NOTE: See documents throughout the article.
Senator Chuck Grassley has released a trove of newly declassified government documents that could reignite one of the most contentious political scandals of the last decade. The documents pertain to the FBI and Department of Justice’s handling of the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server during her tenure in the Obama administration.
The materials, pulled from an appendix titled “A Review of Various Actions by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice in Advance of the 2016 Election,” include previously undisclosed allegations of internal manipulation, foreign data breaches, and political interference at the highest levels of government.
Among the most striking revelations is a section detailing two redacted intelligence reports. These reports allegedly involve attempts by senior federal officials—specifically then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch and FBI Director James Comey—to influence the trajectory of the Clinton email investigation. According to the documents, Lynch was reportedly in contact with an individual working for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, raising concerns about possible coordination behind the scenes.
The documents also include new details about eight USB thumb drives collected during the investigation. The drives were obtained from a source identified only as “T1” and are believed to contain a large volume of data exfiltrated from multiple U.S. government systems. These include highly sensitive networks such as the Executive Office of the President, the Department of State, and other federal agencies.
Drives 1 through 5 were said to hold data directly taken from government entities and private institutions, while drives 6 and 7 contained cyber intrusion details and victim data attachments. But perhaps most puzzling is that thumb drive 8 was never reviewed by investigators—a decision for which no public explanation has been given.
The lack of follow-through on reviewing all eight drives raises new questions about the seriousness with which the FBI approached key elements of the investigation, especially given the potential implications for national security.
Elsewhere in the appendix, testimony reveals internal disputes over the credibility of certain intelligence reports. Notably, James Comey allegedly opted not to inform Attorney General Lynch of his plan to publicly address the Clinton investigation in July 2016. He later told the Office of the Inspector General that concerns about leaks and politicization drove his decision to act unilaterally.
One section even attributes a quote to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, claiming that FBI efforts were hampered by the timely removal of data from Clinton’s servers:
“So far the FBI does not have any hard evidence against Hillary Clinton because data was removed from the email servers just in time.”
In another passage, officials suggest that President Obama did not want a scandal involving Clinton to overshadow the final months of his presidency. According to one account, Obama allegedly used his attorney general to pressure Comey and steer the situation in a politically favorable direction.
Despite heavy redactions, the documents provide enough detail to fuel serious speculation about the extent to which political interests may have influenced federal law enforcement activities during a critical election year. While some of the intelligence reports referenced were considered unverified or “objectively false” at the time, the newly revealed materials highlight the degree of concern inside the government about possible interference and foreign vulnerabilities.
Senator Grassley’s release is part of a broader Republican effort to review and expose the actions of intelligence agencies during and after the Obama administration. With more disclosures expected in the weeks ahead, these documents could mark a turning point in how the public and lawmakers understand the controversies surrounding the 2016 election and the investigations that followed.
Documents on the link below:
