WASHINGTON, D.C. — The FBI on Tuesday — one week from Election Day — released heavily redacted files from its 2001 investigation of President Bill Clinton’s pardon of Marc Rich.
The release quickly drew complaints from Democrats who have assailed FBI Director James Comey for his decision last week to tell Congress the bureau was reviewing emails potentially related to Hillary Clinton’s private server.
The bureau Tuesday posted 129 pages from its 2001 investigation of Rich, a former hedge-fund trader who had been indicted on multiple counts of tax evasion.
Bill Clinton pardoned Rich on his last day in office, one of his most controversial decisions as president.
“Absent a (Freedom of Information Act) litigation deadline, this is odd. Will FBI be posting docs on Trump’s housing discrimination in ’70s?” tweeted Brian Fallon, a spokesman for Clinton’s campaign.
The FBI did not respond immediately to a request for comment on why the files were released one week before Election Day. The release was posted on Twitter by @FBIRecordsVault, an account that posts material from FOIA requests on subjects of public interest.
The account has recently released documents related to Donald Trump’s father, Fred Trump, and the report on Hillary Clinton’s email use at the State Department.
Prior to Sunday, however, the account hadn’t tweeted since October 2015.
