Just 11 days before elections, the F.B.I. renewed Hillary Clinton’s probe after finding new evidence while investigating former Democratic congressman Anthony D. Weiner for illicit text messages. Weiner exchanged text messages with a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina.
The bureau discovered one electronic device shared by Weiner and his estranged wife, Huma Abedin, who is a top aide to Hillary Clinton. The F.B.I. announced the finding and the reopening of the email case on Friday, but the text did not express how long it will take to review the new evidence nor if the information was relevant.
The emails found in Anthony Weiner’s investigation are related to the Clinton case that was closed in September. The F.B.I. announcement reignited the controversy surrounding Clinton and can significantly affect the upcoming presidential elections. The findings benefit presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has lost voters in the main states, according to recent polls.
The F.B.I. Director, James B. Comey, sent a letter to Congress where he stated that the new evidence surfaced in an unrelated case. He said the emails “appear to be pertinent to the investigation” on Clinton and her careless management of information related to national security. In the letter, Comey said the bureau is already working to determine if the emails contain classified information and if they are pertinent to the reopened Clinton case.
The discovery of more emails linked to Clinton came after the release of hacked Clinton campaign emails published by WikiLeaks. Hillary Clinton was winning the polls, but after the WikiLeaks accusations and the F.B.I.’s announcement, Trump is winning voters and the polls are tightening.
The Clinton campaign is in the dark while Trump and the Republican National Committee are more than happy for the discovery
Hillary Clinton and her campaign have addressed Mr. Comey to ask him to provide more information regarding the new emails and their relevance, which is not described in the letter to Congress.
John D. Podesta, chairman of Mrs. Clinton’s campaign, stated that it is “extraordinary” that something like this would come up just 11 days before the elections. Podesta said that they do not now what those emails are and emphasized that not even the F.B.I director knows if the new evidence is relevant.
On the other hand, Trump is thrilled, even when he has severely criticized the bureau for not putting Clinton away after the first probe . Trump said the F.B.I. was inept and corrupt. He is now praising the agency saying he respects it for its will and courage to face Clinton’s “horrible mistakes.”
The Republican National Committee is also happy for the news and according to the chairman Reince Priebus, the letter means that the emails are serious.
The Republican committee chairman said that the development of the Clinton case raises serious questions about the evidence that was not presented in the first investigation.
“The F.B.I.’s decision to reopen their criminal investigation into Hillary Clinton’s secret email server just 11 days before the election shows how serious this discovery must be,” said Priebus, according to the New York Times.
Source: The New York Times