The U.S. Justice Department has renewed its investigation into the Clinton Foundation, amid ongoing allegations of corruption.
According to The Hill, federal agents have been trying to determine whether or not the Clinton family's nonprofit organization received monetary donations in exchange for political favors while Hillary Clinton served as secretary of state. Law enforcement officials and a witness told the publication that the investigation was re-launched several months ago and is being conducted at the FBI field office in Little Rock, Arkansas, where the organization was founded. The U.S. attorney’s office is reportedly overseeing the probe.
The FBI began looking into corruption allegations related to the Clinton Foundation in 2015; however, the investigation was put on hold prior to the 2016 presidential race. In July of 2016, former FBI director James Comey recommended that the investigation be closed without pressing any charges against the Clintons.
“Time after time, the Clinton Foundation has been subjected to politically motivated allegations, and time after time these allegations have been proven false,” Clinton Foundation spokesman Craig Minassian told The Hill. “None of this has made us waver in our mission to help people. The Clinton Foundation has demonstrably improved the lives of millions of people across America and around the world while earning top ratings from charity watchdog groups in the process. There are real issues in our society needing attention that the Clinton Foundation works hard to solve every day. So we’re going to stay focused on what really matters.”
This revived probe is separate from the investigation into the private email server Clinton used as secretary of state; The Daily Beast reports the Justice Department has moved to reopen that investigation as well. Sources told the news outlet that the department is now working to gather new information on how Clinton and her aides handled classified material. The new probe was reportedly prompted by Donald Trump’s consistent calls to reopen the investigation after authorities declined to prosecute Clinton in the case after finding no evidence of wrongdoing.
