Senate Judiciary Probes Whether the DOJ Improperly Moved to Shut Down Key Investigation
The ghosts of 2016 have returned to haunt Washington, and this time, the Justice Department itself is under the microscope. Explosive new Senate inquiries have uncovered evidence suggesting a coordinated effort within the DOJ to shut down investigations into the infamous anti-Trump dossier, potentially shielding Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from scrutiny. The narrative that Clinton was “cleared” is crumbling, as documents reveal who ordered the stand-down—and why.
Senate Judiciary Committee Launches Investigation
The Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), is now investigating whether senior Justice Department officials improperly moved to halt an FBI probe into the Clinton campaign’s funding of the Steele dossier. The dossier, compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, was a collection of unverified allegations about then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, ultimately fueling a scandal that dominated headlines and shaped the course of the 2016 election.
According to the Washington Times, a whistleblower has alleged that two senior DOJ officials—Richard Pilger and J.P. Cooney—played key roles in blocking the FBI’s investigation into Clinton and other Democrats. Both Pilger and Cooney would later become instrumental in the DOJ’s “Arctic Frost” investigation of President Trump following the 2020 election, which led to Trump’s indictment on election-interference charges.
Emails Reveal DOJ Resistance
Sen. Grassley released email exchanges from June 2019 between an unidentified FBI agent, Richard Pilger (then director of the DOJ’s Election Crimes Branch), and J.P. Cooney (a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.). These emails show Pilger and Cooney rejecting the agent’s questions regarding what the agent described as “unambiguous concealment” of payments made by the DNC and Clinton campaign to fund the Steele dossier.
The DNC and Clinton’s campaign had hired Fusion GPS through their law firm, Perkins Coie, to produce the dossier. The payments were reported as legal expenses, obscuring the true political nature of the project. When the FBI agent pressed for an investigation into possible false reporting, Pilger responded with what the agent described as “obvious threats” intended to chill further inquiry.
“In my [redacted] years of being an agent, a successful agent with a great reputation, I have never been met with such suspicion or response intended to have me go away,” the agent wrote.
Cooney advised the agent that the issue was “not a good candidate to open for a false reporting case,” arguing that the payments—though unusual—did not meet the threshold for criminal prosecution. Pilger accused the agent of “bias” and acting with “a rush to judgment.”
The Fallout: Civil Penalties, Not Criminal Charges
While the FBI’s criminal investigation was halted, watchdog groups filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), resulting in civil penalties. In 2022, the FEC fined the Clinton campaign $8,000 and the DNC $105,000 for misreporting over $1 million in payments to Perkins Coie, which then hired Fusion GPS. The underlying payments were never the subject of a criminal probe.
The Arctic Frost Connection
The same DOJ officials who allegedly protected Clinton and the DNC later played leading roles in the Arctic Frost investigation into Trump’s conduct after the 2020 election. Pilger authorized the probe, and Cooney served as deputy to Special Counsel Jack Smith. This connection has fueled accusations of partisan bias and selective enforcement within the Justice Department.
“These records show the same partisans who rushed to cover for Clinton rabidly pursued Arctic Frost, which was a runaway train aimed directly at President Trump and the Republican political apparatus,” Grassley wrote in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel.
Pam Bondi Breaks the Firewall
Attorney General Pam Bondi is reportedly bypassing bureaucratic obstacles to unearth further proof that the previous “shutdown” of the probe was not due to lack of evidence, but rather obstruction. The Senate is now demanding additional records and emails related to the FBI’s inquiry into the DNC and Clinton campaign payments.
The Hunter Becomes the Hunted
As more documents come to light, the narrative that Clinton was “cleared” appears increasingly shaky. The Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation threatens to expose a pattern of political favoritism and obstruction within the DOJ, raising serious questions about accountability and the rule of law.
What Happens Next?
With the Senate investigation intensifying, the Justice Department faces a reckoning over its handling of the 2016 dossier scandal. The outcome could reshape public trust in federal law enforcement and redefine the boundaries of political accountability in America.
