Hillary Clinton faces ethical complaint over Russia investigation role

FIRST ON FOX: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is facing an ethical complaint from a government watchdog group calling on the Arkansas state bar to probe whether Clinton’s involvement in the Russia investigation into President Trump should affect her ability to practice law in the state. 

The complaint, filed by Democracy Restored this week, cites the Arkansas Rules of Professional Conduct involving “Dishonesty” and “Prejudice to the Administration of Justice” and seeks a “formal review of the conduct of Hillary Rodham Clinton, Esq., a licensed attorney in the State of Arkansas, in connection with her actions during the 2016 presidential campaign.”

Clinton’s name has resurfaced in recent weeks after the Senate Judiciary Committee released previously classified documents related to the “Russiagate” scandal, shedding more light on Clinton’s involvement.

“Within this release, there is an annex, which suggests that Clinton approved a plan created by one of her advisors to release false information with the purpose ‘to smear’ her political opponent during a presidential campaign and distract from the news surrounding her own legal accusations,” the complaint states. 

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“This revelation demands an already overdue inquiry into Clinton’s fitness as a member of the Arkansas Bar.”

The complaint goes into detail, outlining Clinton’s connection to anti-Trump “opposition research” dating back to April 2016 and alleges that her campaign not only elevated “unverified” and “unvetted” information to “injure her political opponent” but cites recently released records to allege that she “personally signed off on an effort to amplify this bad intelligence to the media and federal law enforcement.”

“If there is one political scandal synonymous with the 2016 election, it is Operation Crossfire Hurricane,” a Democracy Restored director told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“Former Secretary Clinton’s utilization of a bunk dossier by a foreign ex-spy to harm a political opponent violates basic ethical norms as well as the Arkansas bar’s own rules of conduct for attorneys. The Arkansas bar needs to take a serious look at former Secretary Clinton’s involvement in this scandal and take appropriate action.”

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The letter acknowledges that no criminal charges have been filed, a threshold needed to violate the American Bar Association’s rules relating to those who “commit a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer in other respects,” Democracy Restored says.”Recently released records have again increased the prospect of a federal investigation into her conduct.”

“Regardless, the legal profession holds its members to higher standards.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Clinton’s office for comment. 

A spokesperson for the Arkansas Supreme Court Office of Professional Conduct confirmed to Fox News Digital the grievance was received on Wednesday morning and “will be processed as all complaints are.”

The ethics complaint comes after months of the Trump administration pledging to fully investigate the widely debunked Russia collusion narrative against Trump and the day after DNI Chief Tulsi Gabbard stripped security clearances from 37 current and former intelligence officials, accusing them of politicizing and manipulating intelligence.

A DNI memo sent out on Monday included the names of officials who worked at the CIA, NSA, State Department and National Security Council, including former Obama DNI James Clapper, who Gabbard claimed told officials to “compromise” normal procedures to rush a 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment related to Russia’s influence in the 2016 election.

“Being entrusted with a security clearance is a privilege, not a right,” Gabbard wrote in an X post. “Those in the Intelligence Community who betray their oath to the Constitution and put their own interests ahead of the interests of the American people have broken the sacred trust they promised to uphold.”

Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report