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Some House Republicans Weigh New Probe into Clinton Emails

The new probe would be separate to the ongoing Benghazi Committee's efforts, but House leaders are wary of overplaying their hand.
Image: Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton testifies on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013, before the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the deadly September attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
By Alex Moe and Luke Russert

Some Republican members of the GOP-led House have discussed launching an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server, a new probe that would be separate to the ongoing Benghazi Committee's efforts.

The investigation they envision would be carried out by the House Oversight Committee and focus on the security of the server and whether classified information was transmitted improperly.

Asked by NBC News if such an investigation was possible, House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz said “the Oversight Committee has jurisdiction on the Federal Records Act. We haven’t closed the door on that."

"But it’s not something we are currently or actively investigating," he added.

So far, House leadership aides tell NBC News that the general feeling in the Conference is that the Benghazi Committee investigation is sufficient. The safety of Clinton’s email server is also being looked at by the Department of Justice.

Considering those two investigations are ongoing, leadership aides are mindful of inadvertently helping Clinton by creating another Congressional investigation into her that could be labeled a “Republican witch hunt.”

One Democrat on the Oversight Committee told NBC News that Republicans, “aren’t that stupid” when asked if they thought another investigation was possible. The Democrat continued, “They really don’t want to [mess] with us on this. Trust me.”

That seemed to be the mindset of former Speaker House John Boehner. Per sources close to the situation, when Chaffetz brought up the possibility of another investigation weeks ago, Boehner moved to squash it, worried that Republicans would risk overplaying their hand.

So far newly minted Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) has not weighed in and has no plans to at this time.

The Benghazi Committee released the following statement to NBC News on the matter:

“While the FBI is investigating Secretary Clinton’s email server, the Select Committee on Benghazi is focused solely on getting answers to the questions that still remain about what happened before, during and after the Benghazi terrorist attacks. Nothing has changed.”

Alex Moe

Alex Moe is a Capitol Hill producer for NBC News covering the House of Representatives. 

Luke Russert

Luke Russert joined NBC News in August 2008 as a correspondent based in Washington, D.C. Russert currently reports from Capitol Hill on the House of Representatives for “Nightly News with Brian Williams,” “TODAY,” MSNBC and NBCNews.com.

Since late 2011 Russert has served as a guest host on various MSNBC programs including: “Way Too Early” “The Daily Rundown with Chuck Todd” “Andrea Mitchell Reports” “NOW with Alex Wagner” and “The Cycle.”

From March 2006-2010, Russert co-hosted the sports radio talk show "60/20 Sports" with political pundit James Carville on Sirius-XM Satellite Radio. On "60/20 Sports" he interviewed the likes of former President Clinton, former President George Bush, Bill Russell, Cal Ripken Jr. and Lance Armstrong.

In May of 2009, Russert was honored with the Marlin Fitzwater Award for Leadership in Public Communication from Franklin Pierce University, an award meant to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to public discourse in the spirit of a healthy democracy. He’s also received an honorary degree from Wingate University in North Carolina.

Russert graduated from Boston College with a double major in history and communications. He is the son of the late Tim Russert and Vanity Fair writer Maureen Orth. Russert lives in Washington, D.C., with his pug Chamberlain.