It’s a war of alphabet soup, with the GOP and the FBI going at it over what the GOP is depicting as a partisan disparity at the very least in the handling of Hillary Clinton’s server and Donald Trump’s collusion with Russia, two issues as different as night and day, but not the way the GOP conflates them. Politico:
Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte and Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy say they're seeking information from FBI officials about their handling of two probes: the investigation of Hillary Clinton's handling of classified information and the investigation of President Donald Trump's campaign associates and their ties to Russia.
In a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his deputy Rod Rosenstein, the lawmakers ask for transcribed interviews as early as Thursday with FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, FBI chief of staff Jim Rybicki and FBI lawyer Lisa Page.
"Among other things, the Committees are investigating the circumstances surrounding the FBI's decision to publicly announce the investigation into former Secretary Clinton's handling of classified information, but not to publicly announce the investigation into campaign associates of then-candidate Donald Trump," Goodlatte and Gowdy write.
In many ways, this development could be one to welcome. It would be interesting to put the question to Trey Gowdy, “Why did Donald Trump and members of his campaign persist in discussions with officials from Russia after the FBI warned them during the summer of 2016 that Russia would try to interfere in the election?” Gowdy’s response could be most instructive.