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Found emails? Clinton aide didn’t delete old messages

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to Hillary Rodham Clinton is at the center of a renewed FBI email investigation testified under oath four months ago she never deleted old emails, despite promising in 2013 not to take sensitive files when she left the State Department.

WASHINGTON >> The longtime Hillary Clinton aide at the center of a renewed FBI email investigation testified under oath four months ago she never deleted old emails, while promising in 2013 not to take sensitive files when she left the State Department.

FBI Director James Comey notified Congress on Friday, less than two weeks before the election, that the emails had led agents to re-examine whether classified information was mishandled. That had been the focus of the bureau’s earlier criminal inquiry into the former secretary of state’s use of a private email server, which Comey said in July didn’t warrant charges.

The newly discovered emails were on a device seized during a sexting investigation of disgraced former New York congressman, Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of Huma Abedin, one of Clinton’s closest aides.

Abedin’s testimony in a recent civil lawsuit about State Department records may help explain why agents found emails that Comey said “appear to be pertinent” and would be reviewed “to determine whether they contain classified information, as well as to assess their importance to our investigation.”

Abedin told lawyers in June in a deposition that, like millions of internet users who don’t manage their inboxes, she simply never deleted old emails, either at work with Clinton or at home with Weiner.

“I didn’t have a practice of managing my mailbox other than leaving what was in there sitting in there,” Abedin said. “I didn’t go into my emails and delete State.gov emails. They just lived on my computer. That was my practice for all my email accounts. I didn’t have a particular form of organizing them. I had a few folders, but they were not deleted. They all stayed in whatever device I was using at the time or whatever desktop I was on at the time.”

Abedin, vice chairwoman of Clinton’s presidential campaign, and Weiner separated this year after Weiner was caught in 2011, 2013 and again this year sending numerous woman sexually explicit text messages and photographs of himself undressed. Federal authorities in New York and North Carolina are investigating online communications between Weiner and a 15-year-old girl.

Abedin’s testimony in the civil suit was complicated by a routine State Department document she signed under penalty of perjury in February 2013. She promised she would “turn over all classified or administratively controlled documents and materials” before she left her government job, and promised that she was not retaining copies, “including any diaries, memorandums of conversation or other documents of a personal nature.” The document required her to give back all “unclassified documents and papers relating to the official business of the government acquired by me while in the employ of the department.”

Comey’s announcement Friday — just months after deciding that anyone’s use of Clinton’s private email server didn’t rise to criminal charges for mishandling or removal of classified information — upended the presidential campaigns in their final stretch before the Nov. 8 voter.

Clinton urged the FBI to “explain this issue in question, whatever it is, without any delay.” Even within the Justice Department, officials advised Comey not to make the announcement.

Upon learning of Comey’s plans to send the letter to Congress, Justice Department officials told FBI officials that was not a good idea and cautioned against it, according to a government official familiar with the discussions. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss the private conversations and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The official said the Justice Department had warned the FBI that the letter was inconsistent with department policy intended to avoid the appearance of prosecutorial influence in elections.

The position is laid out in a 2012 memo from then-Deputy Attorney General James Cole. It said prosecutors may never select the timing of criminal charges or investigative actions in a way that can be seen as affecting an election or giving a benefit or disadvantage to a candidate.

The memo says that although the department has a strong interest in prosecuting election-related crimes, such as those involving campaign finance and patronage, employees must remain committed to fairness and political neutrality. “Simply put, politics must play no role in the decisions of federal investigators or prosecutors regarding any investigations or criminal charges,” the memo states.

Comey told FBI employees later Friday he wanted to avoid creating “a misleading impression,” but believed he was obligated.

“We don’t ordinarily tell Congress about ongoing investigations, but here I feel an obligation to do so given that I testified repeatedly in recent months that our investigation was completed.” Comey wrote in a letter to staff. “I also think it would be misleading to the American people were we not to supplement the record.”

71 responses to “Found emails? Clinton aide didn’t delete old messages”

  1. MoiLee says:

    Bringing out this story alone is very damaging to the Clinton Campaign! Regardless which way it goes. Some FYI: Check out the 100 John Podesta emails Wikileaks has put out, the FBI knows, this alone is damaging and incriminating in it’s self!
    I mean why Now? “I don’t want be misleading the American people”? Really?
    But “Really” folks if it was nothing? Why bring it out Now?

    • Corruption says:

      GUILTY CORRUPT CRIMINAL HILLARY CLINTON IS A DELUSIONAL SOCIOPATH !!!

    • GONEGOLFIN says:

      The same could be said in regards to the Trump video-I say bring everything out so the public is aware of what we are truly getting for a POTUS.

    • saywhatyouthink says:

      Comey is doing this to cover his own *ss. It’s got to be a bombshell for him to say anything like this 10 days before the election. Something that he knew could not be suppressed and would eventually come out. If it is a bombshell, saying nothing until after the election would have sealed his own fate.
      Wouldn’t it be ironic if a sex scandal brought Hillary Clinton down. Deja vu

    • MillionMonkeys says:

      The Podesta emails do not reveal criminal activities or discussions. Just the usual behind-the-scenes communication, a little back-biting, etc. People with poor reading skills will let headlines in biased news sources influence them to believe Hillary is a “felon.” No such evidence.

      Does anyone here have actual, unpoliticized evidence? Of what criminal charge?

      • Ronin006 says:

        Million-Monkeys, it is premature to say the emails do not reveal criminal activities or discussion. Comey said the emails “appear to be pertinent” to the Clinton email scandal. It will take more investigation to determine if and how the emails are pertinent and if they contain classified materials or have other relevance to the reopened Clinton email investigation. One thing appears certain – Huma lied under oath when she said she had turned over to the State Department all government materials in her possession before she left the State Department. That is perjury and a criminal offense.

      • yhls says:

        Actually, it’s the other way around. The bias is against Trump, not Hillary. Eventually, when faced with a mountain of irrefutable evidence showing that Hillary deliberately lied and intended to deceive the American public, the radical left-wing liberal media wil forced to eat all of its own words. It’s CYA time for Comey before the SHTF. Michael Moore, one of the most liberal and powerful documentary filmmakers of our time is ardently supporting Donald Trump. And what he says is right on the money and extremely powerful. That should tell you something about how corrupt Hillary, the current administration, and the Democratic Party have become. People who either can’t or refuse to believe what the Podesta e-mails reveal suffer from the biggest dose of cognitive dissonance ever experienced in American politics.

        • yhls says:

          Huma Abedin’s e-mails will only put more nails in Hillary’s coffin and could be even more damaging than Podesta’s.

    • Manawai says:

      Actually, holding off until after the election would certainly be operating in a way to influence the elections. We voters would be purposefully deprived of information we should have to make proper choices.

  2. cojef says:

    Huma Abedin is the key that breaks the camels back! She can’t be fired as she knows too much! Yet if she loses her lucrative source of income, a know-it-all expose may seal her doom. OR, conspirators will certainly guarantee her an enviable retirement benefits to keep her mouth shut. At these levels hush money goes a long way to protect the secret cabal. Dreaming, perhaps yet these strange things have happened in the past or are imagined, meaning it could have happen?

    • Pocho says:

      Huma gotta be worried getting sent to the Slammers!

      • Waterman2 says:

        Or being Fosterized .

        • dragoninwater says:

          Unlike Foster’s highly questionable suicide, assisted suicide is completely legal in some states. HitLIARy, will bring Huma along to one of these pro assisted suicide states while on her campaign trail.

          You gotta love the deep care and love Dems have for one another! haaaaa

    • sailfish1 says:

      Doesn’t the article say that she left government service?

      • Ronin006 says:

        Yes, she left government service, and when she did she kept thousands of government records found on Weiner’s computer that she swore under oath that she had turned over to the government. Lying under oath is a felony. Huma appears to be in some serious trouble and may now be on the list pf people Obama intends to pardon before he leaves office.

    • MillionMonkeys says:

      It’s actually great that she didn’t delete emails. They can all be looked at. And when NO evidence of actual wrongdoing is found, intelligent people can move on.

      Hillbilly websites and their fans will still make false unsubstantiated accusations, but nobody smart will be listening to them.

      Once again, let’s see all the emails, then if any actual criminal acts are revealed, then we can go to the next step. If nothing is found, smart people will move on.

      • Ronin006 says:

        Million-Monkeys, you are overlooking one very important matter. Abedin swore under oath that she turned over all devices that she used for government business. Lying under oath is a felony. How do you think she is going to explain forgetting about the computer she used at home for what reportedly is thousands of government-related emails? She has had it.

        • MillionMonkeys says:

          That sounds reasonable. If she lied under oath, I’m sure she could/should be penalized. I don’t know much about that particular offense or its punishment…

          The good thing is we get to see more Clinton emails. I’m not a blind Hillary fan, would like to know the truth. If there happens to be evidence that she’s a Russian spy, I’ll join the “Crooked” chorus. But there hasn’t been any such evidence yet, and I don’t see any reason to expect any.

          And for a balanced treatment, Trump should release his tax returns immediately, to prove what a “business genius” and good citizen he is.

          I’m sure he’s hiding the fact that he’s neither of the above. That, and about 5 other things are why I’ll never vote for him.

          Even his fans should not accept his hiding his tax returns.

        • sarge22 says:

          Huma dumped the Weiner and hooked up with HiLIARy. Wikileaks to reveal all.

    • Ken_Conklin says:

      Huma Abedin grew up in Saudi Arabia, she has authored numerous articles im Muslim magazines that might be described as anti-feminist, and her mother still lives in Saudi. I discovered these things when the Anthony Weiner’s weener became the focus of controversy and some news articles gave his wife’s name. I wondered about her strange name, so did the research. It seemed very uncomfortable to me that the closest advisor and companion to our Secretary of State had such close connections to a Muslim government which was the place where most of the 9-11 terrorists were citizens — which in many ways should be seen as our enemy. I wondered whether Abedin might pass information about U.S. diplomatic strategy to her mother who might in turn pass it to the Saudi government. I still wonder. The fact that Huma is very sloppy about not cleaning her email archive indicates that she might be sloppy about other things and would be a good target for espionage by terrorists. If you want to get more information and get scared for yourself, put into Google these 4 words all in a single search: Huma Abedin mother Saudi.

    • yhls says:

      I’m with you all the way, baby. But I think you meant “straw” that breaks the camel’s back.

    • yobo says:

      Where’s KLASTRI ?

  3. peanutgallery says:

    How fitting that a pervert like Huma’s husband, brings down the ship, and all this time, most of us thought it was about enforcing the law, or not.

    • MillionMonkeys says:

      How will Weiner’s perverted texts and emails bring down the Clinton candidacy ship?

      Please explain what the charges will be AND what is the specific evidence. If you do not know, it’s okay to say “I dunno!”

      • Ronin006 says:

        Weiner’s perverted texts will not bring down Clinton. What might bring down Clinton are the thousands of emails on Weiner’s computer put there by Weiner’s wife, Huma Abedin, who shared the computer with Weiner.

      • peanutgallery says:

        MM, you’re a Kool-Aid drinker. With more posts here than Carter has pills, it’s obvious you’re worried about your gal. I would be too. Buckle-up!

  4. Crackers says:

    LOL the buggahs that were defending the FBI last week are bashing them now, and the buggahs that were bashing the FBI last week are now defending the FBI. The election so pupule, pupule candidates, pupule campaign people.

  5. yobo says:

    This is unbelievable and can be read in a fiction novel. However, this is real and the characters are real.

    What other twist is about to unfold? I’m not surprised anymore.

    Can you imagine if Uma was conspiring with ISIS operatives while ‘Tony Weiner’ was texting naughty ‘things’ to 15 year olds? OMG.

    • dragoninwater says:

      Pop goes the Weiner, and we’re not even talking about Bill’s! LOL

      I bed Bill and Weiner are sitting at the strip bar now and Bill saying to Weiner, “I sleep with every woman but my wife! Congratulations, Weiner, you’re a true Democrat!”

      • mctruck says:

        Weiner?, who’s Weiner??

        I look at pictures of Huma and she’s always got that “la la land” look. Kind of explains her comment about letting all her emails just sit there. Which is good because I want to know what the facts will show.

        • Pocho says:

          Its being reported Huma doesn’t know how all that 10’s of thousands email got on her laptop. Kind of a coincidence like how Clinton couldn’t answer 39 FBI questions in now knowing things herself.

        • Pocho says:

          If I were Huma I’d be secretly planning my plane ride to Saudi Arabia before getting on the No Fly List. Yikes!

    • South76 says:

      Someone is going to make tons of money when they get out of the government and write their memoirs which will definitely include this saga…

  6. Waterman2 says:

    Headline should be more like “Weiner does Hillary.”

    The Clintons know that Comey cannot just publish what they are doing. But what else can her campaign say to keep up the appearance of innocence ?

    Better get lots of popcorn and beer for this one.

    There is no way Comey would face the Wrath of Hilliary unless the FBI has something pretty pertinent from Huma’s
    devices. It seems Wiener had 4 servers , one of which was Huma’s . Was this where her thousands of communications
    were backed up and never got bleached ?

    It got a feeling when the information comes to light it will be even more explosive than anything even I could make up !

    Looks like the idea of at least keeping the appearance of propriety is once again long gone .

    • cojef says:

      The messages on the server is a valuable asset for whatever suits your fancy. Also it could be a life insurance policy to protect you from suddenly get run over by a run-away-truck and the likes. It could be used to write your memoirs and hit best-seller list. Could be used for blackmail. The list is endless.!

  7. butinski says:

    Will ambitious Hillary throw Uma under the bus? Stay tuned.

    • CEI says:

      If I were Huma I’d cut a deal quick and get into witness protection. She’s been in Waldo’s inner sanctum for a long time and knows where all the bodies are buried. Of course there’s always the chance she will have an “unattended death” like Vince Foster is she’s not careful.

      • klastri says:

        You buy into that Vince Foster conspiracy theory too?

        Yes sir … you are definitely a Trump supporter! Thanks again for helping to nominate him!

        • calentura says:

          You still endorsing Hillary..? I thought you hated liars.

        • CEI says:

          With the Wikileaks documents we have found that many of our “conspiracy theories” were factual. Yes democrats do manipulate polling in an attempt to demoralize the opposition. Yes the Clinton Family Foundation was pay to play. Yes Bill’s sleazy lifestyle was worrying to Waldo’s handlers. Yes Waldo’s inner circle holds the people they rely for votes (blacks and the lower classes) in contempt. Yes the media is complicit in the Clinton’s betrayal of the public. So as a highly educated elite progressive you can see why many of us deplorables find it hard to trust Waldo and her sleazy husband.

        • Maipono says:

          klastri maybe it is you and the others sycophants from the corrupt Democrat Party that we should thank for nominating a deeply flawed candidate like HilLIARy.

        • dragoninwater says:

          Klastri is an illegal immigrant whom holds an illegitimate law degree from Trump University, she has no choice but to vote Democrat in hopes of getting an amnesty deal that Obama and HitLIARy are deeply trying to push through. The Dems are going to try to shove it down our throats like they did with Obamacare, just watch folks! This is why Klastri has been going ballistic on anyone speaking out about illegals and she’s been attending pro amnesty rallies in California.

        • MillionMonkeys says:

          CEI, the Wikileaks emails only proved that the Clinton campaign is like any other team, some backroom strategic discussion, some back biting, etc. As with every other Republican-led investigation (and waste of taxpayer money), NO criminal acts by Hillary have ever been found.

          The Clinton Foundation remains an A-rated charitable institution. As always, some big donors expected good seating at certain dinners, and maybe a chance to speak with someone. This happens in many charitable donation situations, with many political contributions. Again, NO criminal wrongdoing by Hillary herself.

          As for Bill, he got offered big bucks to speak, and he took the offers. Doesn’t Trump take advantage of any opportunity to make bucks without paying for taxes? So Bill’s a “genius” like Trump. And they’re both perverts. But only one is running for POTUS.

      • MillionMonkeys says:

        What paranoid conspiracy theory are you talking about?

        No criminal acts were found after months of investigation into Clinton’s emails. All that’s happened now is that some of Weiner’s perverted emails passed through Clinton’s server. Hopefully they get the evidence to prosecute that pervert.

        Meanwhile, I’m sure there’ll be no Russian espionage or assassination plot emails found in those Weiner emails.

        So unless something actually comes up, Trumpzi fans should stay calm and think about how he’s lying to them.

        • sarge22 says:

          The timing of Comey’s letter less than two weeks before Election Day drew criticism from Democrats and some Republicans who cast it as unprecedented and as potentially tipping the scales in the presidential race in favor of Republican Donald Trump.

          Energized by the news, the GOP presidential nominee has rallied his supporters, calling the latest developments worse than Watergate and arguing that his candidacy has the momentum in the final days of the race.

          “We never thought we were going to say ‘thank you’ to Anthony Weiner,” Trump said in Nevada.

          Trump also highlighted reports that the Justice Department had discouraged the FBI from alerting Congress to the unexpected discovery of the emails, and said the department is trying “so hard” to protect Clinton.

  8. PearlCityMan says:

    This is an obvious attempt by the FBI to influence the election, and another good reason we need to purge our institutions of Republicans.

    • dragoninwater says:

      Ignorant comment. FBI investigates anyone whom committed a crime that falls under their jurisdiction. What you’re proposing is for the FBI to omit an investigation irrespective of party affiliation just so a criminal can win an election? You sir/madam are not fit to be a safe, mentally sane and responsible citizen in the US, North Korea might be a good choice for you to move to.

      • MoiLee says:

        Pearl City Man:
        Hawaii is already “Swimming ” in Democrats look a the the mess Honolulu is in! How is “purging” the Republicans going to help? Cripes!
        The definition of “Insanity” is doing the Same thing over and over again,yet expecting different results”. So you could also conclude that voting for Democrats “Over and Over” again is also considered……Insanity!

    • bumbai says:

      No, we need to purge dangerous people like you who are desperate to use government police action to rid the world of their “enemies.”

  9. purigorota says:

    I bet the keys on the laptop were all sticky.

  10. Maipono says:

    The more you hear about the HilLIARy emails the more you want to take a shower to wash off all the dirt. Huma has to be worried about her involvement in this scandal. I heard that she is not immune to prosecution like we assumed she was, so she is a potential witness to the corruption of the HilLIARy Administration, just about everyone in her circle is tainted. How anybody can vote for HilLIARy after all of this is the mystery of the century.

    • dragoninwater says:

      Sadly, hard core feminist nut jobs, those supporting illegals or their adult anchor children born in the US, welfare recipients and the sheer S_T_U_P_I_D still vote “D” and will vote for HitLIARy despite knowing she’s a criminal just because they keep believing in the promises the “D” party made to them. Little do these poor and inept voters know, the promises the “D” party made to them seldom ever get fulfilled as the traditional “D” parties sole mission is in enriching the 1% elite in society. The “D” party has never in history helped or enriched the middle class but only robbed it to pay the illegals and 1% elite.

      • bumbai says:

        Unfortunately once the brainwashed sheep are stampeding it’s pretty hard to have an intelligent conversation.

        • mctruck says:

          The only stampede I see here is, last minute gasps at a loosing trump campaign by surrogates trying to keep the sinking ship afloat.

  11. CEI says:

    Looks like the progressive house of cards in getting a little wobbly at the moment. Waldo’s numbers are going down quicker than Barry Hussein’s credibility.

    Yesterday a bunch of Waldo loyalists beat up a defenseless homeless woman in the progressive utopia of Hollywood for supporting her opposition. It’s not so much as they regret doing it, they regret that the story got past the progressive media gatekeepers. And I always thought progressives were understanding and tolerant. Silly me.

  12. Ronin006 says:

    There is a strong possibility that Abedin will be charged with perjury based on her signing of a State Department document under penalty of perjury in February 2013 that required her to “turn over all classified or administratively controlled documents and materials” before she left her government job IF the emails found on Weiner’s computer are government-related.

    • Pocho says:

      hmmm, the Republican’s should support Huma. She forgot to wipe the laptop with a “cloth”

    • saywhatyouthink says:

      Well .. apparently the new FBI standard for charging people with mishandling classified material is criminal intent. Claiming ignorance of national security laws is enough if you are a Clinton. Huma might not fair as well, depends on if Obama protects her like he did Hillary.

  13. Ronin006 says:

    Huma was so busy covering Clinton’s fat hind side, she either forgot or did not have time to cover her own.

  14. roxie says:

    The FBI did a really sloppy investigation and did not initially look at Huma ABEDINE. CLINTON confided in her in a lot of issues and I’m sure that there must be Classified information that was not deleted by ABEDINE. Why did they grant a bunch of people immunity from prosecution?….CORRUPTION?…If they feel that they did not do anything wrong, they would not requested for immunity.

  15. yobo says:

    CLINTON, HUMA, MILLS.

    LOCK THEM UP !!!!

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