FBI sends letter to Congress saying email review completed, decision not to prosecute Clinton stands

Jason Chaffetz shares information after Director Comey updates Congress

FBI Director James Comey said Sunday that the agency has reviewed all of the Hillary Clinton emails recently discovered in an unrelated case and that his conclusion in July not to prosecute Clinton after the FBI’s original investigation into her use of private email server still stands.

Comey informed Congress on Oct. 28 that the agency would in the unrelated case review additional emails related to Clinton’s time running the State Department from 2009 to 2013.

“Since my letter, the FBI investigative team has been working around the clock to process and review a large volume of emails,” Comey said Sunday in a follow-up letter to Congress. “During that time we reviewed all of the communications that were to or from Hilary Clinton as secretary of state. Based on our review, we have not changed our conclusion.”

Reaction from the campaign trail and on Capitol Hill to the letter, which still appears to leaves some unanswered questions, was swift and largely partisan.

“We're glad this issue is resolved but for the record, this could easily have been learned before 1st letter was sent,” tweeted Brian Fallon, a spokesman for the Clinton Democratic presidential campaign. 

The new case is purportedly related to ex-New York Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner using a laptop he shared with estranged wife and top Clinton aide Huma Abedin for “sexting” an apparently underage female. 

Comey’s letter last month said only that a new batch of emails “appeared to be pertinent” to the FBI’s original Clinton email investigation.

The Clinton campaign and it supporters howled that Comey with his letter had injected himself in the closing days of a very close White House race, while providing little information about the emails and the new probe.

"Regardless of this decision, the undisputed finding of the FBI's investigation is that Secretary Clinton put our nation's secrets at risk and in doing so compromised our national security,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, the top Republican in Congress, said Sunday night.

“She simply believes she's above the law and always plays by her own rules. ... The American people should not have to endure four more years of their scandal and baggage. … Let's bring the Clinton era to an end by voting for Donald Trump on Tuesday."

Neither Clinton nor Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has yet to comment on the Comey letter.

Trump landed in Minnesota for a rally moments after Comey's announcement. He made no direct mention of the FBI decision and continued to insist that Clinton would be under investigation during her potential presidency.

"She's protected by a rigged system," he told supporters. "She shouldn't even be allowed to run for president."

Comey in July concluded the FBI investigation into Clinton’s use of the private server system while at the State Department by saying some of the emails included classified information and that Clinton has been “extremely careless.” However, he declined to recommend criminal charges to the Justice Department, and the case was effectively closed.

Clinton had appeared to be heading for a sweeping victory before the FBI review, but Comey's announcement blunted her momentum. Since then, national polls and battleground states have tightened, though Clinton still appears to hold an edge over Trump in the campaign's last moments.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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