GOP lawmakers have come forward with new allegations of political bias or interference at the FBI - this time involving the 2012 Benghazi attack. John Solomon of The Hill reports tht Rep. Ron Desantis (R-FL) recently interviewed a retired FBI supervisor who told him he was instructed by Deputy Director Andrew McCabe not to call the 2012 Benghazi attack an act of terrorism when distributing the FBI's findings to the larger intelligence community - despite knowing exactly who conducted the attack.

The agent found the instruction concerning because his unit had gathered incontrovertible evidence showing a major al Qaeda figure had directed the attack and the information had already been briefed to President Obama, the lawmaker said. -The Hill

After the September 11, 2012 attack against U.S. government facilities in Benghazi, Libya, the Obama administration peddled a lie, telling the public that the attack was related to Muslims who had become enraged at an anti-Islam YouTube video, and not a planned act of terrorism - despite Hillary Clinton emailing Chelsea Clinton from her unsecure @clintonemail.com server the night of the attack to say exactly that.

Chelsea - using the pseudonym "Diane Reyonds" probably didn't have the clearance to receive classified intelligence from her mother, the Secretary of State.

"Two of our officers were killed in Benghazi by an Al Queda-like group: The Ambassador, whom I handpicked and a young communications officer on temporary duty w a wife and two young children. Very hard day and I fear more of the same tomorrow." -Hillary Clinton to Chelsea Clinton



Wikileaks Clinton Email Archive #12136

And we now know FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe lied for the Obma administration in a clear, partisan violation of the FBI's mandate to "detect and prosecute crimes against the United States," not "lie for the President so as not to offend Islam."

As Rep. DeSantis told The Hill:

"What operational reason would there be to issue an edict to agents telling them, in the face of virtually conclusive evidence to the contrary, not to categorize the Benghazi attack as a result of terrorism? By placing the interests of the Obama administration over the public's interests, the order is yet another data point highlighting the politicization of the FBI."

DeSantis and other GOP lawmakers say they plan to question FBI Director Christopher Wray at a Thursday hearing in front of the House Judiciary Committee about claims of growing concern among certain FBI supervisors over political bias clouding decisions at the highest levels of the agency.

The case against the FBI for overt political bias couldn't be more clear. Over the last week we've learned of veteran FBI investigator Peter Strzok's dismissal for texting his mistress anti-Trump messages, which the DOJ is handing over to the House Intelligence Committee. We also learned yesterday that a second prosecutor on Robert Mueller's Special Counsel, Andrew Weissmann, praised then-acting Attorney General Sally Yates after she refused to defend President Trump's travel ban.

Fox News reports:

A top prosecutor who is now a deputy for Special Counsel Robert Muellers Russia probe praised then-acting attorney general Sally Yates after she was fired in January by President Trump for refusing to defend his controversial travel ban. The email, obtained by Judicial Watch through a federal lawsuit, shows that on the night of Jan. 30, Andrew Weissmann wrote to Yates under the subject line, I am so proud. He continued, And in awe. Thank you so much. All my deepest respects. Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton called the new Weissmann document an astonishing and disturbing find.

"The data points we have regarding politicization are damning enough but appear all the more problematic when viewed against the backdrop of investigations whose ferocity seemed to depend on the target: the Clinton case was investigated with an eye towards how to exonerate her and her associates, while the Russia investigation is being conducted using scorched earth tactics that seek to find anything to use against Trump associates," DeSantis told The Hill.

DeSantis also said his FBI source pointed to an incident after Trump's National Security Advisor Mike Flynn resigned over lying to Vice President Mike Pence over his contacts with Russia's ambassador. An FBI executive is said to have made an inappropriate comment during a video teleconference indicating that the agency had a personal motive in investigating Flynn and ruining his career.

"The wildly divergent ways these investigations have been conducted appear to dovetail with the political bias that has been uncovered," DeSantis said.

In response to the overt political bias at the FBI, the Inspector General's office (OIG) has launched an investigation into Strzok and other officials connected to both the Clinton email investigation as well as the Trump-Russia investigation. Agent Peter Strzok who was removed for anti-Trump text messages ran both investigations, the latter Trump-Russia having been taking over by Robert Mueller's probe which he was recently kicked off of.

Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, meanwhile, is directly under investigation by the OIG for potentially violating the Hatch Act or engaged in ethical conflicts pertaining to his wife's run for the Virginia senate in 2015 as a Democrat. She received $700,000 in campaign contributions tied to Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) - an ally of Hillary Clinton who was under FBI investigation at the time. The Hill reports that records show McCabe attended a March 2015 meeting with McAuliffe designed to secure the governor's support of Jill McCabe's candidacy.



Potential Hatch Act violation

As The Hill concludes:

McCabe has said he sought FBI legal advice on how to deal with his wife's campaign. He nonetheless presided over the Clinton email case until just a few days before it was closed, when he unexpectedly recused himself.

Multiple Republican lawmakers said Wednesday they believe the email case was tainted by political favoritism and special treatment for the 2016 Democratic nominee and planned to press Wray about their concerns.

"We are here today calling for an investigation into FBI systems and procedures that have allowed special treatment and bias to run rampant," Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said. "The law demands equal treatment for all, not 'special' treatment for some. There is a clear and consistent pattern of treating the Clinton investigation differently than other investigations."