MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General is looking into the role played by Peter Strzok, one of the top counterintelligence investigators at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the probe into Hillary Clinton's handling of classified information on her private email account, the FOX News broadcaster reported, citing two unnamed senior DOJ officials.
According to the broadcaster, the office is looking into a number of high profile cases, and the relevant probe is expected to be completed by "very early next year."
Strzok had reportedly long been regarded as one of the key players in events related to the infamous Trump dossier, which turned out to be funded by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
READ MORE: You Don't Say: FBI, Justice Dept Unable to Verify Trump-Russia Dossier
He also participated in the FBI's interview with Clinton on July 2, 2016, which took place several days before then-FBI head James Comey announced that the probe into Clinton's using private email account while she was secretary of state, would be closed without any criminal charges brought against her.
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In October 2016, shortly before the presidential election, Comey informed Congress that an additional investigation into the matter had been opened due to new evidence, but on November 6, just days before the vote, Comey said that FBI would uphold its July conclusion.
Following her surprise election loss, Clinton has blamed Comey over re-launching the probe into her email account shortly before the November 2016 presidential vote, including in her book What Happened.
Russia Probe
While Trump has called the investigation into his campaign team's alleged collusion with Russia, conducted separately by Mueller and the Senate a "witch hunt," numerous Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have repeatedly refuted the claims of Moscow's alleged inteference in the US presidential election, pointing out that they remain unsubstantiated.
So far Mueller has brought charges against four members of the Trump campaign, with former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn pleading guilty this week over lying to the FBI. As a result of the first charges brought by the special prosecutor as part of the Russia probe, former campaign manager Paul Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates placed under house arrest over charges on 12 counts, including tax evasion. In addition, former foreign policy adviser George Papadopolous admitted lying to the FBI over a meeting with a London-based professor, who had allegedly promised to put him in contact with people allegedly possessing "dirt" on Hillary Clinton.
