/ 1 November 2016

FBI obtains warrant to review emails potentially linked to Hillary Clinton

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flew to Israel and Palestine to try and broker a truce in the Gaza strip.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flew to Israel and Palestine to try and broker a truce in the Gaza strip.

The FBI has obtained a warrant to begin reviewing a new batch of emails potentially tied to US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, law enforcement officials told US media.

It remains unclear, however, whether investigators can finish their work before election day, the New York Times reported. 

“The process has begun,” the paper quoted a federal law enforcement official as saying on Sunday.

James Comey, the director of the FBI, set off a political firestorm on Friday by announcing in a letter to Congress that the agency would investigate emails discovered in a separate probe to see if they contain classified information.

The emails, belonging to Clinton’s closest aide, Huma Abedin, came to light during an investigation of disgraced former New York congressman Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of Abedin.

Weiner is under investigation for allegedly sending lewd messages to an underaged girl. The FBI found the emails on computers that it seized in that investigation, according to news reports.

Earlier on Sunday, it was reported that FBI investigators knew for weeks about the existence of newly discovered emails potentially related to the investigation of Clinton’s private email server – raising questions as to why Comey waited until 11 days before the elections to make his announcement.

“With just a little more than a week until election day, it’s unclear if this new Clinton email development will sway any undecided voters,” Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett reported from Washington.

“Still, it’s a concern for Clinton’s campaign, given polls show Clinton and her rival now in a tight race in some key battleground states.”

The FBI had announced in July that its investigation into the Democratic presidential candidate’s email practices had concluded with a recommendation of no criminal charges in the matter.

Clinton’s rival, Republican Donald Trump, thanked Weiner for his role in the FBI’s discovery of new emails.

“We never thought we were going to say thank you to Anthony Weiner,” he told a rally in Las Vegas. – Al Jazeera