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Upon her departure from the Democratic Party, the Justice Department and FBI considered opening a criminal investigation into the then-Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., over alleged campaign finance violations, according to reports.
The New York Post reported that emails obtained by the newspaper revealed communications between DOJ’s Criminal Division; a prosecutor in then-Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves’ office; and FBI agents in the bureau’s Washington Field Office that discussed investigating Sinema in February 2024.
Sinema left the Democratic Party in 2022 and chose not to seek re-election in 2024.
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The email exchanges came in response to the Post’s Feb. 1, 2024, report on Sinema’s six-figure campaign spending on a security detail, luxury hotels, cars and concert tickets. Graves reportedly flagged the story to the Biden-era DOJ and FBI.
Then-Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Aloi discussed investigating Sinema for potential violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). Then-FBI special agent Walter Giardina told her he wanted to be involved in the probe, the Post reported.
“It’s disappointing, though not surprising, to learn that Walter Giardina, who led politically motivated investigations at the FBI, also sought to investigate Kyrsten for partisan political reasons after she defied Biden and the Senate Democrats to protect the filibuster,” said Daniel Winkler, Sinema’s chief of staff.
“Giardina’s pathetic attempts led nowhere, his abuse of power is now exposed to the public and the filibuster stands strong today.”
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Winkler expressed concern that the potential probe was politically motivated.
Sinema’s campaign spent $796,565 on hotels, a new car and concert tickets and $265,521 on security costs, according to the 2023 Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings reported by the Post.
No investigation was ever intimated after federal prosecutors decided against it.
Sinema decided not to run for re-election. She was succeeded in the Senate by Democrat Ruben Gallego.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Justice Department, Sinema and Winkler. The FBI declined to comment on the matter.
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