Back in July, FBI director James Comey recommended that the Department of Justice press no charges against Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state. However, Comey did pointedly take a public moment to scold her as “extremely careless.”
A new twist has arrived. Comey announced on Friday that the FBI will be looking into newly discovered Clinton emails. The messages appear to have been discovered during the course of an unrelated case, and the bureau will “determine whether they contain classified information, as well as to assess their importance to our investigation.” He gave no timeline on when the FBI will make their determinations, so who knows if this will happen before the election.
Comey’s letter, which you can see here, contained the following excerpts:
“In previous congressional testimony, I referred to the fact that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had completed its investigation of former Secretary Clinton’s personal email server. Due to recent developments, I am writing to supplement my previous testimony.
“In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation. I am writing to inform you that the investigative team briefed me on this yesterday, and 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, as well as to assess their importance to our investigation.”
Following the FBI’s initial recommendations on Clinton’s email server, the State Department quickly reopened the probe on their end, but that matter is still tied up in Congress (where GOP members have accused the State Department of stonewalling). So, along with these new Clinton messages going under FBI scrutiny, it looks like Hillary’s emails will continue to be a focus for the foreseeable future.
FYI, Wall Street reacted to this news with stocks taking a nosedive, and the Mexican peso fell as well.
UPDATE – 2:55pm EST: The Associated Press tweets word from a U.S. official that the new emails under investigation aren’t from Clinton’s private server.
BREAKING: US official: Newly discovered emails related to Clinton investigation did not come from her private server.
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 28, 2016
UPDATE – 3:30pm EST: Well, the emails in question definitely didn’t source from Clinton’s server. Instead, they came from Anthony Weiner’s electronic devices.
(Via New York Times & ABC News)
