FBI investigates new emails in Clinton case

WASHINGTON/ NEW YORK: The FBI will investigate additional emails relating to Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email system, in a new twist to the US presidential campaign with 10 days to go before election day.

In a letter to several US congressional committee chairmen, FBI director James Comey said yesterday that the agency would determine whether the emails contain classified information, adding that it is unclear how significant the new materials may be.

Comey said he “cannot predict how long it will take us to complete this additional work”.

The announcement shook up the campaign for the November 8 election in which Clinton is the Democratic Party’s candidate and the front-runner in opinion polls.

The FBI spent about a year investigating Clinton’s use of an unauthorised private email server for her work as US secretary of state between 2009 and 2013 after it emerged there were classified govern- ment secrets in some of her emails.

In July, the FBI characterised Clinton’s handling of classified information via email as “extremely careless” but, after a months-long investigation, it recommended no criminal charges be brought.

“In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learnt of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation,” Comey said. The FBI could not yet assess whether the material might be significant.

Spokespeople for Clinton did not immediately respond to a request for comment. She has apologised for her server, which was set up in her home in New York. She said the arrangement had been a mistake and she had not knowingly sent or received classified information.

Yesterday’s news was seized upon by Donald Trump, Clinton’s Republican rival for the presidency, who has sought to cite her email practices as disqualifying her for office. – Reuters