Hillary Clinton is gaining more critics as her FBI investigation drags on, with one former agent and district attorney now saying that there is widespread disbelief within the agency about why it hasn’t been wrapped up yet.

Clinton remains under investigation for her unauthorized use of a private email server, which she allegedly used to share classified material. FBI director James Comey had claimed that Clinton will be brought in for an interview in the coming days, but six weeks have now passed since that statement and Clinton still has not met with investigators.

There have been allegations of favorable treatment for Clinton, who still has deep ties in the Justice Department. Buffalo News columnist Douglas Turner noted that the American public needs to have trust in the FBI, but that is being tested due to the handling of Clinton’s investigation.

Turner also found inconsistencies in the FBI’s investigation, including instances of preferential treatment for Clinton and her aides.

“Federal law equips FBI agents with the power to get ugly jobs done quickly. When the bureau comes calling, any false statement made to an agent, either in person or in writing, subjects that person to the potential charge of a felony. No lawyer need be present. Bureau rule FR: 302 requires that the interviewing agent file a written report within five days. “This email probe is different. The Washington Post reported this week that a longtime Clinton aide, Cheryl Mills, briefly walked out of an FBI interview when her lawyer said she was being asked questions that were off-limits. Mills’ interview was also off the record. “There is no obligation on the part of the FBI to allow any question to be off-limits, or testimony to be off the record.”

Turner quoted Edward C. Cosgrove, a former FBI agent and former Erie County district attorney who said many within the FBI are in disbelief about the handling of the investigation.

“Most former FBI agents cannot understand why the FBI investigation of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has not been concluded,” Cosgrove said.

Cosgrove is not the first person to point out what appears to be soft treatment of Hillary Clinton during the FBI investigation. Others believe that there are orders from up on high to go easy on the former secretary of state.

President Barack Obama has spoken up on Clinton’s behalf, telling Fox News host Chris Wallace that she has “owned and recognized” her mistake regarding the use of personal email and that she did not jeopardize America’s national security.

That led many to believe that Obama may be tilting the process in Clinton’s favor, including Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass who speculated that the president has his “finger on the scale” to benefit the presumptive Democratic Party nominee.

“Naturally, the assumption is that the Clintons have this thing wired, that she’s got it all rigged the Chicago Way. “I could almost hear her laugh that Hillary Clinton laugh. Not the gentle grandmotherly Hillary laugh of hugs and warm muffins; or the wide-eyed fake ‘hah!’ and flash of teeth that all politicians must use to ward off their true believers.”

Hillary Clinton’s FBI investigation has the potential to become the wild card of the presidential race. With polls showing Donald Trump creeping ever closer to Clinton’s national lead, a recommendation of indictment or even a report that is unfavorable to Clinton could up-end her race.

It won’t matter, but Clinton could still use wins in Kentucky, Oregon https://t.co/k60kRyAmXJ #KYprimary (Photo: AP) pic.twitter.com/WtsrnIgulR — USA TODAY (@USATODAY) May 17, 2016

Clinton Faces Pressure To End Sanders' Streak https://t.co/ViTwA79f7j — Sky News (@SkyNews) May 17, 2016

The FBI investigation also seems to be a factor in Bernie Sanders remaining in the race even though he is nearly mathematically eliminated, with the idea that an indictment could lead the Democrats to dump Clinton and find a new candidate instead.

[Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images]