{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://goodlatte.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=698", "Goodlatte Calls on Justice Department to Investigate Undersecretary Kennedy for Violating the Law", "2016-10-18", "2016", "2016-10", "Republican", "House", "VA", "Robert Goodlatte", "G000289", "goodlatte.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today called on Attorney General Loretta Lynch to investigate whether a senior State Department official violated federal public corruption laws by attempting to bribe the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).Recently disclosed FBI interview notes pertaining to the investigation of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reveal that Undersecretary of State Patrick Kennedy offered to support the FBI\u2019s efforts to place additional agents in overseas locations if the FBI would agree to declassify certain classified documents found on Secretary Clinton\u2019s private email server related to the Benghazi attacks. Undersecretary Kennedy further stated the declassification would allow him to archive the documents \u201cin the basement of [the State Department], never to be seen again.\u201d This revelation is the latest controversy to surface in the investigation into Clinton\u2019s private email server scandal. In a letter to Attorney General Lynch, Chairman Goodlatte calls on the Justice Department to investigate whether Undersecretary Kennedy violated federal laws and writes:  \r\n\r\n\u201cUndersecretary Kennedy\u2019s attempt to barter away American national security interests for plainly political purposes is appalling, and may rise to the level of a federal crime. Decisions about how or where FBI agents should be stationed in foreign countries to help combat terrorism cannot and should not be made on the basis of anything except national security concerns.\u201dBelow is the text of the Goodlatte letter. The signed copy can be found here.October 18, 2016Dear Attorney General Lynch:As part of the House Judiciary Committee\u2019s ongoing oversight of Secretary Clinton\u2019s unauthorized use of a private email server during her tenure as Secretary of State, the Justice Department (DOJ)  has provided to the Committee the Federal Bureau of Investigation\u2019s (FBI) interview notes (302\u2019s) of witnesses, suspects, and the subject of the investigation, Secretary Clinton.  I remain deeply troubled by many aspects of the investigation, and I am still waiting for responses on a number of letters and questions which I expect to receive immediately. However, I write to you today on another matter. The newly-released 302\u2019s raise serious questions about whether Undersecretary of State Patrick Kennedy violated federal laws including public corruption laws by offering a \u201cquid pro quo\u201d to the FBI.  Specifically, the 302\u2019s show that Undersecretary Kennedy offered to support the FBI\u2019s efforts to place additional agents in overseas locations,  including some of the most critical locations in the world for our fight against terrorism, if the FBI would agree to declassify certain classified documents found on Secretary Clinton\u2019s private email server related to the Benghazi attacks.  Undersecretary Kennedy further stated the declassification would allow him to archive the documents \u201cin the basement of DOS, never to be seen again.\u201dUndersecretary Kennedy\u2019s attempt to barter away American national security interests for plainly political purposes is appalling, and may rise to the level of a federal crime.  Decisions about how or where FBI agents should be stationed in foreign countries to help combat terrorism cannot and should not be made on the basis of anything except national security concerns.  I ask that the Department of Justice look into this matter. Given the sensitive nature of the participants involved, including former Secretary of State and Presidential candidate Clinton, a separate high ranking official at the State Department, and a high ranking FBI official in charge of America\u2019s counter-terrorism efforts, it is imperative that this matter be investigated and that the investigation be done in an apolitical way with agents who were not involved in the initial Clinton Investigation. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.Sincerely, Bob Goodlatte  \r\nChairman  \r\nHouse Judiciary Committee", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://goodlatte.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=698"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8283359929919243, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}