‘No case’ over emails: Clinton

PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Democratic nominee on defensive after probe reopened

KENT, Ohio — Hillary Clinton sought Monday to redirect the focus of the presidential race to national security and Donald Trump’s fitness for office after days of damaging uncertainty over a renewed investigation into her email use when she was secretary of state.

The Democratic nominee addressed the email issue at the start of a speech about national security that marked a departure from her standard stump speech as Democrats are reeling from news FBI Director James Comey is revisiting his probe into the potential mishandling of classified material.

“I’m sure a lot of you may be asking what this new email story is about and why in the world the FBI would decide to jump into an election with no evidence of wrongdoing,” less than two weeks before election day, Clinton said. “That’s a good question.”

“I understand. And as I’ve said, I’m not making any excuses,” for setting up her private email system as she did. “I’ve said it was a mistake and I regret it.”

She predicted the new inquiry will reach the same conclusion as Comey did at the end of the FBI investigation in July, when he announced that despite what he called sloppiness, there was no evidence of criminal conduct.

“There is no case,” Clinton said, adding she thinks most Americans have long since decided how they feel about the email issue. “Now, what people are focused on is choosing the next president and commander-in-chief of the United States of America.”

Campaigning earlier Monday in Grand Rapids, Mich., Trump said Comey “brought back his reputation” with his notice to Congress Friday he would look at new information in the case.

“It took a lot of guts” for Comey to change course three months after ending the probe into whether classified information was compromised, the Republican nominee said.

Comey reignited a political firestorm when he said FBI officials had detected a batch of emails pertinent to the earlier case during an “unrelated” investigation.

People close to the situation have told The Washington Post the emails were found on a computer belonging to disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner, who is under investigation for allegedly exchanging lewd messages with a 15-year-old girl. Weiner is the estranged husband of Clinton campaign vice-chairman Huma Abedin.