"If he sent or received 200 emails a day, 365 days a year–a considerable number!–it would take 3,250 days, or just about nine years, to accumulate 650,000 on the laptop’s hard drive." - Is Anthony Weiner Behind the Email Crisis? - Power Line (blog)
weiner 650000 emails russian dump | weiner 650000 emails
calls for Comey's resignation
"Time out. Weiner’s laptop contains 650,000 emails? If he sent or received 200 emails a day, 365 days a year–a considerable number!–it would take 3,250 days, or just about nine years, to accumulate 650,000 on the laptop’s hard drive. It is not clear–to me, anyway–what would cause such a large number of emails to reside on the laptop, absent some sort of bulk downloads."
Is Anthony Weiner Behind the Email Crisis? - Power Line (blog)
Clinton Camp Demands More Info As FBI Ponders Emails Found In Anthony Weiner Probe – Update - Deadline
US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at a campaign rally in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
The FBI will inspect some 650,000 emails found on a laptop belonging to disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner that may be relevant to an investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday night.
The Journal cited sources familiar with the investigation to say that metadata within the messages suggested that thousands could have been sent to or from Clinton's private email server.
The messages were uncovered after investigators seized devices they suspected Weiner, the estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin, of using to exchange sexually explicit texts with underage girls.
The investigation into Clinton's private email server was completed in July, with James Comey, the FBI director, recommending that no criminal charges be brought against Clinton for her use of the server while she was secretary of state. But in a vague letter released Friday to congressional leaders, Comey announced the discovery of more emails "that appear to be pertinent" to the Clinton investigation.
The bureau came under fire over the weekend after a Washington Post report revealed that agents had known about the emails since early October but chose not to tell Comey about them until less than two weeks before the presidential election.
Developments over the weekend have laid bare internal strife both within the FBI and between the FBI and the Justice Department in multiple inquiries involving Clinton.
James Comey, the FBI director, at a hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on July 7 in Washington, DC. Alex Wong/Getty Images
The Justice Department reportedly asked the FBI not to disclose the discovery of the emails to Congress so close to the November 8 election, but Comey wrote to his employees on Friday that he felt "an obligation to do so given that I testified repeatedly in recent months that our investigation was completed."
Some within the FBI have apparently considered Comey to have overshared various aspects of the Clinton investigation with lawmakers and the public; in July the director gave an unprecedented press conference to announce that the FBI would not recommend criminal charges in the case.
Agents were also frustrated with the FBI leadership's apparent lack of interest in aggressively investigating the Clinton Foundation for possible conflicts of interest and financial crimes, according to The Journal.
The foundation's controversial donation practices came under renewed scrutiny last week when WikiLeaks published a hacked memo titled "Bill Clinton, Inc." that raised questions about the blurring of lines between the charity and the Clintons' personal finances.
Clinton with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, at a rally. AP
With no solid evidence of criminal wrongdoing, however, prosecutors within the public-integrity section of the Justice Department — who are not politically appointed — worried that they would be perceived as trying to influence the outcome of the election if they pursued the Clinton Foundation investigation. As such, they reportedly pressured FBI leadership to drop the foundation investigation.
Adding to that perception over the weekend was the revelation that the FBI had not obtained a separate warrant to sift through the roughly 650,000 Clinton emails found on Weiner's laptop before announcing on Friday that the emails existed. Weiner's laptop, which he evidently shared with Abedin, was subpoenaed in late September. The FBI eventually obtained a warrant over the weekend.
Clinton's email scandal has dogged the Democratic presidential nominee for more than a year. She first admitted in March 2015 to exclusively using a private email account to send and receive work-related emails while she served as secretary of state. The controversy compelled her to hand over roughly 30,000 work-related emails to the State Department, which have been released in batches since last year.
But she deleted about 30,000 additional emails from her server that she said were "personal" in nature before handing it over to the FBI in August, five months after she gave individual emails to the State Department.
Donald Trump, who has said he would "lock Clinton up" over her email scandal, seized on the news at a rally Friday. "Clinton's corruption is not on a scale we have ever seen," he told a rowdy crowd. Jonathan Drake/Reuters
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, seizing on the issue over the weekend, said during a Sunday rally that the FBI may have renewed the Clinton investigation because it found some of those 30,000 deleted emails. He described them as the potential "mother lode" that could bring down Clinton's candidacy.
Reports have indicated, however, that many of Abedin's emails, going back years, passed through Clinton's inbox at some point and therefore already would have been examined by agents who investigated her server from August 2015 through July of this year.
When asked during a congressional hearing in July whether he would renew the investigation if he "discovered new information that was both relevant and substantial," Comey replied that the FBI "would certainly look at any new and substantial information.”
Clinton implored the FBI on Friday evening to release more information about its review of the newly discovered documents, and her campaign has continued to go on the offensive over the weekend.
"The American people deserve to get the full and complete facts immediately," she said at a news conference.
It is unclear whether the FBI will complete its investigation of the newly discovered emails before November 8.
The White House said on Monday that President Barack Obama does not believe that FBI Director James Comey is trying to influence the election with his decision to review new evidence in the probe into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.
"The president's assessment of his integrity and his character has not changed," White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters during the daily briefing. "The president does not believe that Director Comey is intentionally trying to influence the outcome of an election. The president does not believe that he is secretly strategizing to benefit one candidate or one political party."
Story Continued Below
Comey has come under fierce criticism — including from Clinton's campaign — for telling lawmakers of his decision to revive the FBI's inquiry just 11 days before the election. Donald Trump has seized on the news to try to drive home the idea that Clinton can't be trusted and would enter the White House under a cloud of criminal suspicion.
And while Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid suggested over the weekend that Comey might have "broken the law" with his latest move, the White House was more sympathetic.
"He is in a tough spot," Earnest said.
But in what became a frequent refrain during the briefing, Earnest said his lack of independent information precluded any more reaction from the White House.
"Nobody at the White House has insight into the decision that Director Comey made," Earnest said.
Earnest’s repeatedly contended he would neither “defend or criticize” Comey’s letter or his very public statement about the case in July when he recommended that charges should not be brought against Clinton, but proceeded to scold Clinton and her aides for carelessness with classified materials.
-
calls for Comey's resignation
"Time out. Weiner’s laptop contains 650,000 emails? If he sent or received 200 emails a day, 365 days a year–a considerable number!–it would take 3,250 days, or just about nine years, to accumulate 650,000 on the laptop’s hard drive. It is not clear–to me, anyway–what would cause such a large number of emails to reside on the laptop, absent some sort of bulk downloads."
Is Anthony Weiner Behind the Email Crisis? - Power Line (blog)
Clinton Camp Demands More Info As FBI Ponders Emails Found In Anthony Weiner Probe – Update - Deadline
Deadline |
Clinton Camp Demands More Info As FBI Ponders Emails Found In Anthony Weiner Probe – Update
Deadline The new emails were discovered after the FBI seized devices belonging to Clinton's top aide Huma Abedin, and her estranged husband, Anthony Weiner, the NYT reported. .... Hillary claimed she was guilty of being moderate speaking in Ohio, then became ... Politics|Emails in Anthony Weiner Inquiry Jolt Hillary Clinton's CampaignNew York Times all 7,198 news articles » |
Toronto Sun |
Clinton caught between a Weiner and a hard place
Toronto Sun Incredibly, the FBI found some 650,000 emails on the computer Weiner shared with his wife, with metadata on the device reportedly indicating that thousands of emails were sent to and from the private server that Clinton used while Secretary of State. and more » |
CNBC |
Report: Weiner's laptop may hold 650K emails as Clinton team blasts 'shameless' probe
CNBC Weiner did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment, but the Clinton campaign wasted little time in blasting the new report. The former Secretary of State and her surrogates have been in damage control mode since news first leaked on ... and more » |
Breitbart News |
Wikileaks: First Clinton Campaign Email About Anthony Weiner Appears
Breitbart News On Saturday, Wikileaks released the first email showing Hillary Clinton's campaign mentioning former Congressman Anthony Weiner's sex scandals from chairman John Podesta's purported email accounts. In December 2015, Deputy Communications ... and more » |
Power Line (blog) |
Is Anthony Weiner Behind the Email Crisis?
Power Line (blog) Time out. Weiner's laptop contains 650,000 emails? If he sent or received 200 emails a day, 365 days a year–a considerable number!–it would take 3,250 days, or just about nine years, to accumulate 650,000 on the laptop's hard drive. It is not clear–to ... Huma Abedin: has Hillary Clinton's closest ally become her biggest liability?The Guardian Timeline: How Anthony Weiner's sexting reportedly led to new Clinton email questionsNews3LV Happy Halloweiner from Mark SteynConservative Review New York Post -Blasting News -Western Journalism all 513 news articles » |
Daily Mail |
Harry Reid accuses James Comey of knowing about a Trump connection to Russia
Daily Mail On Sunday, the FBI obtained a warrant to read the emails from Abedin, which were among hundreds of thousands discovered on Weiner's laptop. Law enforcement officials confirmed that investigators gained permission to start trawling through the 650,000 ... and more » |
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The Hill (blog) |
FBI gets warrant to review emails on Weiner's laptop in Clinton probe
The Hill (blog) The FBI already had a warrant to search the computer, but only for evidence related to his alleged communications with an underage girl, NBC News said. The FBI will examine roughly 650,000 emails on the laptop, according to the Wall Street Journal ... |
Daily Mail |
FBI obtains warrant read Anthony Weiner emails to Hillary Clinton's private server
Daily Mail ... the 650,000 emails discovered on the laptop on Sunday evening, NBC reported. Thousands of them could be from Clinton's private server. Feds seized the laptop belonging to Weiner, Abedin's disgraced husband, in September after DailyMail.com exposed ... Review of 650000 Emails in Weiner's Laptop for Potential Clinton Ties Could Take WeeksSlate Magazine (blog) FBI Found 650000 Clinton-Related Emails On Computer Abedin Shared With WeinerWestern Journalism FBI in Internal Feud Over Hillary Clinton ProbeWall Street Journal NBCNews.com -The Hill (blog) all 9,030 news articles » |
Business Insider |
The FBI is about to sift through 650000 emails it found on Anthony Weiner's laptop
Business Insider The FBI will inspect some 650,000 emails found on a laptop belonging to disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner that may be relevant to an investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday night. Trump: Thank You Anthony Weiner! Good Job Huma!RealClearPolitics FBI racing to sift through Clinton emails before Election DayNew York Post all 593 news articles » |
BuzzFeed News |
White House defends Comey amid criticism over Clinton probe
New York Daily News On Sunday, news emerged that the FBI would begin combing through 650,000 emails found on Weiner's computer during the bureau's sexting probe into him to look for a batch that might be linked to Clinton's private email server. And in a head-scratching ... Harry Reid: FBI Director “May Have Broken The Law” With Email AnnouncementBuzzFeed News Clinton emails: FBI chief may have broken law, says top DemocratBBC News White House questions Comey's intentions in Clinton email investigationThe Guardian Washington Free Beacon all 190 news articles » |
Wall Street Journal |
Weiner-Abedin Laptop Focus of New Clinton Email Inquiry
Wall Street Journal The FBI is searching through 650,000 emails found on Anthony Weiner's laptop that may or may not relate to the case of Hillary Clinton's mishandling of classified information. What are the questions they hope to answer before election day? WSJ's Jason ... and more » |
US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at a campaign rally in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday. REUTERS/Brian Snyder The FBI will inspect some 650,000 emails found on a laptop belonging to disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner that may be relevant to an investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday night.
The Journal cited sources familiar with the investigation to say that metadata within the messages suggested that thousands could have been sent to or from Clinton's private email server.
The messages were uncovered after investigators seized devices they suspected Weiner, the estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin, of using to exchange sexually explicit texts with underage girls.
The investigation into Clinton's private email server was completed in July, with James Comey, the FBI director, recommending that no criminal charges be brought against Clinton for her use of the server while she was secretary of state. But in a vague letter released Friday to congressional leaders, Comey announced the discovery of more emails "that appear to be pertinent" to the Clinton investigation.
The bureau came under fire over the weekend after a Washington Post report revealed that agents had known about the emails since early October but chose not to tell Comey about them until less than two weeks before the presidential election.
Developments over the weekend have laid bare internal strife both within the FBI and between the FBI and the Justice Department in multiple inquiries involving Clinton.
James Comey, the FBI director, at a hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on July 7 in Washington, DC. Alex Wong/Getty Images The Justice Department reportedly asked the FBI not to disclose the discovery of the emails to Congress so close to the November 8 election, but Comey wrote to his employees on Friday that he felt "an obligation to do so given that I testified repeatedly in recent months that our investigation was completed."
Some within the FBI have apparently considered Comey to have overshared various aspects of the Clinton investigation with lawmakers and the public; in July the director gave an unprecedented press conference to announce that the FBI would not recommend criminal charges in the case.
Agents were also frustrated with the FBI leadership's apparent lack of interest in aggressively investigating the Clinton Foundation for possible conflicts of interest and financial crimes, according to The Journal.
The foundation's controversial donation practices came under renewed scrutiny last week when WikiLeaks published a hacked memo titled "Bill Clinton, Inc." that raised questions about the blurring of lines between the charity and the Clintons' personal finances.
Clinton with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, at a rally. AP With no solid evidence of criminal wrongdoing, however, prosecutors within the public-integrity section of the Justice Department — who are not politically appointed — worried that they would be perceived as trying to influence the outcome of the election if they pursued the Clinton Foundation investigation. As such, they reportedly pressured FBI leadership to drop the foundation investigation.
Adding to that perception over the weekend was the revelation that the FBI had not obtained a separate warrant to sift through the roughly 650,000 Clinton emails found on Weiner's laptop before announcing on Friday that the emails existed. Weiner's laptop, which he evidently shared with Abedin, was subpoenaed in late September. The FBI eventually obtained a warrant over the weekend.
Clinton's email scandal has dogged the Democratic presidential nominee for more than a year. She first admitted in March 2015 to exclusively using a private email account to send and receive work-related emails while she served as secretary of state. The controversy compelled her to hand over roughly 30,000 work-related emails to the State Department, which have been released in batches since last year.
But she deleted about 30,000 additional emails from her server that she said were "personal" in nature before handing it over to the FBI in August, five months after she gave individual emails to the State Department.
Donald Trump, who has said he would "lock Clinton up" over her email scandal, seized on the news at a rally Friday. "Clinton's corruption is not on a scale we have ever seen," he told a rowdy crowd. Jonathan Drake/Reuters Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, seizing on the issue over the weekend, said during a Sunday rally that the FBI may have renewed the Clinton investigation because it found some of those 30,000 deleted emails. He described them as the potential "mother lode" that could bring down Clinton's candidacy.
Reports have indicated, however, that many of Abedin's emails, going back years, passed through Clinton's inbox at some point and therefore already would have been examined by agents who investigated her server from August 2015 through July of this year.
When asked during a congressional hearing in July whether he would renew the investigation if he "discovered new information that was both relevant and substantial," Comey replied that the FBI "would certainly look at any new and substantial information.”
Clinton implored the FBI on Friday evening to release more information about its review of the newly discovered documents, and her campaign has continued to go on the offensive over the weekend.
"The American people deserve to get the full and complete facts immediately," she said at a news conference.
It is unclear whether the FBI will complete its investigation of the newly discovered emails before November 8.
Next Page of Stories
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"The president's assessment of his integrity and his character has not changed," White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters during the daily briefing. "The president does not believe that Director Comey is intentionally trying to influence the outcome of an election. The president does not believe that he is secretly strategizing to benefit one candidate or one political party."
Story Continued Below
Comey has come under fierce criticism — including from Clinton's campaign — for telling lawmakers of his decision to revive the FBI's inquiry just 11 days before the election. Donald Trump has seized on the news to try to drive home the idea that Clinton can't be trusted and would enter the White House under a cloud of criminal suspicion.
And while Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid suggested over the weekend that Comey might have "broken the law" with his latest move, the White House was more sympathetic.
"He is in a tough spot," Earnest said.
But in what became a frequent refrain during the briefing, Earnest said his lack of independent information precluded any more reaction from the White House.
"Nobody at the White House has insight into the decision that Director Comey made," Earnest said.
Earnest’s repeatedly contended he would neither “defend or criticize” Comey’s letter or his very public statement about the case in July when he recommended that charges should not be brought against Clinton, but proceeded to scold Clinton and her aides for carelessness with classified materials.
USA TODAY |
Dems to Comey: Share info on Trump and Russia
USA TODAY Harry Reid and other Democrats aren't just accusing FBI Director James Comey of making Hillary Clinton look bad — they are accusing him of covering up information about Donald Trump and Russian hacking. “In my communications with you and other top ... Eric Holder Condemns FBI Director Comey Over Clinton 'Mistake'NBCNews.com Poll: Comey's bombshell changes few votesPolitico Clinton Allies Target Comey as Probe Scrambles CampaignBloomberg CNN -Fox News -New York Times all 5,078 news articles » |
New York Magazine |
James Comey's Blunder Could Make Donald Trump President
New York Magazine Comey's announcement is a shocking breach of a vital, decades-old law-enforcement norm prohibiting the announcement of charges against candidates in the closing stages of the race. Staffers at the Department of Justice tried to steer Comey away from ... Basically Everybody Thinks James Comey Has Fucked UpMother Jones Even Joe Walsh Thinks James Comey's Letter About Clinton Emails Was 'Wrong & Unfair'Huffington Post all 7 news articles » |
Huma Abedin has been by Hillary Clinton’s side for 20 years, since she was a White House intern assigned to the first lady’s office. There has never been much question that if Mrs. Clinton returned to the White House as president, Ms. Abedin would come too.
Now with Ms. Abedin again part of unwelcome attention, even some Democrats are wondering if Mrs. Clinton might be forced to rethink Ms. Abedin’s role if she is elected president, and whether a cloud would linger over her if Ms. Abedin were to take a senior White House job, as has long been expected.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said Friday it had found additional emails potentially related to the probe, completed this summer, of Mrs. Clinton’s private server when she was secretary of state. The new emails come from a laptop that investigators believe was used by Ms. Abedin and her estranged husband, former Rep. Anthony Weiner, and were found during an investigation of Mr. Weiner for allegedly exchanging sexually explicit text messages and photos with a 15-year-old girl.
Ms. Abedin now finds herself as a central character in a late-breaking drama that has added an unpredictable factor into what many people in both parties saw as an election heading toward a Clinton victory.
Some Democrats said Sunday they had no doubt Mrs. Clinton would bring Ms. Abedin with her to the White House. Others said her future may depend on what the renewed investigation finds. It is possible the emails are purely personal, were already turned over to investigators, or are duplicates of messages already examined, meaning the long-term damage to Mrs. Clinton—and Ms. Abedin—may be minimal.
More serious findings could have more significant ramifications. And the process of reading the messages, which may number in the thousands, will take weeks and won’t be completed until well after Election Day.
Democrats point to Mrs. Clinton’s loyalty to her friends and staff, many of whom have been with her for years. Ms. Abedin, who is said to be personally closer to the candidate than any other adviser, is often described as akin to a second daughter.
On the campaign, Ms. Abedin has been involved in anything involving Mrs. Clinton personally, including speeches, statements, meetings and debate preparation. She manages the candidate’s large network of contacts and serves as gatekeeper, determining who and what gets through to her.
“She’s played a central and vital role in this campaign,” Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union. “And she continues to do that and continues to do her work running our overall scheduling and advance operation, being a confidante to senior people in the campaign, and traveling with Hillary.”
Ms. Abedin wasn’t on the road this weekend, but is expected to return to Mrs. Clinton’s side in coming days.
At rallies this weekend, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump repeatedly mentioned Ms. Abedin by name. “Is she going to keep Huma?” Mr. Trump asked Saturday in Golden, Colo. “Huma’s been a problem. Do we agree? Huma. Huma’s been a problem. I wonder if Huma’s going to stay there.”
The timing of this disclosure, just days before the election, is particularly uncomfortable for Ms. Abedin. But it isn’t the first time she has been under scrutiny, and it is far from her first public embarrassment.
Because she had a personal email address on the Clinton family server, conservative groups have been able to obtain, through lawsuits, all of Ms. Abedin’s correspondence. They have also gotten many of her emails from her State Department account. Several of them show Clinton Foundation officials asking her for favors.
That has led Mr. Trump to charge that there was a “pay to play” scheme at work, in which supporters of the foundation may have obtained favors from the department. Mrs. Clinton’s campaign has said her decisions as secretary of state were unrelated to requests from the foundation and its supporters.
Ms. Abedin also has been under investigation by Sen. Charles Grassley (R., Iowa) for an arrangement under the Special Government Employee program, which allowed her to simultaneously work for the State Department, Mrs. Clinton personally, the Clinton Foundation and a private consulting firm called Teneo, which was founded in part by a former foundation official.
The program was created to allow agencies to give short-term jobs to individuals from the private sector with a particular expertise, and Mr. Grassley has argued that using it in Ms. Abedin’s case was an abuse.
The State Department has said Ms. Abedin’s work for Teneo was unrelated to her work for the government, and that her outside employment while at State was arranged so the government wouldn’t be paying her for work she did charting Mrs. Clinton’s post-State career.
But the actions of Mr. Weiner, whom Ms. Abedin married in 2010, are the most personal and likely the most painful public controversy she has confronted. In 2011, the New York lawmaker resigned from Congress after admitting he had sent salacious photos and messages over the internet to other women. Ms. Abedin, who was pregnant at the time, opted to stay with him, and was by his side in 2013 when he attempted a political comeback. During his campaign for mayor of New YorkCity, it was disclosed that he had continued exchanging sexually explicit messages with other women after he left Congress—a story chronicled in a documentary that Ms. Abedin participated in, which was released this summer.
The New York Post reported this summer that Mr. Weiner had sent yet another provocative picture, this time sending a photo of himself in his underwear to a woman while their 4-year-old son was lying next to him in bed. After that, Ms. Abedin announced she was leaving him.
In September, the FBI opened its investigation of him after a report that he had exchanged messages with a minor. It was that probe that led to the discovery of the new emails and, ultimately, to Friday’s announcement, a development that is rocking the campaign of the woman to whom Ms. Abedin has devoted her career.
Write to Laura Meckler at laura.meckler@wsj.com
Now with Ms. Abedin again part of unwelcome attention, even some Democrats are wondering if Mrs. Clinton might be forced to rethink Ms. Abedin’s role if she is elected president, and whether a cloud would linger over her if Ms. Abedin were to take a senior White House job, as has long been expected.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said Friday it had found additional emails potentially related to the probe, completed this summer, of Mrs. Clinton’s private server when she was secretary of state. The new emails come from a laptop that investigators believe was used by Ms. Abedin and her estranged husband, former Rep. Anthony Weiner, and were found during an investigation of Mr. Weiner for allegedly exchanging sexually explicit text messages and photos with a 15-year-old girl.
Ms. Abedin now finds herself as a central character in a late-breaking drama that has added an unpredictable factor into what many people in both parties saw as an election heading toward a Clinton victory.
Some Democrats said Sunday they had no doubt Mrs. Clinton would bring Ms. Abedin with her to the White House. Others said her future may depend on what the renewed investigation finds. It is possible the emails are purely personal, were already turned over to investigators, or are duplicates of messages already examined, meaning the long-term damage to Mrs. Clinton—and Ms. Abedin—may be minimal.
More serious findings could have more significant ramifications. And the process of reading the messages, which may number in the thousands, will take weeks and won’t be completed until well after Election Day.
Democrats point to Mrs. Clinton’s loyalty to her friends and staff, many of whom have been with her for years. Ms. Abedin, who is said to be personally closer to the candidate than any other adviser, is often described as akin to a second daughter.
On the campaign, Ms. Abedin has been involved in anything involving Mrs. Clinton personally, including speeches, statements, meetings and debate preparation. She manages the candidate’s large network of contacts and serves as gatekeeper, determining who and what gets through to her.
“She’s played a central and vital role in this campaign,” Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union. “And she continues to do that and continues to do her work running our overall scheduling and advance operation, being a confidante to senior people in the campaign, and traveling with Hillary.”
Ms. Abedin wasn’t on the road this weekend, but is expected to return to Mrs. Clinton’s side in coming days.
At rallies this weekend, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump repeatedly mentioned Ms. Abedin by name. “Is she going to keep Huma?” Mr. Trump asked Saturday in Golden, Colo. “Huma’s been a problem. Do we agree? Huma. Huma’s been a problem. I wonder if Huma’s going to stay there.”
The timing of this disclosure, just days before the election, is particularly uncomfortable for Ms. Abedin. But it isn’t the first time she has been under scrutiny, and it is far from her first public embarrassment.
Because she had a personal email address on the Clinton family server, conservative groups have been able to obtain, through lawsuits, all of Ms. Abedin’s correspondence. They have also gotten many of her emails from her State Department account. Several of them show Clinton Foundation officials asking her for favors.
That has led Mr. Trump to charge that there was a “pay to play” scheme at work, in which supporters of the foundation may have obtained favors from the department. Mrs. Clinton’s campaign has said her decisions as secretary of state were unrelated to requests from the foundation and its supporters.
Ms. Abedin also has been under investigation by Sen. Charles Grassley (R., Iowa) for an arrangement under the Special Government Employee program, which allowed her to simultaneously work for the State Department, Mrs. Clinton personally, the Clinton Foundation and a private consulting firm called Teneo, which was founded in part by a former foundation official.
The program was created to allow agencies to give short-term jobs to individuals from the private sector with a particular expertise, and Mr. Grassley has argued that using it in Ms. Abedin’s case was an abuse.
The State Department has said Ms. Abedin’s work for Teneo was unrelated to her work for the government, and that her outside employment while at State was arranged so the government wouldn’t be paying her for work she did charting Mrs. Clinton’s post-State career.
But the actions of Mr. Weiner, whom Ms. Abedin married in 2010, are the most personal and likely the most painful public controversy she has confronted. In 2011, the New York lawmaker resigned from Congress after admitting he had sent salacious photos and messages over the internet to other women. Ms. Abedin, who was pregnant at the time, opted to stay with him, and was by his side in 2013 when he attempted a political comeback. During his campaign for mayor of New YorkCity, it was disclosed that he had continued exchanging sexually explicit messages with other women after he left Congress—a story chronicled in a documentary that Ms. Abedin participated in, which was released this summer.
The New York Post reported this summer that Mr. Weiner had sent yet another provocative picture, this time sending a photo of himself in his underwear to a woman while their 4-year-old son was lying next to him in bed. After that, Ms. Abedin announced she was leaving him.
In September, the FBI opened its investigation of him after a report that he had exchanged messages with a minor. It was that probe that led to the discovery of the new emails and, ultimately, to Friday’s announcement, a development that is rocking the campaign of the woman to whom Ms. Abedin has devoted her career.
Write to Laura Meckler at laura.meckler@wsj.com
Aleppo Fighting Spreads Amid Accusations of Gas Attack
Newsweek ME - 1 minute ago
Rebel fighters ride a pick-up truck with civilians who fled areas of conflict in Dahiyet al-Assad, west Aleppo city, Syria October 30, 2016. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah. By Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Tom Perry. AMMAN/BEIRUT, Oct 31 – Syrian rebels opened a ...
De Mistura voices “shock” over terrorist rocket attacks on Aleppo city
Syrian Radio & TV Online - 1 hour ago
UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura voiced “shock” over the attacks by terrorist organizations that have been firing large numbers of shells and rockets at the neighborhoods of Aleppo city during the past 48 hours. In a statement on Sunday ...
Syrian Rebels Keep Up Offensive Against Western Aleppo
Mexico Star - 1 hour ago
Syrian insurgents are maintaining a push into government-controlled areas of Aleppo, using artillery, car bombs, and tanks to advance into the western part of the city. The drive on October 30 comes on the third day of an insurgent offensive that aims ...
Vladimir Putin to launch 'full-scale military attack' on Syria's Aleppo as early as this week
Mirror.co.uk - 1 hour ago
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Fighting shakes Aleppo as Syrian regime launches counteroffensive
Cosumnes Connection (subscription) - 1 hour ago
They took control of the neighbourhood of Assad, where much of today's fighting has been concentrated, the Syrian army and the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said. Zakaria Malahifji, an official with Fastaqim, a nationalist rebel ...
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‘He was caught between a rock and many, many hard places,’ a former FBI official says. ‘I don’t think he had any option.’
What if FBI Director James Comey had said nothing?
What if he had stuck with protocol and only notified the Department of Justice that agents had come upon emails in Anthony Weiner’s computer?
What if he had told only those same folks at Justice that this had compelled him to reopen the investigation of Hillary Clinton that he had officially and publicly recommended be closed back in July?
Right about now, word of the reopened investigation would be leaking to the press.
On top of that would have come word that FBI agents had chanced upon the emails shortly after Weiner’s electronic devices were subpoenaed in September and only alerted Comey to the full import of the discovery this past Thursday.
And everybody would be clamoring that the agents and Comey and the Department of Justice had conspired to hide it from the American people until after the election.
“He was caught between a rock and many, many hard places,” a former FBI official says. “I don’t think he had any option.”
With talk of a cover-up, who would then believe any possible innocent explanation Huma Abedin might be able to offer as to how some of her State Department emails ended up on her estranged and very strange husband’s laptop after she had sworn under oath that she had turned over all such documents in whatever form?
What we do know is that whatever the truth might be, it will be much easier to accept than if word of the reopened investigation had leaked out as if from a failed cover-up.
We should be thanking Comey, not cursing him.
Anybody who doubts that word of the investigation would have leaked should consider the intense anti-Clinton sentiment among some FBI agents. Those who are also pro-Trump include James Kallstrom, the widely respected former assistant director in charge of the New York office, who came out fervently in favor of The Donald earlier this month. He began by calling Clinton “a pathological liar” and saying the Clinton Foundation could be investigated as a racketeering enterprise. He then said:
“I’m endorsing Donald Trump. I’ve known him 40 years. I’ve never endorsed a candidate. He’s a good human being. He’s a generous person. He’s got a big heart. He’s done hundreds and hundreds of things for people without fanfare. He’s a good guy. He’s a patriot to this country. And regardless of what he says, his acts show he is not that person. He’s been in this Hollywood crowd that talks like that. A lot of people talk like that. But he doesn’t do these things. He’s a good guy. I’ve known his family from the time they were kids. Look at his children. Could you find a better family than he brought up in this country? He’s a smart guy, a businessman. He’ll turn this country around. Please, you women out there, if you want change, vote for Donald Trump. Put this other stuff aside…”
His face flushed as he declared, “Our Constitution is at stake!”
Kallstrom seemed to be a man so tunnel-visioned by friendship and so disgusted with Clinton that he was willing to dismiss bragging about criminal sexual assault as just some Tinseltown talk. Never mind all the women who have come forward saying Trump had committed what the law defines as a crime.
A good number of FBI agents, male as well as female, were repulsed by Trump’s bragging about grabbing women by their genitals; in truth few people talk like that anywhere. But Trump’s talk in no way made agents any more enamored with Clinton, whom they overwhelmingly believe to be guilty of a federal crime. And Kallstrom’s stellar status among agents seems undiminished.
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“He’s beloved,” a former FBI official said on Sunday.
When Kallstrom took over the New York office back in 1995, Trump had in fact shown that he was capable of acts of generosity, at least when it came to the FBI. Agents who needed access to a building for a case or the use of an apartment to conduct surveillance needed only to ask. And Trump never charged them, whereas some other real estate guys would see an opportunity to gouge.
“They would charge double,” a retired agent recalled this weekend.
Trump struck up a friendship with Kallstrom, who was known among agents as the tech wizard who developed and championed wiretap techniques that made some of the bureau’s biggest cases. Kallstrom was also a rough and tumble Marine combat veteran who spoke like a street agent.
“Cowardly scum,” he said of terrorists arrested in a bombing case.
When Kallstrom retired in 1997, the then U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Mary Jo White, offered a view shared by seemingly everybody in federal law enforcement.
“[Kallstrom] exudes humanity,” she said. “Everybody sees him as not only the supreme law enforcement being but also their brother, their father, and their friend.”
White resigned her own position in 2002. Her successor was James Comey, who had been a fledgling prosecutor in the office before moving to Virginia. He had there joined Richmond’s then mayor, Tim Kaine, in pioneering Project Exile, which brought federal charges against felons caught with guns.
Comey also led the hunt for fugitive billionaire Marc Rich, who had, among other things, been trading oil with the Iranians during the hostage crisis. Comey tracked Rich from Switzerland to Moscow. But the hunt was for naught when President Bill Clinton pardoned Rich hours before leaving office.
“It takes your breath away,” Comey said.
The new president, George W. Bush, took notice of Comey after then FBI director Louis Freeh petitioned to have the prosecutor put in charge of the stalled Khobar Towers bombing case. Comey secured indictments three months later. Bush was impressed enough to name Comey the new U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Among the cases Comey inherited from his predecessor was an investigation into whether Clinton’s pardon of Marc Rich had been in reward for political contributions and other payments funneled through the billionaire’s wife, Denise Rich. Comey found there was insufficient evidence to prosecute, no matter what his personal feelings might have been about the pardon.
Comey did prosecute Martha Stewart for alleged stock fraud. Comey said, “This criminal case is about lying—lying to the FBI, lying to the SEC, lying to investors. Martha Stewart is being prosecuted not for who she is but because of what she did.”
Stewart was acquitted of the major charges but found guilty of lying to the FBI and sentenced to the minimum; five months in prison, five months of house arrest.
Comey went on to become deputy attorney general and then FBI director. He was himself held in highest regard among agents. They could only have felt sympathy for the position he was placed in when Attorney General Loretta Lynch chatted with former President Bill Clinton aboard her plane on the tarmac at Phoenix Airport back in June.
“I know Loretta Lynch and think she’s accomplished and a hard charger, but perception becomes reality,” a former FBI official said on Sunday. “When this gets in the Twittersphere, it just goes around and around, and it becomes reality.”
For the agents, the surprise was not that Comey chose to present publicly his recommendation regarding the Hillary Clinton case. The shock was that he found there was insufficient evidence to prosecute her.
“Guys are saying, “What happened to our FBI?’” an agent reported.
The FBI was still the FBI, and agents on the Anthony Weiner case did not fail to notice emails that potentially related to the Clinton case after they subpoened his electronic devices in late September.
The agents on the Weiner case would then have had to contact the agents who had been on the Clinton case who would have been off doing other things after it was closed.
Once everybody was in touch with each other, their collective effort would have been slowed because the Weiner search warrant did not cover any emails unrelated to that case. And the agents could not seek an additional warrant for these other emails until they were able to gain some sense of their nature. And that effort was hampered by the very lack of a warrant.
By some reports, the agents gave Comey some warning that they might have new material. But a month passed before they were ready to tell him that the emails justified reopening the investigation just before the election.
That was on Thursday. Comey notified the appropriate Department of Justice officals, who reportedly instructed him to let them handle it, apparently with the intention of not informing the public until after the election, if at all.
Comey went ahead and publicly announced his decision just as he had in July. He informed the House Committee on Oversight and Government by letter that the investigation he had declared closed had necessarily been reopened. He added no further facts and had none, as the Justice Department only secured a warrant Sunday evening.
But Comey’s letter pre-empted leaks and the talk of a conspiracy that would have surely ensued. He, in so doing, became the target of all kinds of verbal abuse by Clinton surrogates, who were slow to allow that their prevaricating candidate and her plane-hopping husband were at all to blame.
Dozens of former federal prosecutors joined in signing a letter Sunday that blasted Comey for violating Department of Justice protocols that are intended to prevent interference with the electoral process. The signatories included former attorney general Eric Holder.
Holder was deputy attorney general at the end of the Clinton administration and has been widely reported to be the primary fixer behind the pardon of the same fugitive billionaire whom Comey had been chasing. Holder’s role in the Marc Rich scandal was investigated by the same committee to which Comey sent his letter that the dozens of prosecutors condemned on Sunday. The resulting 2002 report on the pardon depicts Holder as the worst kind of Washington insider and hardly a fitting clarion of piety.
“Holder recommended that [Rich] hire a Washington lawyer ‘who knows the process, he comes to me, and we work it out,’” the House Committee on Oversight and Government reported.
Yet, when Holder was nominated for attorney general in 2008, Comey wrote in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee that his “error should not disqualify him.”
“I think Mr. Holder’s [mistake] may actually make him a better steward of the Department of Justice because he has learned a hard lesson about protecting the integrity of that great institution from political fixers,” Comey said. “I have come to believe that Mr. Holder’s role…was a huge misjudgment, one for which he has, appropriately, paid dearly in reputation.”
Comey added, “Yet I hope very much he is confirmed.”
Eight years later, Holder becomes part of another lesson for Comey that decency often has to be its own reward.
Even if the words had been sticks and stones, Comey would have been tough enough to survive a few broken bones.
“He’s the director of the FBI,” a former agent noted. “What are they going to do, fire him?”
Who is Huma Abedin? Hillary Clinton's right-hand-woman
USA TODAY-Oct 29, 2016
Weiner resigned from Congress days later, and in December their child was ... It's safe to say that over the years Abedin and Hillary have spent ...
Huma Abedin's loyalty to Anthony Weiner could help Hillary Clinton ...
In-Depth-Daily Mail-Oct 28, 2016
In-Depth-Daily Mail-Oct 28, 2016
FBI Director James Comey told lawmakers Friday that the bureau is reviewing new emails related to Hillary Clinton's private email server.
The emails were reportedly discovered when the bureau seized devices belonging to Anthony Weiner and his estranged wife Huma Abedin while investigating the former congressman's alleged sexting with an underage girl.
Could this stunning development lead to Abedin, a top Clinton aide, resigning from the campaign?
The emails were reportedly discovered when the bureau seized devices belonging to Anthony Weiner and his estranged wife Huma Abedin while investigating the former congressman's alleged sexting with an underage girl.
Could this stunning development lead to Abedin, a top Clinton aide, resigning from the campaign?
Yahoo News |
Clinton email problem resurfaces as FBI announces review
Yahoo News Two sources close to the investigation said the latest emails were discovered not during an investigation into Clinton, but rather as part of a separate probe into Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin. The FBI has been ... and more » |
TIME |
Joe Biden Can't Stand Anthony Weiner
Washington Free Beacon In an interview airing Saturday morning on CNN, Biden pronounced himself to have strong distaste for Weiner, whose sexting scandals are squarely back in the 2016 campaign spotlight when the FBI announced Friday it was investigating more emails as part ... Joe Biden Is 'Not a Big Fan' of Anthony WeinerTIME Clinton eyes Biden for secretary of statePolitico all 356 news articles » |
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USA TODAY |
Who is Huma Abedin? Hillary Clinton's right-hand-woman
USA TODAY Weiner resigned from Congress days later, and in December their child was born. In 2013, a second sexting scandal erupted. Abedin stood with Weiner and worked on his campaign for New York City mayor. “Our marriage, like many others, has had its ups ... Huma Abedin's loyalty to Anthony Weiner could help Hillary Clinton win US electionDaily Mail Reports: FBI doesn't have a warrant yet to review Abedin emailsAmerican Thinker (blog) Clinton's loyalty to Huma Abedin is put to the testFinancial Times The Independent -WND.com -CNN -New York Times all 4,070 news articles » |
Press Herald |
Anthony Weiner and Clinton aide Huma Abedin: Former political power couple
Press Herald Emails between Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin have triggered a renewal of the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state. Here's a quick look at the couple and investigation: Weiner served ... and more » |
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