Former FBI lawyer Lisa Page said the Justice Department under President Obama told the FBI not to charge then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over how she mishandled classified information, according to newly released testimony documents.
In transcripts that were recently released from Page’s July 2018 closed-door testimony before the House Judiciary and Oversight committees, Page said the FBI had considered charging Clinton over “gross negligence” violations of the Espionage Act, but that it was ordered by the DOJ to stand down.
“Lisa Page confirmed to me under oath that the FBI was ordered by the Obama DOJ not to consider charging Hillary Clinton for gross negligence in the handling of classified information,” Rep. John Ratcliffe tweeted late Tuesday, alongside a snippet of the transcript.
Lisa Page confirmed to me under oath that the FBI was ordered by the Obama DOJ not to consider charging Hillary Clinton for gross negligence in the handling of classified information. pic.twitter.com/KPQKINBtrB
— John Ratcliffe (@RepRatcliffe) March 13, 2019
The transcript recalled Ratcliffe’s question to Page during the testimony, saying, “When you say advice you got from the Department, you’re making it sound like it was the Department that told you: You’re not going to charge gross negligence because we’re the prosecutors and we’re telling you we’re not going to …”
According to the transcript, Page replied affirmatively, saying, “That is correct.”
Page alleged that the DOJ and FBI held “multiple conversations” on bringing forth gross negligence charges on Clinton, but the DOJ concluded that it was “constitutionally vague and not sustainable” and it “had either never been done or had only been done once, like 99 years ago,” the Washington Examiner reported Tuesday.
Former FBI director James Comey publicly announced in July 2016 that Clinton was “extremely careless” in handling tens of thousands of classified emails through her personal email account, but claimed that “no reasonable prosecutor” would charge her.
Page said she didn’t know why the DOJ came to that conclusion.
National Review’s Andy McCarthy said at the time, “According to Director James Comey, Hillary Clinton checked every box required for a felony violation of Section 793(f) of the federal penal code … and, in essence, in order to give Mrs. Clinton a pass, the FBI rewrote the statute.”
The Page transcript was part of hundreds of documents recently released by the House Judiciary Committee Republicans, mostly consisting of transcripts from private interviews with Page.
President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday morning in response to the Page transcripts, saying, “They just revealed FBI Agent Lisa Page transcripts make the Obama Justice Department look exactly like it was, a broken and corrupt machine. Hopefully, justice will finally be served. Much more to come!”
The just revealed FBI Agent Lisa Page transcripts make the Obama Justice Department look exactly like it was, a broken and corrupt machine. Hopefully, justice will finally be served. Much more to come!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 13, 2019
Page was investigated alongside FBI agent Peter Strzok, both for their romantic relationship as well as text messages and conduct regarding potential bias toward Trump, and alleged bias in support of Clinton.
Page and Strzok are said to have exchanged more than 50,000 text messages during the 2016 Presidential election, many of which went missing.
