FBI delivers documents on Clinton email probe to US Congress

WASHINGTON – Reuters

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton listens to Vice-President Joe Biden speak as they campaign together during an event in Scranton, Pennsylvania, August 15, 2016. REUTERS photo

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on Aug. 16 it had turned over to the U.S. Congress a number of documents related to its probe into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state. 

The Democratic presidential nominee has for over a year been dogged by questions about her use of a private email account while she was the nation’s top diplomat. 

Republicans have repeatedly hammered Clinton over the issue, helping to drive opinion poll results showing that many U.S. voters doubt her trustworthiness. 

The FBI said it had provided “relevant materials” to congressional committees looking into the matter. 

“The material contains classified and other sensitive information and is being provided with the expectation it will not be disseminated or disclosed without FBI concurrence,” the agency said in a statement. 

The Clinton campaign criticized the delivery of the documents.
 
“This is an extraordinarily rare step that was sought solely by Republicans for the purposes of further second-guessing the career professionals at the FBI,” Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said in a statement. 

“We believe that if these materials are going to be shared outside the Justice Department, they should be released widely so that the public can see them for themselves, rather than allow Republicans to mischaracterize them through selective, partisan leaks.” 

A spokeswoman for the House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee said in an email that staff for the panel was reviewing the information classified as “secret.” 

“There are no further details at this time,” the aide said. 

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, a Republican, said in a statement that an initial review of the material showed most of it was marked unclassified, and urged the FBI to make as much of it public as possible. 

FBI Director James Comey told Congress last month that Clinton’s handling of classified information while using private email servers was “extremely careless.” But he said he would not recommend criminal charges be brought against her. 

Comey’s statement lifted a cloud of uncertainty from Clinton’s White House campaign. But his strong criticism of her judgment ignited a new attack on her by Republicans, including Donald Trump, her Republican opponent in the Nov. 8 election.