(CNN/KMJ) – FBI Director James Comey said Friday the bureau is reviewing new emails related to Hillary Clinton’s time as secretary of state, according to a letter sent to eight congressional committee chairmen, a surprise development with 11 days until the election.
After recommending this year that the Department of Justice not press charges against the Secretary of State, Comey said in the letter that “recent developments” urged him to take another look.
“In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear pertinent to the investigation,” Comey wrote the chairmen. “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.”
The emails that prompted a new review of Hillary Clinton’s private server were on a device being examined as part of an investigation into Anthony Weiner, law enforcement officials told CNN.The probe began last month after the former New York Democratic congressman exchanged sexually explicit text messages with a purportedly underage girl.Weiner is currently separated from top Clinton aide Huma Abedin.
Comey said that he was not sure how long the additional review would take and said the FBI “cannot yet assess whether or not this material may be significant.”
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes issued the following statement about the FBI’s decision to reopen its investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server: “Since tens of thousands of emails traversed Hillary Clinton’s unauthorized server, including 30,000 that she deleted to avoid disclosure, it’s no surprise that the FBI has found additional problematic emails. FBI Director James Comey is right to reopen the investigation and pursue all leads until we know the full extent of Clinton’s misconduct and the full extent of the harm she did to our national security. In light of these circumstances, it’s impossible to see how Director of National Intelligence James Clapper can believe Clinton or any of her implicated staffers should ever again be provided access to classified information.”
The surprising news jolts a presidential race that had largely settled as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump struggled in national and key battleground polls. Now, Clinton will be placed back on the defensive and forced to confront yet again questions about her trustworthiness.
Despite lashing Clinton’s email practices as “extremely careless,” Comey declined earlier this summer to suggest prosecution. That move was instantly was lambasted by Republicans — some of whom decried the department’s politicization. Comey eventually was called to Capitol Hill to testify and defend the FBI’s integrity and decision process.
