US election: FBI probe into Clinton emails - what we know- 10/31/16
The FBI has found new emails that may be related to its investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server when she was secretary of state.
That investigation ended in July when the FBI cleared her of any criminal wrongdoing.
But FBI director James Comey says these new emails "appear to be pertinent" to the case and investigators are currently reviewing them.
There are few specifics at the moment, but here's what we know so far:
Where did they find these emails?
The emails, including some from top Clinton aide Huma Abedin, are believed to have been found on a laptop belonging to her estranged husband, former congressman Anthony Weiner.
In a letter to Congress, Mr Comey said the FBI had discovered the emails "in connection with an unrelated case".
The unrelated case is said to be an inquiry into Mr Wiener, with FBI officials investigating whether he sent sexually explicit emails to a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina.
Devices belonging to Ms Abedin and Mr Weiner were seized as part of the investigation.
Anthony Weiner: Behind the scenes of a political marriage
What do we know about the emails?
There are said to be about 650,000 emails in total on the laptop. Mr Comey told Congress that investigators were reviewing them to see if they contained classified information.
At the end of the original investigation into Mrs Clinton, Mr Comey said her handling of sensitive material during her tenure as secretary of state was "extremely careless".
But until the FBI provides more details, we will not know whether the new emails are further examples of that mishandling.
At the moment, it is also unclear who sent or received the emails or what they were about.
What happens next?
FBI investigators will review the emails to "assess their importance to our investigation," according to Mr Comey.
But he declined to give a timeframe, saying he "cannot predict how long it will take us to complete this additional work".
Mrs Clinton's campaign team have called on Mr Comey to release further information as soon as possible.
What was the initial scandal about?
Before becoming secretary of state in 2009, Mrs Clinton set up an email server at her home in Chappaqua, New York, that she used for all work and personal emails during her four years in office.
She did not use, or even activate, a state.gov email account, which would have been hosted on servers owned and managed by the US government.
She said it was for convenience but critics said it gave her control over what information entered the public domain.
What is the email scandal all about?
What is Clinton saying?
Hillary Clinton said: "The American people deserve to get the full and complete facts immediately"
Responding shortly after news of the inquiry emerged, Mrs Clinton said she was "confident" the emails would not change the outcome of the FBI's previous investigation.
"The American people deserve to get the full and complete facts immediately," she told reporters.
"It's imperative that the bureau explain this issue in question, whatever it is, without any delay."
What is Trump saying?
Trump says Clinton emails saga "bigger than Watergate"
Donald Trump announced news of the inquiry to the sound of cheers from supporters at a campaign rally in Iowa.
"It's everybody's hope that justice at last can be delivered," he told the crowd, calling it "the biggest political scandal since Watergate".
"The FBI would never have reopened this case at this time unless it were a most egregious criminal offence."
How damaging is it for Clinton?
Anthony Zurcher, BBC North America reporter, writes:
Mrs Clinton's supporters will spend the next few days in a defensive crouch, trying to assess how bad the damage could be.
It seems unlikely that this will move many voters from Mrs Clinton to Mr Trump on election day - the partisan divide between the two camps at this point is too great.
It could depress the Democrat's turnout, however, or cause her to bleed support to third-party candidates like the Green Party's Jill Stein or Libertarian Gary Johnson.
What's certain is that whether this ends up being a big deal or not, it places the spotlight on all the wrong places for the Clinton campaign. FULL BBC ARTICLE HERE
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