Donald Trump fired James Comey after he rejected pressure to back off on the Russia probe (AFP)
Washington:
A new report from Senate Republicans Wednesday alleged the FBI is biased against President Donald Trump, raising pressure on the agency as the White House fights off the mounting Russia collusion investigation.
The report by Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security Committee says some 50,000 text messages between two FBI investigators show they and others went easy in a probe of 2016 Democratic presidential election candidate Hillary Clinton, while launching an investigation of the Trump campaign.
"NEW FBI TEXTS ARE BOMBSHELLS!" Trump tweeted Wednesday morning after the report came out.
The report says the personal texts between FBI agent Peter Strzok and lawyer Lisa Page suggest a bias toward Clinton that influenced the investigation into her use of classified information on a private email server while she was secretary of state.
In addition, the report adds, their messages raise the question of whether "any personal animus and/or political bias influenced the FBI's actions with respect to President Trump."
The report came as the White House negotiates over whether the president will agree to be interviewed by Robert Mueller, the special prosecutor investigating possible Trump campaign-Russia collusion in the 2016 election.
Mueller, a former FBI director, is examining whether Trump tried to obstruct his investigation, a criminal act that has the potential to endanger Trump's presidency.
500 pages of personal texts
The committee released 500 pages of texts between Strzok and Page, who were involved in both the Clinton and Trump investigations, and who were having an affair at the time.
Many of them discuss office issues, but also show the two making disparaging comments about Trump before and after the election.
But they also add fuel to Republican allegations that then-FBI director James Comey's July 5, 2016 decision not to charge Clinton was already set even before Clinton was interviewed.
And the report questions then-president Barack Obama's role when the agents texted on September 2, 2016 -- a day when the FBI released a number of documents on the Clinton probe -- that Comey needed to prepare talking points for Obama because the president "wants to know everything we're doing."
"This text raises additional questions about the type and extent of President Obama's personal involvement in the Clinton email scandal and the FBI investigation of it," the report said.
Comey's handling of the Clinton investigation is already being examined by the FBI's independent inspector general, and Trump has repeatedly said the case is far more significant than the issue of Russian interference in the election, which he brands "fake news."
Trump fired Comey last May after he rejected pressure to back off on the Russia probe.
The Senate Homeland Security Committee report came out a week after Republicans of the House Intelligence Committee released a four-page memo that alleged the FBI and the Justice Department abused their powers in undertaking the Russia investigation.
That memo, too, cited in part the text messages between Strzok and Page.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
The report by Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security Committee says some 50,000 text messages between two FBI investigators show they and others went easy in a probe of 2016 Democratic presidential election candidate Hillary Clinton, while launching an investigation of the Trump campaign.
"NEW FBI TEXTS ARE BOMBSHELLS!" Trump tweeted Wednesday morning after the report came out.
The report says the personal texts between FBI agent Peter Strzok and lawyer Lisa Page suggest a bias toward Clinton that influenced the investigation into her use of classified information on a private email server while she was secretary of state.
In addition, the report adds, their messages raise the question of whether "any personal animus and/or political bias influenced the FBI's actions with respect to President Trump."
The report came as the White House negotiates over whether the president will agree to be interviewed by Robert Mueller, the special prosecutor investigating possible Trump campaign-Russia collusion in the 2016 election.
Mueller, a former FBI director, is examining whether Trump tried to obstruct his investigation, a criminal act that has the potential to endanger Trump's presidency.
500 pages of personal texts
The committee released 500 pages of texts between Strzok and Page, who were involved in both the Clinton and Trump investigations, and who were having an affair at the time.
Many of them discuss office issues, but also show the two making disparaging comments about Trump before and after the election.
But they also add fuel to Republican allegations that then-FBI director James Comey's July 5, 2016 decision not to charge Clinton was already set even before Clinton was interviewed.
And the report questions then-president Barack Obama's role when the agents texted on September 2, 2016 -- a day when the FBI released a number of documents on the Clinton probe -- that Comey needed to prepare talking points for Obama because the president "wants to know everything we're doing."
"This text raises additional questions about the type and extent of President Obama's personal involvement in the Clinton email scandal and the FBI investigation of it," the report said.
Comey's handling of the Clinton investigation is already being examined by the FBI's independent inspector general, and Trump has repeatedly said the case is far more significant than the issue of Russian interference in the election, which he brands "fake news."
Trump fired Comey last May after he rejected pressure to back off on the Russia probe.
The Senate Homeland Security Committee report came out a week after Republicans of the House Intelligence Committee released a four-page memo that alleged the FBI and the Justice Department abused their powers in undertaking the Russia investigation.
That memo, too, cited in part the text messages between Strzok and Page.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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