FBI Director Kash Patel said last week that “the FBI concealed investigations for then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton,” as he pushes for more transparency within the bureau in an effort to rebuild trust among Americans.
Patel made his remarks alongside Deputy Director Dan Bongino in an interview with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo, noting further that former FBI Director James Comey, who was fired by President Donald Trump in May 2017, decided on his own not to pursue any charges against the former secretary of state and 2016 Democratic presidential contender.
“(The previous) FBI usurped the constitutional responsibilities held by the Department of Justice and the Attorney General,” Patel said, adding, “Comey decided for himself what cases to prosecute and what not to.”
Patel specifically referenced Clinton’s email scandal ahead of the 2016 election — before she helped concoct the ‘Trump-Russia collusion’ hoax in an effort to refocus attention away from herself.
“If you don’t believe me, look at the video record,” Patel said, adding that Comey “intentionally omitted investigation information or distorted prosecution decisions during his tenure as FBI Director.”
During the height of the campaign season in the summer of 2016, Comey did a press conference to announce that, while the FBI had discovered what many felt were prosecutorial crimes involving Clinton’s efforts to conceal emails from investigators, “no reasonable prosecutor” would bring charges.
Then, under pressure and just ten days before the election, he reopened the investigation into the email scandal, alleging that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had compromised national security by using a personal email server during her time as Secretary of State. Clinton later pointed to the timing of this renewed probe as a key factor in her election loss.
Patel also discussed the subsequent investigation into Trump’s alleged Russia ties, which turned out to be a fabrication.
“New details have been uncovered” regarding that probe, Patel said, adding that “Comeny maliciously and brutally distorted the procedures of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and lied to the American people.”
“He concealed relevant documents and hid them in places that cannot be found,” Patel added.
