Washington:
The FBI today ruled out charging Hillary Clinton after it found no evidence of “intentional misconduct” by the former US Secretary of State in her use of a private email server, a big relief to the Democratic presidential candidate, who said she was “pleased” with the development.
The FBI recommended not to press criminal charges against Clinton, however, the 68-year-old presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party was termed as “extremely careless” by the FBI for sending classified information from her personal email account.
Commenting on the development, Clinton’s campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said: “We are pleased that the career officials handling this case have determined that no further action by the (Justice) Department is appropriate... We are glad that this matter is now resolved.”
Earlier today, FBI Director James Comey told reporters at a crowded news conference that after an exhaustive apolitical probe, investigators found no evidence of “intentional misconduct” by Clinton.
“Although there is evidence of potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information, our judgement is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case. Prosecutors necessarily weigh a number of factors before deciding whether to bring charges,” Comey said.
Seen as a big relief to the former Secretary of State, the announcement came hours before President Barack Obama was scheduled to join Clinton at an election rally in North Carolina.
Before making his announcement, Comey told reporters that he has not coordinated his statement with the Justice Department or any other government agency.
“They do not know what I’m about to say,” he said.
