WASHINGTON (JTA) — A renewed investigation into whether Hillary Clinton or her aides mishandled classified information reportedly arose out of the FBI probe of whether ex-congressman Anthony Weiner sexted with an underage girl.
James Comey, the FBI director, on Friday wrote to the chairman of congressional oversight committees that the “FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation” into the private server Clinton used when she was secretary of state.
Comey said the revelation came about because of an “unrelated case” but did not detail it further. The New York Times, followed by other media outlets, quoted sources as saying that the new emails were uncovered in their probe into Weiner, who also ran for mayor of New York.
Weiner, who is Jewish and was close to the right-wing pro-Israel community while in Congress, is married to a top aide to Clinton, Huma Abedin. They separated this summer when it was revealed that his habit of sexting, or exchanging lascivious images and narratives, which drove him out of Congress and then scuttled his bid for mayor, was continuing unabated. It was subsequently alleged that he was in a sexting relationship with a 15-year old girl in North Carolina, which led to the federal investigation.
Comey had previously closed the inquiry into the Democratic presidential nominee’s server, saying she had mishandled information by using a private server – a result of Clinton’s determination to keep some exchanges quiet – but that nothing rose to the level of a criminal complaint.
Donald Trump, Clinton’s Republican rival, seized on the revelation, praising the FBI at a rally and saying on Twitter, “We must not let #CrookedHillary take her CRIMINAL SCHEME into the Oval Office.”
John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign manager, fired off a statement calling on the FBI to reveal more about the emails, saying the campaign was certain there was nothing in the emails that would implicate Clinton.
“It is extraordinary that we would see something like this just 11 days out from a presidential election,” Podesta said. “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.”
