By Steve Neavling
The Justice Department is investigating whether FBI officials during and after the Biden administration tried to hide or destroy documents that might cast doubt on the Russia investigation into Donald Trump, according to two people familiar with the matter, The New York Times reports.
The inquiry is focused in part on former FBI deputy director Paul Abbate, who stepped down Jan. 20, the day Trump returned to office, and other senior officials at headquarters, the people said. Prosecutors have already interviewed some witnesses.
One person said investigators appear to be looking into claims from a July Fox News article that “thousands of pages of documents related to the Russia investigation had been found in burn bags at the FBI.”
Current and former officials said the suggestion was odd because such information has long been stored on computer servers.
The investigation comes as Kash Patel, the FBI director, and his deputy, Dan Bongino, have sought to substantiate Trump’s claims that he was framed by the Obama administration. Under their leadership, the bureau has moved to oust employees viewed as disloyal or tied to investigations into Trump.
A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment. Abbate did not respond to a request for comment.
One of the documents investigators have asked about was declassified in 2020 while Trump was in office, a person said.
