A top Democrat demanded Monday that the FBI make public any investigations it is conducting into GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump or his associates, saying it’s only fair now that the agency has confirmed it has renewed its probe into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails.
Rep. Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said FBI Director James Comey broke with years of precedent in confirming publicly, just before the election, that Mrs. Clinton’s case was once again alive.
“If it is comes out after the election that the FBI kept secret from the American people the fact that it was investigating former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, or seeking access to his emails, or investigating anyone else associated with Trump, then I have no idea how Director Comey will be able to explain his actions,” Mr. Cummings, Maryland Democrat, said in a statement.
Mr. Cummings said Mr. Comey owes the public more information on why the FBI reopened the probe into Mrs. Clinton’s emails nearly four months after he closed it down. At that time, Mr. Comey had said while Mrs. Clinton did mishandle top-secret information, she was too technologically inept and had too little understanding of classified information for prosecutors to prove she intended to break secrecy laws.
The new emails the FBI has found reportedly were handled by Mrs. Clinton’s top personal aide Huma Abedin, and were recovered in an unrelated investigation into her estranged husband’s sex-related texting habits.
Mr. Comey has said the emails may be “pertinent,” but has not given any more details.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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