Clinton Urges FBI to Explain Inquiry 'Without Delay'

Trump says this is 'bigger than Watergate'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 29, 2016 10:32 AM CDT
Clinton Urges FBI to Explain Inquiry 'Without Delay'
Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally, Friday, Oct. 28, 2016, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.   (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Hillary Clinton's emails are back in the news and she wants the FBI to hurry up and explain why. At a Friday night press conference in Iowa, Clinton told reporters that she wants the FBI to release the "full and complete facts" about its renewed probe, which centers on emails found on devices seized during the unrelated Anthony Weiner sexting investigation. Clinton—who was cleared by the FBI in July—told reporters that she is confident that whatever issue investigators found "will not change the conclusion reached in July," making it "imperative that the bureau explain this issue in question, whatever it is, without any delay," CNN reports. A round-up of coverage:

  • Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta used sterner words than Clinton, saying FBI Director James Comey "owes it to the American people" to explain the move immediately, reports the Washington Post. "It is extraordinary that we would see something like this just 11 days out from a presidential election," said Podesta. He said that based on what little information the FBI has provided, it could be a mischaracterization even to say the investigation has been "reopened."

  • Podesta suggested the move was politically motivated. "In the months since, Donald Trump and his Republican allies have been baselessly second-guessing the FBI and, in both public and private, browbeating the career officials there to revisit their conclusion in a desperate attempt to harm Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign," he said.
  • At rallies in Maine and New Hampshire Friday, Trump did not conceal his glee at what he described as a correction of a "grave miscarriage of justice." "This is the biggest political scandal since Watergate, and I'm sure it will be properly handled from this point forward," he told a crowd in Maine, adding that he hope justice will be "fully served," reports Reuters.
  • Top Republicans including Paul Ryan also welcomed the development, the New York Times reports. "Hillary Clinton has nobody but herself to blame," the House speaker said in a statement. "She was entrusted with some of our nation’s most important secrets, and she betrayed that trust by carelessly mishandling highly classified information."
  • In a letter to FBI employees, Comey explained his decision to break tradition and inform Congress about a politically sensitive investigation so close to an election. "I feel an obligation to do so given that I testified repeatedly in recent months that our investigation was completed," Comey said. "I also think it would be misleading to the American people were we not to supplement the record."
  • Politico reports that while it is too early to gauge the impact on Clinton's White House hopes, the race was already tightening and the email development is likely to bring her poll numbers further down. A recent Fox News poll found that 84% of independent voters do not consider Clinton honest or trustworthy.
  • Analysts say that for Clinton, one of the worst aspects of the development is the involvement of Weiner and his multiple sex scandals. He is the estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin, who left him in August. "The whole campaign is now smeared with sex, corruption, and scandal," Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf tells Reuters.
(More Hillary Clinton stories.)

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