Probe of top Obama-era DOJ officials over Clinton Foundation probe demanded by Congress

Photo by: Bob Leverone Hillary Clinton gets a goodbye kiss from President Obama as they part ways following a campaign stop in Charlotte, N.C., on July 5. (Associated Press

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte Tuesday urged Attorney General Jeff Sessions to investigate allegations that top Obama-era Department of Justice officials tried to shut down the FBI probe into the Clinton Foundation during the 2016 presidential election.

“At a minimum the allegations deserve further scrutiny to determine whether the FBI was hampered in any way by top officials in the Department of Justice, top officials of the FBI itself, or senior officials of the Obama Administration,” Mr. Goodlatte wrote in a letter to the Attorney General. “Please confirm that the DOJ will take immediate steps to investigate this matter and hold any wrongdoers accountable.”

An inspector general report on former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe released last month detailed an August 2016 phone call from a high-ranking Justice Department official. Mr. McCabe thought the call was made to scuttle the FBI’s Clinton Foundation investigation while Hillary Clinton was running for president, according to the report.

The official was “very pissed off” at the FBI, the report said. He demanded to know why the FBI was still investigating the Clinton Foundation when the Justice Department considered it a dormant case according to the report.

The inspector general only identified by the caller by the Principal Associate Deputy General (PADAG) and not by name. Last month sources told the Washington Times that Matthew Axelrod held that position at the time of the call.

In his letter, Mr. Goodlatte said there are indications that Mr. Axelrod is the PADAG.