Congress will submit referral to FBI asking for investigation on whether Clinton lied under oath
Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said Thursday that Congress will send a referral to the FBI to investigate whether Clinton lied under oath about her handling of classified information.
Clinton, who is now the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, has come under fire for using a private email server while she was secretary of state.
FBI Director James Comey announced earlier this week that he would not recommend bringing charges against Clinton in the case, and US Attorney General Loretta Lynch stated Wednesday that the Justice Department had closed the investigation.
But now questions have surfaced about whether Clinton lied under oath.
Clinton has insisted dozens of times that classified information did not traverse her private server at the time it was sent or received. She suggested that the government had classified some information after the fact, which would make it possible for the server to contain information that is now classified but wasn't at the time it was sent or received.
But during his announcement this week, Comey said the FBI found evidence that Clinton sent or received 110 emails with classified information.
Chaffetz grilled Comey on this point during a hearing Thursday morning. He then suggested that Congress would ask the FBI to investigate whether Clinton lied under oath.
Here's the relevant portion of the exchange:
Chaffetz: "Did you review the documents where congressman Jim Jordan asked her specifically, and she said, 'There was nothing marked classified on my emails, either sent or received'?"
Comey: "I don't remember reviewing that particular testimony, I'm aware of that being said, though."
Chaffetz: "Did the FBI investigate her statements under oath on this topic?"
Comey: "Not to my knowledge, I don't think there's been a referral from Congress."
Chaffetz then asked if the FBI needed a referral from Congress to investigate Clinton's statements under oath. Comey responded yes.
"You'll have one," Chaffetz said. "You'll have one in the next few hours."
A representative from the Clinton campaign was not immediately available for comment.