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F.B.I. to Clarify Comey’s Testimony on Clinton Emails F.B.I. to Clarify Comey’s Testimony on Clinton Emails
(about 4 hours later)
WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. plans to send a letter to Congress on Tuesday clarifying testimony last week by its director, James B. Comey, about how classified information ended up on the laptop of the disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner, according to law enforcement officials.WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. plans to send a letter to Congress on Tuesday clarifying testimony last week by its director, James B. Comey, about how classified information ended up on the laptop of the disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner, according to law enforcement officials.
In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr. Comey said that during the F.B.I.’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state, agents uncovered evidence that Mrs. Clinton’s aide, Huma Abedin, had “forwarded hundreds and thousands of emails, some of which contain classified information” to Mr. Weiner, her husband. In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr. Comey said that during the F.B.I.’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state, officers uncovered evidence that Mrs. Clinton’s aide, Huma Abedin, had “forwarded hundreds and thousands of emails, some of which contain classified information” to Mr. Weiner, her husband.
But while some of the emails were forwarded, the F.B.I. plans to tell Congress that it is likely that the vast majority were instead backed up to Mr. Weiner’s laptop.But while some of the emails were forwarded, the F.B.I. plans to tell Congress that it is likely that the vast majority were instead backed up to Mr. Weiner’s laptop.
The F.B.I. found that two emails that Ms. Abedin forwarded to Mr. Weiner contained classified information. Ten other emails that were backed up on Mr. Weiner’s laptop contained classified information.The F.B.I. found that two emails that Ms. Abedin forwarded to Mr. Weiner contained classified information. Ten other emails that were backed up on Mr. Weiner’s laptop contained classified information.
Republicans seized on Mr. Comey’s testimony as evidence that Ms. Abedin or Mr. Weiner should have been charged for how they handled classified information. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas brought up Mr. Comey’s comments on Monday in another hearing, asking James R. Clapper Jr., the former director of national intelligence, what he would have done if he learned that an employee “had forwarded hundreds or even thousands of emails to a nongovernment individual, their spouse, on a nongovernment computer.”Republicans seized on Mr. Comey’s testimony as evidence that Ms. Abedin or Mr. Weiner should have been charged for how they handled classified information. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas brought up Mr. Comey’s comments on Monday in another hearing, asking James R. Clapper Jr., the former director of national intelligence, what he would have done if he learned that an employee “had forwarded hundreds or even thousands of emails to a nongovernment individual, their spouse, on a nongovernment computer.”
Mr. Clapper responded that if enough evidence were found, his office would have followed procedure and filed a crimes report. Mr. Clapper responded that if enough evidence were found, his office would have followed procedure and alerted the Justice Department that a crime was likely committed.
The New York Times noted in its coverage of Mr. Comey’s testimony last Wednesday that he had mischaracterized what the bureau had uncovered. A report late Monday in Pro Publica saying that the F.B.I. was struggling to determine how to clarify Mr. Comey’s testimony set off a new round of criticism of his comments. Mr. Comey said at last week’s hearing that the F.B.I. did not believe it had enough evidence to charge anyone with a crime in connection with Mrs. Clinton’s email server because it could not prove Mrs. Clinton or her aides intentionally broke the law.
Many Democrats have for months been angry with his decision to inform Congress 10 days before November’s election that he had reopened the investigation into Mrs. Clinton’s email server. “We could not prove that the people sending the information, either in that case or in the other case with the secretary, were acting with any kind of the mens rea — with any kind of criminal intent,” Mr. Comey said.
The New York Times noted in its coverage of Mr. Comey’s testimony on Wednesday that he had mischaracterized what the bureau had uncovered. A report late Monday in ProPublica saying that the F.B.I. was struggling to determine how to clarify Mr. Comey’s testimony set off a new round of criticism of his comments.
The investigation into Mrs. Clinton’s use of a private email server was a political liability throughout the 2016 presidential campaign. The case dragged on for months, contributed to Republican criticism that Mrs. Clinton was hiding something and created the spectacle of the Democratic front-runner being interviewed for hours at F.B.I. Headquarters last July.
Shortly after that interview, Mr. Comey announced at a rare news conference that he would not recommend that Mrs. Clinton face criminal charges. But he criticized her “extremely careless” handling of classified information.
Then in October, less than two weeks before Election Day, Mr. Comey informed Congress that officers had reopened the investigation based on the new emails found on Mr. Weiner’s computer. Democrats were infuriated by that decision, and Mrs. Clinton said it cost her the election.
The F.B.I. seized Mr. Weiner’s computer as part of a separate investigation into whether he had exchanged illicit text messages or photographs with a teenage girl. The bureau found evidence on the laptop that there were emails associated with Mrs. Clinton’s email server, and Mr. Comey gave his officers approval on Oct. 27 to request a search warrant to examine those emails. He informed Congress the next day.
The F.B.I. found nothing that changed its original conclusion not to recommend charges in the case.
In his testimony last week, Mr. Comey said that he felt obligated to inform Congress because he had testified earlier that the investigation had been completed.