US Election 2016: FBI finds no evidence of criminality in investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails

Chloe Chaplain7 November 2016

The FBI director has announced he has found no evidence of criminality in the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails just two days before the US election.

In a letter to members of Congress, Director James Comey said he had not changed his conclusion that she should not face criminal charges for her use of a private email server for government work.

He said the FBI has worked "around the clock to process and review a large number of emails" obtained from a device belonging to Anthony Weiner, the disgraced former congressman and estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin.

He said the review has not changed the bureau's assessment from earlier this year that Clinton should not be prosecuted for her handling of classified information at the State Department.

Donald Trump: The news will be a blow to the Trump campaign  
AP

A law enforcement source told Reuters the conclusion closes for now the FBI probe of the former secretary of state's email practices.

Comey had informed Congress of the newly discovered emails more than a week ago, throwing the race for the White House into turmoil and eroding Clinton's lead over Republican candidate Donald Trump in the final stretch before Tuesday's vote.

"I am very grateful to the professionals at the FBI for doing an extraordinary amount of high-quality work in a short period of time," Comey said.

Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri told reporters aboard Clinton's campaign plan that, "We are glad the matter is resolved."

Federal investigators got a warrant a week ago to examine the emails to see if they were related to the probe into Clinton's private server.

News of the renewed probe hurt Clinton's poll numbers, with Trump cutting into her once formidable lead amid renewed worries about her trustworthiness.

Trump had highlighted the issue as proof for his argument that Clinton is corrupt.

But at a rally in Minneapolis after news of the FBI conclusion broke, Trump delivered his standard lines about Clinton without mentioning the latest news.

"Hillary Clinton will be under investigation for a long long time," he said, before his comments were overtaken by a chant of "Lock her up!"

Hillary Clinton v Donald Trump: US Presidential Election

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