The program that allowed longtime Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin to work for the secretary of state while holding a job with a private consulting firm will be reviewed by the State Department's inspector general, Sen. Chuck Grassley said.
The Iowa Republican, who had wanted Amedin's job status investigated for conflict of interest reasons, on Friday released a letter from Inspector General Steve Linick confirming the review would be conducted, reports
Fox News.
Abedin worked for Clinton, while she was secretary of state, under a "Special Government Employee" status, drawing questions from Grassley and other critics.
"This program is meant to be used in a limited way to give the government special expertise it can’t get otherwise," Grassley said Friday. "An inspector general review is necessary.
"Available information suggests that in at least one case, the State Department gave the special status for employee convenience, not public benefit."
The inspector general is also examining State's email practices after the revelations that Clinton used private email on a personal server while she was secretary of state.
Grassley is also questioning if Abedin's emails would also be available, as she used Clinton's private server for her communications as well.
The senator in
2013 requested Abedin's communications after she switched jobs from being Clinton's full-time deputy chief of staff to a part-time status when she started working for the politically-connected Teneo consulting firm.
"A number of conflict-of-interest concerns arise when a government employee is simultaneously being paid by a private company," Grassley said in a March 19 letter to Secretary of State John Kerry. He also raised concerns in his letter about Abedin and other employees being improperly categorized as special employees.
While officially, an individual may receive the SGE designation if he or she is joining from the private sector or another government, Abedin came from neither side, Grassley claims.
According to a July 2013 letter from State to Grassley, Abedin worked full time there from January 2009 to June 2012, and then was an SGE until February 2013 while advised on Clinton's travels and schedule, which she had also been doing full-time.
Further, she was allowed to work as a part-timer without having to obtain a new security clearance, the State Department said.
Abedin is married to former New York Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner, who resigned from office following a "sexting" scandal and later lost a bid to become mayor of New York City.