FBI renews inquiries into emails
Hillary Clinton could go into Election Day with a new FBI investigation unresolved and still hanging over her campaign.
Hillary Clinton has demanded that the FBI immediately explain its decision to reopen an investigation into her use of private emails as secretary of state, saying she’s confident that the renewed inquiry will show no wrongdoing.
‘‘The American people deserve to get full and complete facts,’’ Clinton told reporters in Des Moines, Iowa yesterday, hours after her presidential campaign was rocked by a letter from FBI Director James Comey telling lawmakers of the revived inquiry.
‘‘If they’re going to be sending this kind of letter that is only going originally to Republican members of the House [of Representatives], they need to share whatever facts they have with the American people.’’
The politically explosive development came less than two weeks before the presidential election, providing a boost to Republican nominee Donald Trump as most national polls showed him lagging behind.
Comey said he couldn’t say how long the review would take, raising the possibility that Clinton could go into Election Day with the new probe unresolved and still hanging over her campaign.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation acted after investigators unearthed new emails through a separate probe of Clinton aide Huma Abedin’s estranged husband, former representative Anthony Weiner. The bureau is probing illicit messages that Weiner allegedly sent to a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina, an inquiry that gave it access to devices used by Weiner and Abedin, according to the New York Times.
Comey offered no such specifics in a letter to eight committee chairmen.
‘‘In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation,’’ he wrote. ‘‘I agreed that the FBI should take appropriate investigative steps designed to allow investigators to review these emails to determine whether they contain classified information.’’
Trump celebrated the FBI’s decision during an appearance with supporters in New Hampshire. ‘‘This is bigger than Watergate,’’ he told the crowd, which began chanting ‘‘lock her up’’.
Clinton dismissed the potential political impact of the FBI move.
‘‘People a long time ago made up their minds about the emails,’’ she said. ‘‘I think that’s factored into what people think, and now they’re choosing a president.’’
Clinton’s campaign manager, John Podesta, slammed the timing of Comey’s decision.
‘‘It is extraordinary that we would see something like this just 11 days out from a presidential election,’’ Podesta said. ‘‘The director owes it to the American people to immediately provide the full details of what he is now examining. We are confident this will not produce any conclusions different from the one the FBI reached in July,’’ he said, referring to a federal probe of Clinton’s email practices that concluded without charges. Clinton had appeared to be cruising towards a dominant win in the election. She held an average four-point lead over Republican Trump in polls that include independent candidates as of yesterday, according to Real Clear Politics. Election projection site FiveThirtyEight.com assessed Clinton’s odds of a win at 82 per cent yesterday. Trump, who previously had denounced the FBI and Justice Department for failing to pursue charges against Clinton, praised the agencies yesterday. ‘‘I have great respect that the FBI and Department of Justice have the courage to right the horrible mistake that they made,’’ he said. ‘‘This was a grave miscarriage of justice that the American people fully understood.’’ House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, said that ‘‘this decision, long overdue, is the result of her reckless use of a private email server, and her refusal to be forthcoming with federal investigators’’. When the original investigation was closed in July, Comey faulted Clinton and her aides for ‘‘extremely careless’’ handling of classified information, but said the evidence wasn’t sufficient to warrant prosecution. Attorney-General Loretta Lynch subsequently announced that no charges would ‘‘be brought against any individuals within the scope of the investigation’’. Comey yesterday gave lawmakers no indication in his letter about the importance of the new information. FBI press officials declined to comment.