The director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has defended his decision to re-examine Hillary Clinton’s handling of confidential emails when she was Secretary of State, after intense criticism from the Democratic presidential nominee’s campaign team for the timing of the new investigation.
In a memo to FBI staff on Friday, circulated shortly after he informed Congress of the new probe, director James B Comey said that he felt obliged to publicly announce his decision “given that I testified repeatedly in recent months that our investigation was completed.”
“Of course, we don’t ordinarily tell Congress about ongoing investigations, but here I feel it would be misleading to the American people were we not to supplement the record,” Mr Comey wrote, referring to the fact the announcement comes just 11 days before one of the most bitterly contested US general elections in history.
The extraordinary timing of the new investigation has opened the FBI up to accusations of trying to influence voters. Democratic Senator for California, Dianne Feinstein, said the decision left "many questions unanswered", and that the probe "played right into the political campaign of Donald Trump, who is already using [it] for political purposes."
"The FBI has a history of extreme caution near Election Day so as not to influence the results. Today's break from that tradition is appalling," she added.
Ms Clinton's running mate, Tim Kaine, also called the announcement "troubling" so close to polling day.
Donald Trump, Ms Clinton’s Republican opponent - who has previously stated that if he wins the election he will jail her for the alleged mishandling of secure communications while serving under President Barack Obama - called the newly found emails “bigger than Watergate” on Friday.
Bureau employees told The Washington Post under condition of anonymity that Mr Comey also went public because he was also worried that the new emails probe would be leaked to the media anyway, raising questions about a cover-up.
The new emails have come to light thanks to a separate investigation into former New York congressman Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of Ms Clinton’s senior aide, Huma Abedin.
Mr Weiner’s and Ms Abedin's devices were seized in September as part of an investigation into whether he sent sexually explicit emails to an underage girl.
Ms Clinton’s campaign said late last night it is “confident” the new investigation will not change the original finding that she should not be prosecuted for using a private email server for government communications.
The scandal has plagued her presidential run: the nominee was found innocent of ‘wrongdoing’ but guilty of ‘extreme carelessness’ in July by the FBI, who did not recommend charges. At the time, the decision outraged Mr Trump and Republican politicians, who accused the FBI of bias towards Ms Clinton.
“It is extraordinary that we would see something like this just 11 days out from a presidential election,” John Podesta, Ms Clinton’s presidential campaign chair, said in a statement.
“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.”
Ms Clinton is currently ahead of Mr Trump in most nation-wide polls, but her wide lead had shortened from 7.1 points to 4.4 points by Saturday, Real Clear Politics said, in a sign that the race is tightening in the final stages before Americans go to the voting booth on November 8.
