Clinton campaign calls on FBI to 'immediately' release more details from email probe

Hillary Clinton’s campaign criticized the FBI’s announcement Friday that it would be examining more emails potentially connected to its earlier investigation of her email server, calling it “extraordinary” that the news would break less than two weeks before a presidential election.

Clinton campaign chair John Podesta called on FBI Director James Comey to provide the “full details” of what new emails he is now probing.

“The director owes it to the American people to immediately provide the full details of what he is now examining,” Podesta said in a statement released Friday afternoon. “We are confident this will not produce any conclusions different from the one the FBI reached in July.”

Podesta added: “We have no idea what those emails are and the director himself notes they may not even be significant.”

FBI Director James Comey wrote to Congress Friday that he had uncovered emails in an unrelated case that “appear to be pertinent” to the agency’s previous investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state. Comey said investigators would look into whether the emails contained classified information. In July, Comey announced he would not be recommending prosecution in Clinton’s case, because no laws were broken, though he chastised Clinton for being “careless” with classified information.

The New York Times reported Friday that the new emails were uncovered while the FBI was investigating text messages that Anthony Weiner allegedly sent to a 15 year old girl. Weiner is the husband of Clinton’s longtime aide Huma Abedin, and the FBI seized devices that belonged to both Weiner and Abedin in the investigation, the Times reported. Abedin announced she was separating from Weiner several months ago.

The Clinton campaign’s statement also said the FBI’s announcement did not indicate the agency was “reopening” the previous investigation into Clinton.

“FBI Director Comey should immediately provide the American public more information than is contained in the letter he sent to eight Republican committee chairmen,” Podesta said. “Already, we have seen characterizations that the FBI is ‘reopening’ an investigation but Comey’s words do not match that characterization.”