FBI says it won’t recommend charges in Clinton email matter

As part of the investigation, Clinton handed over 30,000 work-related emails from this server to the state department, which were investigated by the FBI and others.

The FBI’s recommendation regarding prosecution to US Department of Justice is the latest development in the long-running drama over Clinton’s use of private email servers, which prompted many to question whether she or her aides had broken any laws.

Mr Comey said there were no previous cases that supported filing criminal charges against Mrs Clinton.

“In looking back at our investigations into mishandling or removal of classified information, we can not find a case that would support bringing criminal charges on these facts”.

Donald Trump is already tweeting his reaction saying “The system is rigged”.

“General Petraeus got in trouble for far less”, Trump said.

Still, all things considered, this is a very bad day for the Clinton campaign.

Comey’s statement removes the most serious threat that had hung over Clinton’s presidential campaign – the possibility of a criminal indictment – although his judgment of carelessness will surely resound from now until November. “Declining to prosecute Secretary Clinton for recklessly mishandling and transmitting national security information will set a awful precedent”, Speaker Ryan said in a statement.

As The Guardian was quick to state, “The FBI just made a liar of her when she said that she never handled any information on her personal email that was ‘classified at the time'”.

“Secretary Clinton gave a voluntary interview this morning about her email arrangements while she was Secretary”, spokesman Nick Merrill stated.

He adds the campaign is “glad that this matter is now resolved”. The State Department vetted and released more than 30,000 emails from Clinton’s personal system over the course of a year, but was forced to withhold 22 top-secret messages from public release.

Amid a presidential campaign and allegations of whether Clinton broke the law, Comey reportedly had decided to make a public statement once the investigation was concluded. He says the White House is trying to avoid the appearance of interfering while the Justice Department considers whether to charge Clinton.

The former first lady came under renewed fire after it emerged that her husband Bill met briefly with Attorney General Loretta Lynch at an airport in Arizona last week – prompting Republicans to cry foul over possible government interference with the email probe. She has said no e-mails that she handled were marked classified at the time.

The story of Clinton’s emails has been about her use of a private server to run her own email system, but Comey said, “Secretary Clinton used several different servers and administrators of those servers during her four years at the State Department, and used numerous mobile devices to view and send email”.

The Clinton campaign said it was pleased with the outcome.

Comey delivered a stern lecture to Clinton and State Department colleagues at her side during her tenure as top USA diplomat between 2009 and 2013.

“What I can assure the American people is that this investigation was done competently, honestly and independently”.

“No outside influence of any kind was brought to bear…” But if Comey and the Federal Bureau of Investigation had reached a different conclusion – that Clinton likely broke the law – the bumper sticker of the day would have crossed out Hillary Clinton’s name and penciled in Joe Biden’s.