Hillary and Bill Clinton
Hillary and Bill ClintonReuters

The FBI has unexpectedly released 129 pages of documents related to an investigation closed without charges in 2005 into former President Bill Clinton’s pardon of Marc Rich, who had been married to a wealthy Democratic donor, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday.

The file was posted online Monday but received little attention until the FBI noted it in a tweet on Tuesday afternoon.

It comes as FBI Director James Comey faces fire from Democrats for releasing information about his renewed investigation into Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s use of e-mail.

The unusual timing of the release was the result of a Freedom of Information Act request that had been completed and was posted under standard FBI practice, a law enforcement official who asked not to be identified told Bloomberg News.

The investigation stemmed from one of several pardons Clinton made on the last day of his presidency in 2001, that of financier and international fugitive Marc Rich, whose ex-wife Denise had given to the Democratic National Committee and the entity that would later become the Clinton Foundation.

While the files may seem dated, notes Bloomberg, they invoke figures beyond the Clintons who went on to play key roles in official Washington, including Comey, who served as prosecutor in charge of a legal case against Rich from 1987 to 1993.

As the U.S. attorney in Manhattan in 2002, Comey took over a criminal investigation of Clinton’s pardons. “I was stunned” at the Rich pardon, Comey wrote in a letter to lawmakers in 2008.

Also playing roles were former Attorney General Eric Holder, who was a deputy attorney general advising on pardon requests at the time, and current Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Jo White, who was a U.S. prosecutor.

A congressional investigation later found that Clinton did not follow standard protocol but there was no proof of a quid pro quo. Denise Rich invoked her constitutional right against self-incrimination during the investigation. Her ex-husband, Marc, died in 2013.

The FBI notes, which are heavily redacted, suggest protocol wasn’t followed but give little new information into the pardon dispute.

The Clinton campaign, already on the defensive over the renewed email probe, immediately questioned the timing of the release.

“Absent a FOIA litigation deadline, this is odd,” Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said on Twitter.