Lawyer: Justice Dept. ends probe into ex-diplomat

WASHINGTON (AP) - A lawyer for a retired ambassador and expert on Pakistan says the Justice Department has closed an investigation into her client without bringing charges.

FBI agents raided the home of Robin Raphel, a one-time ambassador to Tunisia, in 2014 as part of a counterintelligence investigation.

Her lawyer, Amy Jeffress, said Monday night that a lengthy investigation by the Justice Department had "fully exonerated" Raphel.

Jeffress called Raphel a "widely respected, long serving career diplomat with an outstanding record of service to her country," and said the investigation was based on a "fundamental misunderstanding."

Raphel has had a decades-long diplomatic career, and was serving as a senior adviser to the State Department's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan when the investigation began.

Justice Department spokeswoman Melanie Newman declined to comment.