Watchdog to fault FBI’s review of Clinton emails before election: report

A not-yet-public Justice Department inspector general report criticizes the FBI for not acting quickly enough to review Hillary Clinton’s emails ahead of the 2016 election, according to The Associated Press.

Then-FBI Director James Comey announced just weeks before Election Day that he was reopening the investigation into Clinton after emails were found on a laptop belonging to former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.). His wife, Huma Abedin, was a top Clinton aide.

Many Clinton supporters maintain that the announcement cost Clinton the election. Comey announced two days before the vote that the agency would not recommend criminal charges against her.

The report, which will be released next month,  according to the AP, will fault Comey and other top FBI officials for not acting more quickly on reviewing the emails. Some officials reportedly knew weeks earlier about the emails, but delayed obtaining a warrant to investigate them.

The inspector general report on the Clinton emails, which is also expected to criticize the two FBI agents who exchanged anti-Trump text messages, is the result of an investigation launched in early 2017, according to the AP.

The news of the report comes a time when President Trump is alleging that the FBI was actively working against his campaign in 2016.

The Justice Department announced Sunday that it has asked the inspector general to probe Trump’s claims. Trump is meeting Monday afternoon with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray.

– Updated at 2:51 p.m.