REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
The Department of Justice and the FBI quarreled over the validity of a probe into the Clinton Foundation for more than a year, sources tell The Wall Street Journal. The FBI allegedly based its early probe on claims made in the book Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich, by conservative author Peter Schweizer. The book has come under scrutiny for unsubstantiated claims and inaccuracies, some of which have been corrected in later editions. Justice Department officials allegedly disagreed that the book offered a convincing basis for an aggressive investigation.
The DOJ and the FBI also disagreed on the significance of secret recordings of a person involved in a corruption case. In recorded conversations, this person allegedly described deals with the Clinton family. As the person was not connected to the Clinton Foundation and the alleged deals were unverified, the DOJ believed the recordings to be weak grounds for a full investigation.