DoJ Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik Gave ‘Heads Up’ to Clinton Campaign in Email Probe

Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks to the reporters at United Nations headquarters, Tuesday, March 10, 2015. Clinton conceded that she should have used a government email to conduct business as secretary of state, saying her decision was simply a matter of “convenience.” (Photo: AP/Seth Wenig)

Justice Department Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik tipped off Clinton campaign chair John Podesta in an email reading “Subject: Fwd: Heads up” on May 19, 2015. The email released by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks is the latest of several revelations that put Mr. Kadzik in the headlines regarding the Clinton email investigation.

“There is a HJC oversight hearing today where the head of our Civil Division will testify. Likely to get questions on State Department emails,” Kadzik wrote. “Another filing in the FOIA case went in last night or will go in this am that indicates it will be awhile (2016) before the State Department posts the emails.”

Last week, after FBI Director James Comey informed Congress the FBI was reopening its inquiry after discovering new “pertinent” evidence linked to Clinton aide Huma Abedin, congressional leaders wrote to the Department of Justice seeking more information.

Kadzik replied.

“We assure you that the Department will continue to work closely with the FBI and together, dedicate all necessary resources and take appropriate steps as expeditiously as possible,” Kadzik wrote on October 31.

But this isn’t even the first time Kadzik, who was confirmed as assistant attorney general for legislative affairs in June 2014, appeared in WikiLeaks. He represented Podesta in 1998 when independent counsel Kenneth Starr was investigating Podesta for his possible role in helping ex-Bill Clinton intern and mistress Monica Lewinsky land a job at the United Nations.

“Fantastic lawyer. Kept me out of jail,” Podesta wrote on September 8, 2008 to Obama aide Cassandra Butts, according to emails hacked from Podesta’s Gmail account and posted by WikiLeaks.

He also lobbied for a tax cheat later pardoned by then-President Bill Clinton and led the effort to confirm Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who tried to stop the FBI from investigating the Clinton Foundation for public corruption. The DoJ is not only responsible for approving the Bureau’s warrant applications but also for convening a grand jury.

Mr. Podesta and Mr. Kadzik kept up their relationship after he was appointed to the DoJ. In a May 5, 2015 email, Kadzik’s son, PJ, wrote to Podesta seeking a job on Hillary Clinton’s newly launched presidential campaign.

“I have always aspired to work on a presidential campaign, and have been waiting for some time now for Hilary [sic] to announce so that I can finally make this aspiration a reality,” PJ Kadzik wrote.

Interestingly, Mr. Kadzik was Mr. Podesta’s a dinner guest on October 23, 2015, the day after Mrs. Clinton testified before the House Benghazi committee, another email shows.

UPDATE: Legal experts tell PPD that Mr. Kadzik “probably” violated his NDA (non-disclosure agreement) and “perhaps” the law. Previously, the article stated “certainly” and “likely.”