Did DOJ and FBI Blow Off Democratic Senators?

On Saturday, four Democratic Senators sent a letter addressed jointly to Loretta Lynch and James Comey, on the newly-discovered Hillary Clinton emails. They recited Democratic Party talking points and demanded fast action from the agencies. I haven’t seen the actual letter, but this description seems quite complete:

Four Democrats in the Senate on Saturday sent a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch and FBI Director James Comey requesting a range of disclosures in the wake of Comey’s Friday announcement about newly discovered emails possibly pertaining to Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server.

The letter asks for “more detailed information about the investigative steps being taken, the number of emails involved, and what is being done to determine how many of the emails are duplicative of those already reviewed.”

Sen. Patrick Leahy, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Sen. Benjamin Cardin and Sen. Thomas Carper signed the letter and gave Comey and Lynch a deadline of Monday to respond.

Calling Comey’s letter from Friday “troubling,” and noting that they are aware of the warning given by the Justice Department to the FBI regarding Comey’s actions on Friday, the senators also write that his letter to Congressional Republicans breaks with the longstanding tradition of the FBI and Department of Justice proceeding cautiously in the days leading up to an election.

“Director Comey’s letter has been misunderstood. It is already being used for political purposes, creating a misleading impression regarding the FBI’s intent and actions,” the senators wrote, calling on federal officials to dispel any misleading impressions and clarify what significance any of the new emails have to the previous investigation of Sec. Clinton.

If the Senators expected a meaningful response, they didn’t get it. The answer came from Assistant Attorney General Peter J. Kadzik, and said virtually nothing, except that DOJ and the FBI are “dedicat[ing] all necessary resources” to “take appropriate steps as expeditiously as possible.” Here is the letter:

Read the Letter the Justice Department Sent To by John Hinderaker on Scribd

It is interesting that DOJ and the FBI presented a united front, and that the letter came from DOJ. It doesn’t respond to the Senators’ various demands, doesn’t comment on their talking points, and makes no promise as to when review of the new emails will be completed. Could it possibly be prior to the election? Perhaps, but no such assurance is being given at this point. Senators Leahy et al. didn’t get much for their effort.

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