U.S. Reps. Susan Brooks (R-IN), Michael McCaul (R-TX) and John Ratcliffe (R-TX) raised concerns on Tuesday about the investigation into Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of private email server.
FBI documents revealed that Under Secretary of State Patrick Kennedy offered a “quid pro quo” arrangement with FBI investigators to change the classification of documents found on Clinton’s private server are “inappropriate and deeply disturbing.”
“Such blatant attempts to sway FBI investigations into matters concerning our national security cannot be tolerated and must have consequences,” McCaul, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said. “Until a real investigation into these matters occurs, President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry must demand Mr. Kennedy step aside and immediately work to restore confidence in the American people that their safety and security will not be sold as a part of any exchange, or quid pro quo.”
Brooks said it “smacks of corruption” that a State Department official negotiated with the FBI over its classification of information on Clinton’s private email server.
“(On Monday), we saw, once again, the lengths that the administration and Secretary Clinton’s State Department will go to cover-up her mishandling of classified information and continue the culture of deception that characterized Secretary Clinton’s State Department,” Brooks said.
Ratcliffe raised national security concerns in response to revelations that a document linked to Clinton’s that included the names of known or suspected jihadists in Libya had been found on a Romanian server.
“The facts emerging each day on the Clinton email investigation have been shocking on many levels, and as a former terrorism prosecutor, the growing pile of evidence on the exposure of our country’s most sensitive national security information leaves me particularly outraged,” Ratcliffe said.
Last month, Ratcliffe introduced the Classified Information Protection Act. The bill would amend two statutes to clarify that intent to harm the United States is not required to prosecute those who mishandle the country’s most sensitive information.
“The newly revealed link between Clinton’s private email server and Romanian actors further underscores the need to ensure her reckless behavior will never be allowed again – especially without punishment,” Ratcliffe said. “This is precisely why I introduced the Classified Information Protection Act, and why I urge my colleagues to support this effort to combat any future acts of extreme carelessness that place our national security at risk.”
U.S. Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), the chairman of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, and Will Hurd (R-TX), a former CIA officer, joined Ratcliffe in introducing the bill.