Report: FBI had secret recordings of suspect talking about alleged deals Clintons made

FBI investigators discovered possible evidence of corruption linked to the Clinton Foundation in secret recordings from an unrelated investigation, but prosecutors and Justice Department officials discouraged them from pursuing those leads, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Prosecutors reportedly viewed the statements from the recordings as hearsay, but agents thought they had enough to pursue an investigation into whether Clinton Foundation donors got special treatment from the State Department while now-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was serving as secretary of state.

Some sources who spoke to the Journal blamed Andrew McCabe, deputy director of the FBI, or the Justice Department from preventing agents from pursuing their leads in the case.

FBI and Justice Department officials met with public-integrity prosecutors in February to discuss the case, but the prosecutors weren't swayed by the FBI's presentation, according to the Journal. After the meeting, Justice Department officials reportedly sent a "stand down" order to all offices involved in the case.

One of the sources on a secret recording discussed deals the Clintons supposedly had made, but because the person was not from inside the Clinton Foundation, prosecutors thought the evidence wasn't solid enough to justify an aggressive investigation.

FBI sources told Fox News this week that an indictment is likely in the Clinton Foundation investigation that has been ongoing for more than a year.

Clinton has strongly denied any wrongdoing.