Gaetz, Jordan demand answers from FBI on workspace at Democratic law firm

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FIRST ON FOX: Republican Reps. Jim Jordan and Matt Gaetz have sent a letter demanding answers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) regarding a "Secure Work Environment" the bureau has apparently been operating for years in the Washington, D.C., office of the Democratic law firm Perkins Coie.

Gaetz told Tucker Carlson on Fox News Tuesday night that he received a letter from Perkins Coie lawyers confirming that the FBI has been maintaining a "Secure Work Environment" within Perkins Coie office for more than a decade, dating back to 2012, and that it is still in operation today.

"Perkins Coie is responsible to the FBI for maintaining the Secure Work Environment," the letter reportedly said. 

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) sent a letter demanding answers from the FBI regarding a "Secure Work Environment" the bureau has apparently been operating for years in the Washington, D.C., office of the Democratic law firm Perkins Coie. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Gaetz said he’s spoken with multiple former federal prosecutors who have described the arrangement as unusual. He and Jordan, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter Wednesday to FBI Director Christopher Wray demanding an explanation.

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"We have learned that since March 2012, the FBI approved and facilitated a Secure Work Environment at Perkins Coie’s Washington, D.C. office, which continues to be operational," the letter states. "In a letter dated May 25, 2022, the law firm confirmed and acknowledged the arrangement."

The congressmen’s letter states that Michael Sussmann, the former Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer who was acquitted Tuesday of lying to the FBI, had access to the Secure Work Environment until some point in 2021 and had "limited supervised access thereafter."

Michael Sussmann, a cybersecurity lawyer who represented the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign in 2016. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

""The FBI complies with the law and security policies and works with the Department of Justice to serve classified, Court-authorized legal process necessary to support national security investigations. In certain instances, the FBI coordinates with non-government, third-party entities, such as law firms, that represent service providers which receive these classified Court orders," an FBI spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

"This includes providing access to private attorneys which represent the service providers in satisfaction of their legal rights. As part of this, the FBI ensures that any storage of classified orders meets stringent security protocols required for such documents."

The congressmen said the arrangement raises "serious questions" about the FBI’s relationship with Perkins Coie.

"Our concern is that politically motivated dirt was being converted into politically motivated investigations," Gaetz said on Fox News. "That's why Jim Jordan and I are making demands for answers on Christopher Wray immediately. And it’s my hope, certainly, that we shut this facility down."

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The congressmen’s letter gives Wray until June 15 to provide information on the workspace, including an explanation as to why the FBI approved it in the first place, as well as all documents and communications referring or relating to the establishment, maintenance, and accreditation of the workspace.

Perkins Coie did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.