WASHINGTON, DC — FBI Director James Comey released a statement saying that the FBI is going to continue the previously closed investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails from her time as secretary of state.
Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz tweeted Friday afternoon that the FBI has learned the existence of emails that “appear to be pertinent to the investigation."
The disclosure raises the possibility of the FBI reopening the criminal investigation involving the Democratic presidential nominee just days before the election. Clinton's campaign didn't immediately respond.
In a letter sent Friday to congressional leaders, FBI Director James Comey says that new emails have come to light recently that have prompted investigators to take another look at the sensitive government information that flowed through the private email sever Clinton used while serving as secretary of state.
It was not clear from Comey's letter where the new emails came from or who sent or received them.
The FBI focused on whether Clinton sent or received classified information using the private server, which was not authorized for such messages. Clinton told the FBI she relied on others with knowledge about handling classified files not to send her emails inappropriately.
Clinton said she was unfamiliar with the meaning of the letter "c'' next to a paragraph and speculated that it might be "referencing paragraphs marked in alphabetical order." That particular email had been marked as classified at the confidential level, the lowest level of classification. Clinton said she did not pay attention to the level of classification "and took all classified information seriously," according to the FBI.
After a yearlong investigation, the FBI recommended against prosecution in July, and the Justice Department then closed the case. FBI Director James Comey said that while Clinton and her aides had been "extremely careless" in dealing with sensitive materials, there was no evidence they intentionally mishandled classified information.
The FBI's review also found no direct evidence that Clinton's server was hacked but said her system would be a high-value target for foreign intelligence agencies and a sophisticated attacker would have been unlikely to leave behind evidence of a breach. Clinton told the FBI she was unaware of specific details about the security, software or hardware used on her server.
Clinton also told the FBI she never deleted emails, nor instructed anyone else to do so, to avoid their potential release under the Freedom of Information Act.
However, the FBI report says Clinton contacted her predecessor, former Secretary Colin Powell, in January 2009 to inquire about his use of a BlackBerry. Powell, who also used a private email account, warned Clinton that if it became "public" that she used a smartphone to "do business," her emails could become official government records subject to disclosure.
"Be very careful," Powell cautioned Clinton in an email. "I got around it all by not saying much and not using systems that captured the data."
Clinton said she later directed her aides to create a private email account and said it was "a matter of convenience" to use the home server shared with her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
She added that "everyone at State knew she had a private email address," though in separate interviews several on her team told agents they had no idea she was using a private account.
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FBI Dir just informed me, "The FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation." Case reopened
— Jason Chaffetz (@jasoninthehouse) October 28, 2016
JUST IN: FBI Director informs Congress Hillary Clinton email investigation is back on. pic.twitter.com/2p4iAAYH97
— ABC News (@ABC) October 28, 2016
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