In yet another explosive twist to the Clinton email scandal, the Justice Department's inspector general has announced an investigation of the FBI's actions in the months leading up to the elections – including extraordinary public actions taken by FBI Director James Comey.

The IG will examine whether Comey followed department policies when he rocked the presidential campaign by announcing the bombshell decision not to prosecute HIllary Clinton in connection with her email scandal.

Then, he made it known that he was sifting through additional email evidence just 11 days before the election – only to reveal that nothing new of importance had turned up.

Democrats have blamed Comey's handling of an investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server, and his late-October release of a letter about the case, as a reason for her loss to Republican Donald Trump.

In the crosshairs: James Comey now faces a full-scale investigation of his actions before the election

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The letter informed lawmakers 11 days before the election that the FBI was looking at newly discovered emails that related to its investigation of Hillary Clinton's emails.

The disclosure caused a political firestorm and a rash of new reports about the investigation.

Ultimately, Comey revealed in an announcement two days before the election, the bureau didn't find anything to change its original decision not to prosecute.

Investigators then sifted through additional Clinton emails that had been located on the computer of disgraced ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner, who is separated from longtime Clinton aide Huma Abedin and who quite Congress in a sexting scandal.

Inspector General Michael Horowitz says the investigation will look at whether department or FBI policies were followed in relation to Comey's actions in the case, whether the FBI deputy director should have been recused from the investigation, and allegations that department officials improperly disclosed nonpublic information to the Clinton campaign.

His investigation comes in response to requests from both Republicans and Democrats.

Horowitz said it came following 'requests from numerous Chairmen and Ranking Members of Congressional oversight committees, various organizations, and members of the public,' according to Politico. Only Republicans chair committees.

The portion of the review pertaining to Comey will review 'allegations that Department or FBI policies or procedures were not followed in connection with, or in actions leading up to or related to' Comey's July press conference, his Oct. 28 letter, and his letter to Congress on November 6, two days before the election.

Democrats fumed after Clinton's stunning loss that Comey contributed to her defeat – and Clinton herself blamed Comey in remarks to top fundraisers just days after the election.

'There are lots of reasons why an election like this is not successful,' Clinton said, the New York Times reported, citing a donor. 'Our analysis is that Comey's letter raising doubts that were groundless, baseless, proven to be, stopped our momentum.'

Hillary Clinton blamed her defeat in part on Comey's letter in the days after her stunning election defeat

Comey broke protocol when he held a press conference and explained the reasons why he wasn't charging Hillary Clinton in connection to her email scandal. Attorney General Loretta Lynch had stepped back from the case after a blowup over her airport tarmac meeting with former President Bill Clinton

Clinton's campaign manager, Robby Mook, also blamed Comey's letter to Congress for the defeat.

'It's hard to imagine the kind of impact that that letter had,' Mook said at a post-election conference at the Harvard Institute of Politics.

The recusal issue getting investigated apparently relates to deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe, and whether he should have recused himself from the matter.

What the IG said he is reviewing - Allegations that Department or FBI policies or procedures were not followed in connection with, or in actions leading up to or related to, the FBI Director’s public announcement on July 5, 2016, and the Director’s letters to Congress on October 28 and November 6, 2016, and that certain underlying investigative decisions were based on improper considerations • Allegations that the FBI Deputy Director should have been recused from participating in certain investigative matters • Allegations that the Department’s Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs improperly disclosed non-public information to the Clinton campaign and/or should have been recused from participating in certain matters; • Allegations that Department and FBI employees improperly disclosed non-public information; and • Allegations that decisions regarding the timing of the FBI’s release of certain Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) documents on October 30 and November 1, 2016, and the use of a Twitter account to publicize same, were influenced by improper considerations. Advertisement

McCabe's wife, Jill, was recruited by longtime Clinton pal and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe to run for the Virginia state Senate at a time when her husband was running the FBI's Washington field office.

The McAuliffe-controlled Common Good VA PAC gave $450,000 to Jill McCabe's campaign. Clinton was the speaker at a June fundraiser for the group.

Investigators also will examine whether FBI and Justice Department staff engaged in improper leaking of information.

Comey broke protocol when he held a press conference and explained the reasons why he wasn't charging Hillary Clinton in connection to her email scandal. Although he let Clinton off the hook, he cited her for 'extreme carelessness' in connection to her email server.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch had stepped back from the case after a blowup over her airport tarmac meeting with former President Bill Clinton. She left the decision to prosecute up to the FBI.

The matter regarding improper disclosures of non-public information by an assistant AG appears to refer to Assistant Attorney General Peter J. Kadzik.

Kadzik showed up hacked emails posted on WikiLeaks passing inforation to Clinton campaign chair John Podesta.

'There is a HJC oversight hearing today where the head of our Civil Division will testify. Likely to get questions on State Department emails,' he told Podesta in one hacked email.

At another point he advised: 'Another filing in the FOIA case went in last night or will go in this am that indicates it will be awhile (2016) before the State Department posts the emails.'

The release also indicates the IG will probe the FBI's release of 15-year old information on the investigation into the Bill Clinton pardon of fugitive Marc Rich.

The information got released just days before the election, and got blasted out on a Twitter account to give it wider distribution.

The FBI sent out the 129 pages of information on Rich, who was a fugitive in Switzerland at the time he got the pardon.

Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon, who spent time at the Justice Department, was unimpressed.

'Absent a FOIA litigation deadline, this is odd,' he tweeted at the time. 'Will FBI be posting docs on Trump's housing discrimination in '70s?'

The bureau explained after a flare-up: 'The FBI's Records Management Division receives thousands of FOIA requests annually which are processed on a first in, first out (FIFO) basis. By law, FOIA materials that have been requested three or more times are posted electronically to the FBI's public reading room shortly after they are processed. Per the standard procedure for FOIA, these materials became available for release and were posted automatically and electronically to the FBI's public reading room in accordance with the law and established procedures.'