Nearly every Trump campaign associate indicted in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s sprawling Russia probe has been charged with making false statements.
But in a striking contrast, raising questions about a possible double standard, not a single person interviewed during the FBI’s Hillary Clinton email investigation was hit with false statement charges – even though investigators believed some witnesses were untruthful.
...
Of the six Trump campaign associates charged in Mueller’s long investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, five have been charged with violating U.S.C. 1001 — making false statements to FBI agents.
...
But according to the report released in June by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz on the FBI’s handling of the Clinton email investigation, federal prosecutors and FBI agents told the independent watchdog that witnesses in the probe lied during interviews, but that agents and prosecutors did not pursue false statements charges.
The report revealed one exchange in February 2016 between an agent and another FBI employee not assigned to the investigation. The employee asked the agent how an interview with an unnamed witness went.
“Awesome. Lied his ass off. Went from never inside the scif [sensitive compartmented information facility] at res, to looked in when it was being constructed, to removed the trash twice, to troubleshot the secure fax with HRC [Hillary Rodham Clinton] a couple times, to everytime there was a secure fax with HRC. Ridic,” the agent wrote.
The employee replied: “Wouldn’t it be funny if he was the only guy charged n[sic] this deal?”
“I know. For 1001 [false statements]. Even if he said the truth and didn’t have a clearance when handling the secure fax—aint noone gonna do s—t,” the agent responded.
...
The report specifically referenced former Clinton technology aide Paul Combetta, who allegedly used the computer program “Bleachbit” to destroy thousands of Clinton’s email records, despite an order from Congress to preserve them.
“With respect to Combetta, we found his actions in deleting Clinton’s emails in violation of a Congressional subpoena and preservation order and then lying about it to the FBI to be particularly serious,” the inspector general wrote, noting that they asked prosecutors why they “chose to grant him immunity instead of charging him with obstruction of justice…or making false statements.”
...
More at the link
Link: False statement charges abound in Mueller probe, in contrast to Hillary Clinton case