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After FBI Director James Comey sent a letter to Congress re-opening the investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has released a statement condemning Hillary Clinton for "mishandling" classified information on her private server. Ryan also called for the Director of National Intelligence to cease classified briefings with Clinton until this matter is settled.

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"Yet again, Hillary Clinton has nobody but herself to blame. She was entrusted with some of our nation’s most important secrets, and she betrayed that trust by carelessly mishandling highly classified information. This decision, long overdue, is the result of her reckless use of a private email server, and her refusal to be forthcoming with federal investigators. I renew my call for the Director of National Intelligence to suspend all classified briefings for Secretary Clinton until this matter is fully resolved."

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On the day after the FBI announced that it was reopening the case of Hillary Clinton's emails, the former Secretary of State implied in a speech to supporters on the campaign trail that the FBI's actions were strange, unprecedented & deeply disturbing.

It may be the least self-aware statement a politician has ever made while running for office.

Ironically, "strange, unprecedented and deeply disturbing," where the identical emotions and thoughts that were quietly revealed to the media via the voice of one of the investigators of the original 100 agents that worked the case. In the stunning revelation the agent confessed that all 100 agents that worked the original email case believed Hillary Clinton had violated national security so badly that she should have her national security clearance revoked. Similarly all six of the department of justice attorneys that work the case believed that she should have been indicted.

These agents and attorneys believed the evidence in the original case was so strong that it was disheartening, dismaying, and literally sickening that the Justice Department nor the FBI moved forward with further inquiry. Prosecutors across America went on cable and print outlets to decry the actions & to proclaim that had they been given the same case that they not not only would have indicted, but would have argued a guilty verdict to a successful conclusion.

Fast forward to this last Thursday, in unrelated circumstances, as FBI agents poured over the sexting details of former congressman Anthony Weiner. Something profoundly disturbing and connected to the Hillary Clinton email case was discovered.

Enough of a something was found that it forced the FBI director's hand to take actions that he had specifically attempted to avoid for many weeks--the reopening of the FBI's efforts in Hillary Clinton's criminal email endeavors.

The very thing he had hoped to avoid--which was to take further action, close to the election--was now forced upon him, his investigators and now the voters of America.

Predictably, without missing a beat, Hillary Clinton rose to the occasion of defiant hubris, strong disdain and likely greater abuse of the American people.

As rumor swirls as to what the evidence may actually prove, armchair analysts have been proffering their thoughts throughout the weekend.

Mine are as follows:

1. Hillary's people are some of the least intelligent when it comes to using technology.

2. Such recklessness has not only opened up threats against our nation but now her very campaign.

3. With the knowledge that the device is retrieved from the Huma Abedin/Anthony Weiner home, and that it is likely that both used said device for extended periods of time, it is likely that direct evidence that contradicts previous testimony has been discovered.

4. As Ms. Abedin was Hillary's closest and personal confidant, it is entirely possible that tens of thousands if not all thirty thousand email that the campaign attempted to bleach from the original servers had a second "carbon copy" home that most forgot about.

5. Given that in the leaked emails from John Podesta alone there appears to be systematic attempt to commit felonies such as suppression of evidence, destruction of evidence, collusion, and corruption, one can only guess at the gold mine of criminality tens of thousands previously undiscovered but believe to be destroyed emails might contain.

It is understandable that the Clinton campaign spent most of the last several days contacting lawyers, and publicly calling for the release of more information.

Being kept in the dark is not a position that anyone with the last name of Clinton is in any way familiar with. As each minute transpires, in which they do not know the actual facts of what the FBI now does, the gnawing in the pit of their stomach eats away at their deceptive souls. It also prevents them from formulating lies to counteract what has been uncovered.

The vast majority of observers also rightly point out that this kind of surprise--again through an unrelated investigation--was created by only one person--Hillary Clinton herself.

Had she but followed State Department protocols and used her assigned server for official State Department work this conversation would never be occurring.

Had she turned over her emails when so instructed by a federal judge and a Congressional subpoena, this would not have happened.

Had she instructed her aides to do the same... etc.

Every last ounce of this last minute panic that she feels in her heart tonight, is of her own doing, her own creation, and perhaps finally her own reaping.

Hillary Clinton claims that the FBI--merely doing its job--is strange, unprecedented, and deeply disturbing.

Given the fact that it is entirely possible that she is looking at actual prison time I understand her panic.

quote:

If there’s someone who is in immediate danger of the fallout from the latest FBI bombshell concerning Clinton’s emails, it’s not the former first lady. It’s her top aide, Huma Abedin. New emails sent to the former Secretary of State were found on a laptop belonging to Anthony Weiner, Abedin’s estranged husband who is under investigation for his online interactions with an underage girl. Abedin and Weiner shared his laptop and that’s how the new emails were found. FBI Director James Comey informed Congress Friday that the bureau would be reviewing these emails that number in the thousands. Here’s the catch: Abedin swore under oath that she had turned over all devices with State Department emails on them, which was part of her June testimony in the lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch...

Also, we now know why there are thousands of emails, besides government work being very heavy on email; Abedin never deleted what was in her inbox. Hence, why this review is going to take a while, something that almost everyone was stating when the FBI made this announcement public Friday. Yet, The Associated Press also noted that Abedin signed a routine State Department agreement to turn over all devices with government emails on them upon leaving government work. That was back in February of 2013 under penalty of perjury...

Abedin doesn’t know how her emails wound up on her husband’s computer since she wasn’t a frequent user of it. As a result, her lawyers didn’t even search for State Department materials, but that’s not going to cut it. She can’t remember? Are we really expected to believe that from a woman who is part of Clinton’s inner circle (and fiercely loyal), whose been serving her since she became an intern at the Clinton White House in 1996? She can deny all she wants; emails to Clinton were found on that laptop. She said that she turned over all devices that she thought had "relevant documents." Someone is lying. And in this case, the penalty is being carted off to jail. Right now, Huma could be in the crosshairs. The only saving grace is that no one at the FBI has seen the new emails, even when FBI Director Comey sent that letter to Congress about the renewed probe, something that the Justice Department tried to dissuade him from doing (via Yahoo! News):

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...As of Saturday night, the FBI had still not gotten approval from the Justice Department for a warrant that would allow agency officials to read any of the newly discovered Abedin emails, and therefore are still in the dark about whether they include any classified material that the bureau has not already seen.

“We do not have a warrant,” a senior law enforcement official said. “Discussions are under way [between the FBI and the Justice Department] as to the best way to move forward.”

If work-related State Department emails are found, things aren’t looking so good for Ms. Abedin and possibly Hillary. In the meantime, she’s not being removed from the campaign. She’s staying right where she is, according to campaign chair John Podesta.

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ORIGINAL: bounty44

"Perjury? Huma Abedin Swore To Turn Over All Devices Containing State Department Emails"

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If there’s someone who is in immediate danger of the fallout from the latest FBI bombshell concerning Clinton’s emails, it’s not the former first lady. It’s her top aide, Huma Abedin. New emails sent to the former Secretary of State were found on a laptop belonging to Anthony Weiner, Abedin’s estranged husband who is under investigation for his online interactions with an underage girl. Abedin and Weiner shared his laptop and that’s how the new emails were found. FBI Director James Comey informed Congress Friday that the bureau would be reviewing these emails that number in the thousands. Here’s the catch: Abedin swore under oath that she had turned over all devices with State Department emails on them, which was part of her June testimony in the lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch...

Also, we now know why there are thousands of emails, besides government work being very heavy on email; Abedin never deleted what was in her inbox. Hence, why this review is going to take a while, something that almost everyone was stating when the FBI made this announcement public Friday. Yet, The Associated Press also noted that Abedin signed a routine State Department agreement to turn over all devices with government emails on them upon leaving government work. That was back in February of 2013 under penalty of perjury...

Abedin doesn’t know how her emails wound up on her husband’s computer since she wasn’t a frequent user of it. As a result, her lawyers didn’t even search for State Department materials, but that’s not going to cut it. She can’t remember? Are we really expected to believe that from a woman who is part of Clinton’s inner circle (and fiercely loyal), whose been serving her since she became an intern at the Clinton White House in 1996? She can deny all she wants; emails to Clinton were found on that laptop. She said that she turned over all devices that she thought had "relevant documents." Someone is lying. And in this case, the penalty is being carted off to jail. Right now, Huma could be in the crosshairs. The only saving grace is that no one at the FBI has seen the new emails, even when FBI Director Comey sent that letter to Congress about the renewed probe, something that the Justice Department tried to dissuade him from doing (via Yahoo! News):

quote:

...As of Saturday night, the FBI had still not gotten approval from the Justice Department for a warrant that would allow agency officials to read any of the newly discovered Abedin emails, and therefore are still in the dark about whether they include any classified material that the bureau has not already seen.

“We do not have a warrant,” a senior law enforcement official said. “Discussions are under way [between the FBI and the Justice Department] as to the best way to move forward.”

If work-related State Department emails are found, things aren’t looking so good for Ms. Abedin and possibly Hillary. In the meantime, she’s not being removed from the campaign. She’s staying right where she is, according to campaign chair John Podesta.

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2016/10/30/flashback-huma-abedin-swore-to-give-up-all-devices-with-state-department-emails-n2238478

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There’s more palace intrigue from the FBI regarding their renewed probe into Clinton-related emails that were found on Anthony Weiner’s laptop. Weiner is under investigation for an inappropriate online interaction with an underage girl. Abedin, who is now separated from Weiner, shared that laptop. Abedin reportedly has said she has no idea how State Department emails were found on that device. Regardless, FBI Director James Comey informed Congress on Friday that the bureau will be reviewing these new documents…once they get approval from Abedin’s lawyers and a new subpoena to conduct a full search. Yet, FBI agents were aware of these emails weeks before briefing the director (Via WaPo):

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The FBI agents investigating Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server knew early this month that messages recovered in a separate probe might be germane to their case, but they waited weeks before briefing the FBI director, according to people familiar with the case.

FBI Director James B. Comey has written that he was informed of the development Thursday, and he sent a letter to legislators the next day letting them know that he thought the team should take “appropriate investigative steps designed to allow investigators to review these emails.”

Given that the Clinton email team knew for weeks that it may have cause to resume its work, it is unclear why investigators did not tell Comey sooner. People familiar with the case said they had known about the messages since soon after New York FBI agents seized a computer related to their investigation into former congressman Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), who is alleged to have exchanged explicit messages with a 15-year-old girl. Weiner is the estranged husband of longtime Clinton aide Huma Abedin, and federal law enforcement officials said they think the computer was used by both of them.

A public revelation in early October might have been less politically damaging for Clinton than one coming less than two weeks before the Nov. 8 election. It is also unclear what agents have been doing in the intervening time — for instance, whether they were trying to learn more about the emails before notifying Comey. An FBI spokesman declined to immediately provide a statement.

Abedin could face the most immediate danger from this renewed probe, as she gave testimony in June, and signed a routine State Department form, that she had turned over all devices and documents relating to her time at the State Department. The form was signed in February of 2013 when Clinton left the State Department. Both the form and the deposition, which was part of lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch over Clinton’s email server, were conducted under penalty of perjury. The number of emails found are said to have soared into the thousands.

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As Hillary Clinton and her surrogates continue to grapple with the fallout over the FBI reopening their investigation into the former Secretary of State's email practices, they're blaming everyone but Clinton for the current situation.

On Friday, Democrats slammed FBI Director James Comey for "going against DOJ policy" by informing Congress the investigation had been reopened. They're also furious with former Congressman Anthony Weiner, leaving his ex-wife and top aide to Clinton free of responsibility.

Naturally, Democrats aren't placing blame on Clinton herself for using a private email server in the first place, which got her into this mess and continues to cause headaches for her campaign. The Clinton campaign is ironically calling on the FBI to release any new evidence for the sake of transparency.

Clinton is the only one to blame for her current situation and during an interview with Fox News Friday night, former prosecutor and Oversight Committee member Trey Gowdy, who headed the Select Committee on Benghazi, didn't mince words about exactly whose fault this whole thing is.

“She is the author of her own destiny. Everything that’s happened since then is the natural, probable consequence of deciding you’re going to have a rogue email system," Gowdy said. "I understand she’s upset and I understand she doesn’t like the timing but she need look no further than herself.”

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If someone put a gun to my head and gave me the final vote to decide between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to be the next President of the United States, I’d have to give serious consideration to the bullet…

There’s plenty of speculation about what’s on Anthony Weiner’s computer that has the FBI getting a warrant. One scenario sticks out like a sore thumb to me based specifically on the fact that the FBI has had access for weeks. It’s a scenario in which FBI agents chose to use any of a number of loopholes to search Huma Abedin’s emails prior to getting a warrant…

What might they have found? It would have to be something new. They wouldn’t go through the steps they’ve gone through if it was just reiteration of previously known facts. They acknowledged she was careless. They acknowledged she was incompetent. They acknowledged there were deleted emails. They even acknowledged that national security was put at risk. If it was more of the same, we wouldn’t be talking about it right now. The issue would have been put off until after the election. For them to be going to such great lengths and risks to the reputation of the FBI (as well as Comey’s career), there has to be a real smoking gun.

To me, the only smoking gun worthy of this much attention would be an email directly or indirectly connecting Hillary to an order to purge the servers to hinder the investigation itself. If there’s an email that says, “get rid of anything that mentions Benghazi” or “delete any emails that were classified” or something in that vein, this whole endeavor by the FBI is worthwhile. Otherwise, this is nothing more than a red herring and a waste of time...

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Lost in all the shouting and hypocrisy over James Comey and the FBI's renewed investigation into Hillary Clinton's national security-compromising email scandal is a true jaw-dropper of a Wall Street Journal scoop regarding deep internal divisions within the Bureau and DOJ. The story begins by focusing on the email probe side of the controversy, then delves into great detail about a raging, under-the-radar battle over multiple FBI field offices examining possible criminal wrongdoing at the Clinton Foundation. The specifics of the report are remarkable, with warring factions offering differing accounts of what has really transpired. One thing that becomes clear from the Journal's reporting is that some within the FBI believe top brass at their agency and at the Justice Department have repeatedly exerted their influence to hamstring or shut down a serious criminal investigation:

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New details show that senior law-enforcement officials repeatedly voiced skepticism of the strength of the evidence in a bureau investigation of the Clinton Foundation, sought to condense what was at times a sprawling cross-country effort, and, according to some people familiar with the matter, told agents to limit their pursuit of the case. The probe of the foundation began more than a year ago to determine whether financial crimes or influence peddling occurred related to the charity. Some investigators grew frustrated, viewing FBI leadership as uninterested in probing the charity, these people said. Others involved disagreed sharply, defending FBI bosses and saying Mr. McCabe in particular was caught between an increasingly acrimonious fight for control between the Justice Department and FBI agents pursuing the Clinton Foundation case...

Early this year, four FBI field offices—New York, Los Angeles, Washington and Little Rock, Ark.—were collecting information about the Clinton Foundation to see if there was evidence of financial crimes or influence-peddling, according to people familiar with the matter...The FBI field office in New York had done the most work on the Clinton Foundation case and received help from the FBI field office in Little Rock, the people familiar with the matter said. In February, FBI officials made a presentation to the Justice Department, according to these people. By all accounts, the meeting didn’t go well. Some said that is because the FBI didn’t present compelling evidence to justify more aggressive pursuit of the Clinton Foundation, and that the career anticorruption prosecutors in the room simply believed it wasn’t a very strong case. Others said that from the start, the Justice Department officials were stern, icy and dismissive of the case.

...One contingent of agents views their bosses at DOJ as actively trying to deep-six their investigative efforts, which could have further damaged the Clintons. Another contingent believes the evidence wasn't strong enough to justify a full-scale investigation....

The decision to keep pursuing the Clinton Foundation did not sit well with at least one high-ranking DOJ boss, who placed an angry phone call to McCabe -- whose name may sound vaguely familiar. More on that connection in a moment, but first, this smacks of improper political pressure:

"WSJ: DOJ official was "very pissed off" that the FBI was pursuing its Clinton Foundation investigation & applied pressure to kill. pic.twitter.com/9qnwWnn8oy — Guy Benson (@guypbenson) October 31, 2016"

McCabe reportedly pushed back:

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“Are you telling me that I need to shut down a validly predicated investigation?” Mr. McCabe asked, according to people familiar with the conversation. After a pause, the official replied, “Of course not,” these people said. For Mr. McCabe’s defenders, the exchange showed how he was stuck between an FBI office eager to pour more resources into a case and Justice Department prosecutors who didn’t think much of the case, one person said. Those people said that following the call, Mr. McCabe reiterated past instructions to FBI agents that they were to keep pursuing the work within the authority they had. Others further down the FBI chain of command, however, said agents were given a much starker instruction on the case: “Stand down.” When agents questioned why they weren’t allowed to take more aggressive steps, they said they were told the order had come from the deputy director—Mr. McCabe. Others familiar with the matter deny Mr. McCabe or any other senior FBI official gave such a stand-down instruction. For agents who already felt uneasy about FBI leadership’s handling of the Clinton Foundation case, the moment only deepened their concerns, these people said.

It sounds as if McCabe was caught between DOJ higher-ups who wanted the Clinton Foundation probe jettisoned or significantly defanged, and line agents who were angry and suspicious that their work was being undermined by a political agenda...

McCabe apparently denied agents' September request to seek non-government laptops seized from Clinton aides during the (then dormant) email scandal investigation. Relevant FBI/DOJ-granted immunity deals, described by ex-federal officials as highly irregular, stipulated that the evidence in question could only be used by officials looking into the mishandling of classified data -- not other potential crimes related to the Clinton Foundation. Hmmm. Layer all of this new information atop the facts that Attorney General Loretta Lynch improperly huddled with Bill Clinton while the email probe was still active and then broke her word by inserting herself into the case, pressuring Comey not to update Congress on new developments that impact his previous testimony. Asking tough pointed about whether some top officials at DOJ are abusing their roles to protect their partisan allies is justified...

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The FBI has been investigating the Clinton family's foundation for more than a year about whether it conducted a pay-to-pay scheme, Fox News (oh no comrades, fox news!) reported Wednesday night.

According to Fox News (oh no comrades, fox news!) anchor Brett Baier, the FBI's white collar crime and public corruption division is heading up the investigation. Baier quoted a source that claimed the case is "very high priority" for the bureau, likely due to Clinton's position as the Democratic presidential nominee.

At the same time, the FBI continues to look through a laptop recently discovered as part of an investigation into former Rep. Anthony Weiner's sexting scandal. Weiner's estranged wife Huma Abedin is Clinton's top aide, and the bureau found hundreds of thousands of Abedin's emails on the laptop. At least some of them, Baier reported, are new and were not previously discovered as part of the investigation into Clinton's private email server.

The FBI dished out several immunity deals to Clinton aides in exchange for their testimony, but Baier reported those deals will be torn up if anyone lied during questioning.

"I think it shouldn't be surprising to us that the Clinton Foundation has been the subject of investigation," former assistant U.S. attorney Andrew C. McCarthy told Fox News (oh no comrades, fox news!).

McCarthy also spoke about President Barack Obama, who has said he wasn't aware Clinton was using a private server as secretary of state. Emails, however, show the president exchanged several emails with Clinton's private address.

"I think if I were the president and I had communicated with Mrs. Clinton some 18 times using an alias over a non-secure e-mail system and then looked the American people in the eye and said that I didn't even know that she had private email or she used private email, I would really stop talking about this case," McCarthy said.