobody is above the law."