Prosecutors need to analyze FBI claims that a State Department official pressed the agency to drop its insistence that an email from Hillary Clinton's private server contained classified data, law expert Alan Dershowitz tells Newsmax TV.
In an interview Monday with "Newsmax Prime" host J.D. Hayworth, Dershowitz, author of the new book "Electile Dysfunction," said "no one is above the law" — but warned: "We don't want to see policy differences turned into criminal prosecution."
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According to summaries of interviews with FBI officials released by the agency, an FBI official told investigators that Patrick Kennedy, the State Department's most senior manager, repeatedly "pressured" the FBI to declassify information in one of Clinton's emails.
One of the official's colleagues at the FBI also received a call from Kennedy in which Kennedy "asked his assistance in altering the email's classification in exchange for a 'quid pro quo.'" The State Department and FBI both denied there was any "quid pro quo."
"Under American law — unlike some laws in other countries around the world — you need to show a specific quid pro quo," he said. "If you didn't, obviously every congressman and every senator would be in jail because people make contributions to senators and congressmen in the hope of getting access, getting special treatment."
"What is a crime if you give money to any public official in exchange specifically for a promise to do something of particular," he added.
The FBI released 100 pages of interview summaries on Monday, the fourth release of documents from its investigation.
"The chips have to fall where they may. Everything should be looked into, everything is fair game, everything should be investigated and everything has a double dimension," Dershowitz said.
"The political dimension: Do you think this reflects well or poorly on a candidate — and that's fair game. But second, if there is to to be criminal dimension, there has to be overwhelming proof … of … all the elements of crime. And so far from what I've heard, I haven't heard that those elements come even close to being satisfied."
"Whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, we don't want to see policy differences turned into criminal prosecution," Dershowitz added.
"I took that position when they went after [former House Majority Leader] Tom DeLay, when they went after the former governor of Texas, those are Republicans. So I'm strongly opposed to using the criminal law to make political statements whether it's against Democrat or Republicans."
Reuters contributed to this report.
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