Last year, former US President Donald Trump was indicted on four charges in connection to the January 6 Capitol riot. He’s been charged with conspiracy to defraud the government, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
Now, Fox News Digital has reported that the high-ranking prosecutor on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team, who brought the indictment against the US former president and 2024 GOP (Grand Old Party) frontrunner Donald Trump, had previously urged the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to stop probing into the Clinton Foundation in 2016.
The report by Special Counsel John Durham named Ray Hulser, the former head of the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section (PIN), as the person who declined prosecution of the Clinton Foundation in 2016.
Ray Hulser is a part of Smith’s team which is currently investigating former President Donald Trump. Ray Hulser and Jack Smith are collaborating to imprison former president Donald Trump for alleged offences related to the 6th January 2021 Capitol Hills riots when the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. was attacked by a mob of supporters of then-U.S. president Donald Trump two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. At least 5 people died in the ensuing chaos and its aftermath.
According to a report by Durham published in May 2023, in late 2014, the FBI started looking into accusations from a “well-placed” confidential source that two foreign countries were attempting to make illicit donations in exchange for influence with Hillary Clinton during her presidential campaign.
According to the report, early in 2016 the FBI’s Washington, D.C., Little Rock, Arkansas, and New York field offices all initiated inquiries into the Clinton Foundation for “possible criminal activity.”
During a meeting on February 1, 2016, however, Hulser declined to press charges, stating that there was ‘insufficient predication’ for the field offices to launch at least one investigation. Several FBI officials along with Criminal Division Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell were also present there.
In an interview with John Durham, he stated that the FBI briefing was inadequately presented and that at least one investigation was not well projected as it relied on assertions found in a book. The latter also “downplayed information provided by the New York Field Office CHS (confidential human source) and recalled that the amount involved in the financial reporting was de minimis,” per the investigation. John Durham’s staff did, however, go over the financial documents to “understand the allegations.”
The report proclaimed that a specific commercial “industry likely engaged a federal public official in a flow of benefits scheme, namely, large monetary contributions were made to a non-profit, under both direct and indirect control of the federal public official, in exchange for favourable government action and/or influence.”
The case originated from an intelligence product and corroborating financial reporting.
According to accusations presented in journalist Peter Schweizer’s 2015 book- Clinton Cash, the Clintons’ Foundation accepted millions of dollars in donations from foreign governments hoping to influence American foreign policy when Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State. This information served as the basis for one of the inquiries.
However, predictions “based on source reporting that identified foreign governments that had made, or offered to make, contributions to the Foundation in exchange for favourable or preferential treatment from Clinton” were included in the investigations conducted in New York and Little Rock.
The Durham report noted that three different FBI field offices started investigating the Clinton Foundation, indicating a perceived need for coordination meetings between the field offices, FBI Headquarters, and relevant U.S. Attorney’s offices as well as components from the main Justice Department.
The report went on to say that Hulser ‘declined prosecution’ on behalf of the Public Integrity Section. However, he made it clear that his decision was not binding on the various U.S. Attorneys’ Offices or FBI field divisions.
But despite making progress, all of the investigations were shut down by higher-ranking authorities, Durham found.
During the February 1 meeting, Durham spoke with an acting section chief from the FBI’s Office of General Counsel, whom Durham did not name. He had described the Justice Department’s response as “hostile.”
Three weeks later, on February 22, a second meeting was held, and according to the report, Andrew McCabe, the FBI’s deputy director at the time, directed the field offices to close their cases.
Notably, McCabe himself has ties to the Clintons. While McCabe was director of the FBI DC field office, his wife Jill was courted to run for the state senate in March 2015 by Clinton associate and adviser Terry McAuliffe of Virginia.
Now, Hulser is a part of Jack Smith’s prosecution team, which has been embroiled in a bitter back and forth with Trump’s legal team ever since the former president was indicted last year.
On August 1, 2023, an indictment of former President Donald J Trump levelled four criminal counts against him over his efforts to stay in power after the 2020 election including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government, conspiracy to obstruct a congressional proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct a congressional proceeding and conspiracy to violate rights.
The obstruction charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, while convictions on the conspiracy to violate rights and defraud the government would carry up to five years each.
The 45-page indictment said Trump was ‘determined to remain in power’ despite ‘having lost.’
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
