In what appears to be an unexpected, and very surprising, disclosure, moments ago the FBI released 129 pages of heavily redacted records from its 15-year-old investigation into the Clinton Foundation and Bill Clinton’s 11th hour pardon of financier Marc Rich (less than a week before the election).
William J. Clinton Foundation: This initial release consists of material from the FBI’s files related to the Will… https://t.co/Y4nz3aRSmG
— FBI Records Vault (@FBIRecordsVault) November 1, 2016
According to the FBI, “this initial release consists of material from the FBI’s files related to the William J. Clinton Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The bulk of these records come from a 2001 FBI investigation into the pardon of Marc Rich (1934-2013), aka Marcell David Reich, by President Clinton in 2001; it was closed in 2005. The material is heavily redacted due to personal privacy protections and grand jury secrecy rules.”
The commentariat is, in a word, shocked by what this symbolic, and impromptu release means, with some wondering if it is payback for Clinton’s blasting of the FBI.
A day after #HillaryClinton blasted the @FBI, the bureau releases 129 documents from it’s 2001 probe into #BillClinton‘s Marc Rich pardon https://t.co/HacetE5OY0
— Tom Fitzgerald (@FitzFox5DC) November 1, 2016
A cookie for anyone who can offer a cogent defense of the timing here. https://t.co/paRuAQePTf
— Dara Lind (@DLind) November 1, 2016
Some are even calling it the first November surprise:
November surprise https://t.co/F3aTy1IEoe
— Nick Riccardi (@NickRiccardi) November 1, 2016
As the Washington Examiner notes, it was not immediately clear what prompted the FBI to publish the files Tuesday. However, the bureau posted the documents on the section of its website dedicated to records released through the Freedom of Information Act.
Is this the FBI engaging in a covert mutiny against the Clintons and the political affiliated Department of Justice? We hope to find out soon.
The full document is shown below:
via http://ift.tt/2dZqoKk Tyler Durden