FBI Director James Comey said Friday the bureau is reviewing new emails related to Hillary Clinton’s time as secretary of state, according to a letter sent to eight congressional committee chairmen, a surprise development with 11 days until the election.
After recommending this year that the Department of Justice not press charges against the Secretary of State, Comey said in the letter that “recent developments” urged him to take another look.
“In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear pertinent to the investigation,” Comey wrote the chairmen. “I am writing to inform you that the investigative team briefed me on this yesterday, and I agreed that the FBI should take appropriate investigative steps designed to allow investigators to review these emails to determine whether they contain classified information, as well as to assess their importance to our investigation.”
Comey said that he was not sure how long the additional review would take and said the FBI “cannot yet assess whether or not this material may be significant.”
The surprising news jolts a presidential race that had largely settled as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump struggled in national and key battleground polls. Now, Clinton will be placed back on the defensive and forced to confront yet again questions about her trustworthiness.
Despite lashing Clinton’s email practices as “extremely careless,” Comey declined earlier this summer to suggest prosecution. That move was instantly was lambasted by Republicans — some of whom decried the department’s politicization. Comey eventually was called to Capitol Hill to testify and defend the FBI’s integrity and decision process.