FBI Clears Hillary Clinton In New E-mail Investigation
FBI Director James Comey says the bureau has found no evidence of criminality in a new batch of Hillary Clinton emails.
In a letter to congressmen, he said the agency had finished its review and found nothing to alter its original conclusion.
In July, James Comey said Hillary Clinton had been careless but not criminal in handling sensitive material on her private email server while secretary of state.
The issue flared up again with the discovery of new “pertinent” emails.
They were reportedly found on the laptop of Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of one of the Democratic presidential candidate’s closest advisers.
James Comey’s original letter late last month to lawmakers, revealing the bureau’s inquiry into Hillary Clinton’s emails had been revived, shook up the White House race and reinvigorated the campaign of Republican nominee Donald Trump.
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He had announced that the agency would investigate if the newly discovered messages contained classified information.
In a follow-up on November 6, James Comey wrote: “Since my letter, the FBI investigative team has been working around the clock to process and review a large volume of emails from a device obtained in connection with an unrelated criminal investigation.
“During that process, we reviewed all of the communications that were to or from Hillary Clinton while she was Secretary of State.
“Based on our review, we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July with respect to Secretary Clinton.”
On board Hillary Clinton’s campaign airplane, her team said they were always confident of the outcome.
Communications director Jennifer Palmieri told media: “We’re glad this matter has been resolved.”
However, the Trump team cried foul.
Donald Trump’s adviser Newt Gingrich tweeted: “Comey must be under enormous political pressure to cave like this and announce something he cant [sic] possibly know.”
His campaign manager Kellyanne Conway also tweeted: “If FBI conclusions remain unchanged, that means she still was reckless & careless, still lied about classified info, lied re: # of devices.”
Campaigning in Minnesota on November 6, Donald Trump made no mention of James Comey’s findings.
However, he did say Hillary Clinton “will be under investigation for a long, long time, likely concluding in a criminal trial”.
Donald Trump also renewed his claims that the Democrat was being “protected by a rigged system”.
The FBI has already established Hillary Clinton had classified information on a private email server that was run out of her upstate New York home.
James Comey said in July that her handling of sensitive material during her 2009-2013 tenure as secretary of state was “extremely careless”, but cleared her of criminal wrongdoing.
The revelation that Hillary Clinton handled sensitive information while breaking federal rules by running her own email server has dogged her campaign since last year.
A new NBC/Wall Street Journal opinion poll on November 6 before news broke of the FBI letter suggested a four-point lead for Hillary Clinton.
The latest Washington Post/ABC tracking poll put Hillary Clinton lead at five points.
Today’s campaign stops take Hillary Clinton to Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire.
Also on Donald Trump’s itinerary were Iowa, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Virginia.