November 3, 2016

FBI Clinton Foundation probe finds 'avalanche' of corruption evidence against her - but agents fear
Justice Department will stop her going on trial

â–º Clintons are accused of running a pay-for-play operation out of State that favored donors to their charity - a charge they have denied
â–º Feds are 'actively and aggressively pursuing' a case, Fox's Brit Hume said Wednesday, and they have an 'avalanche' of evidence
â–º FBI's pursuit of the case is rooted in recordings of a suspect in a different corruption case who spoke about foundation's alleged dirty dealings
â–º The FBI, under the leadership of director James Comey, believed those conversations were enough to move forward with the probe
â–º Justice Department prosecutors disagreed because the source was not an employee of the Clinton Foundation
â–º The law enforcement agency has at least four other investigations open that involve the Clintons and their close friends, as well

By Francesca Chambers, White House Correspondent For Dailymail.com

An FBI investigation into the Clinton Foundation is likely to lead to an indictment unless the Justice Department interferes, two sources familiar with the probe told Fox News.

The Clintons are accused of running a pay-for-play operation out of the State Department that favored donors to their charity - a charge they have denied.

But the feds are 'actively and aggressively pursuing this case,' Fox's Brit Hume said Wednesday, and they have an 'avalanche' of evidence.

A Wall Street Journal report says the FBI's pursuit of the case is rooted in recordings of a suspect in a different corruption case who spoke about the Clinton Foundation's alleged dirty dealings.

The FBI, under the leadership of director James Comey, believed those conversations were enough to move forward with the probe, the Journal says. Justice Department prosecutors disagreed because the source was not an employee of the Clinton Foundation.

They considered the talk to be hearsay and did not think it would be enough to sway a grand jury.

Fox is now reporting that federal investigators have collected 'a lot of' evidence, including Wikileaks emails to and foundation officials.

The law enforcement agency has at least four other investigations open that involve the Clintons and their close friends, as well.

The FBI's probe into the foundation is much larger than has previously been reported, the network says. Some witnesses are being interviewed for a third time.

It is a 'very high priority,' Fox's sources said.

An indictment is likely to be handed down in the case, Fox says, unless investigators are obstructed by the DOJ's prosecutors.

The Journal says that as recently as August 12 the FBI was told to stand down by DOJ in a terse phone call.

'Are you telling me that I need to shut down a validly predicated investigation?’ the FBI's deputy director Andrew McCabe reportedly replied. The Justice Department official on the other end of the line said, 'Of course not.'

That was before Wikileaks began publishing hacked emails from Clinton confidante John Podesta's account ripping the lid off foundation operations.

McCabe's wife's Virginia senate campaign was backed heavily by a political action committee belonging to the Clintons' close friend Terry McAuliffe. Hillary Clinton headlined a fundraiser for the PAC, Common Good VA, a month before it started donating to the FBI official's spouse.

The McAuliffe PAC gave Jill McCabe $467,000 for her losing bid. The Virginia Democratic Party donated another $207,788 to her. All told, McCabe received $675,000 from the two entities.

Andrew McCabe was promoted to his current position at the FBI in February, around the time the bureau and DOJ began to butt heads over the Clinton Foundation.

Republicans have suggested McCabe went too soft on Clinton in her email investigation, which ended last summer without an indictment but restarted last week as new messages were uncovered, because of their personal connection.

House Oversight Committee chairman Jason Chaffetz reportedly asked McCabe to recuse himself from the case.

The Wall Street Journal's reporting indicates that the Justice Department, led by Attorney General Loretta Lynch, is holding up the Clinton Foundation probe.

In February, the FBI presented its case to DOJ public-integrity prosecutors. Lawyers at the Justice Department thought the case against the Clinton Foundation was too weak.

'The message was, "We’re done here," ' a Journal source said.

The attorney general came under scrutiny over the summer as the FBI finished its review of Hillary Clinton's emails and home brew server for allowing Bill Clinton to board her plane in Phoenix, Arizona.

She says the department's inspection of Mrs. Clinton did not come up during their tarmac talk. The perception of impropriety was enough for her to back away from the Clinton case and say she would accept the FBI's final recommendation at face value.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) believes there's more to the story and is suing for more information about her June 27 meeting with Bill at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International airport.

Another DOJ official with longstanding ties to Podesta - he was the former Bill Clinton chief of staff's lawyer during the Monica Lewinsky scandal - was caught in Wikileaks emails giving his friend a 'heads up' on a congressional hearing on Clinton's server.

'There is a HJC [House Judiciary Committee] oversight hearing today,' Peter Kadzik wrote in 2015, 'where the head of our Civil Division will testify.'

The assistant attorney general told Podesta the DOJ lawyer testifying was 'likely to get questions on State Department emails.

'Another filing in the FOIA [Freedom Of Information Act] case went in last night or will go in this am that indicates it will be awhile (2016) before the State Department posts the emails.'

Podesta copied another senior campaign staffer on a response email that said the hearing would provide 'additional chances for mischief.'

Kadzick was the same DOJ official who provided lawmakers with a statement this week on the FBI's examination of the new Clinton emails.

South Carolina Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy, chairman of the House's Benghazi committee, told Fox he has 'many differences' with the Justice Department official, but he isn't worried about a conflict of interest.

'Peter Kadzik is not a decision maker, he is a messenger,' Gowdy assessed.

The FBI's investigation into the Clinton Foundation is just one of five its pursuing that directly or indirectly involves former President Bill Clinton and his wife, the Democratic nominee for the White House.

A probe of Anthony Weiner's sexts to a 15-year-old led the FBI to stumble upon new emails from his estranged wife Huma Abedin's account that linked back to the original, Clinton classified information review. Comey said last week that he authorized agents to reconsider that case as it reviews the recently discovered emails.

The FBI is also looking at a $120,000 donation that ex-Clinton aide and Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe received from a Chinese businessman who has given to the Clinton Foundation in the past.

Lobbyist Tony Podesta, co-founder of the Podesta Group, a shop he started with his brother John, the chairman of Clinton's presidential campaign, is caught up in an investigation of a corrupt Ukrainian politician his firm advised.

Tony Podesta is also a bundler for the Clinton campaign.

The progress of the Clinton Foundation investigation and the one into McAuliffe were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

The FBI does not generally comment on investigations, so it is possible there are more under way.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3901376/Secret-recordings-fueled-FBI-s-desire-probe-Clinton-Foundation-case-moves-likely-indictment.html