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Clinton Camp Tries to Deflect Suspicion as FBI Reopens Email Case

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After the bombshell announcement Friday that the FBI is reopening the Clinton email investigation, Hillary Clinton looked awkward on the campaign trail as she tried to take suspicion off herself and put it on FBI Director James Comey.

"Some of you may have heard about a letter," Clinton said to a chorus of boos from her supporters. "It's pretty strange to put something like that out with such little information right before an election. In fact, it's not just strange, it's unprecedented and it is deeply troubling."

The Wall Street Journal reported that Comey's letter sent to lawmakers Friday said that 650,000 emails were discovered on the laptop of disgraced former Congressman Anthony Wiener, the estranged husband of Clinton's top aide, Huma Abedin. Weiner is under criminal investigation for allegedly sexting a teen.

Metadata on the emails suggests thousands of those messages could have been sent to or from then-Secretary of State Clinton's private server.

Comey said the FBI would take steps to review those emails to see if any were classified. A law enforcement official says the intelligence agency has obtained a search warrant.

"We commend the FBI for reopening this case and having the courage to stand up for the principle because no one is above the law in the United States of America," Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence told supporters in North Carolina.

But Clinton campaign chair John Podesta attacked Comey, telling CNN, "To throw this in the middle of the campaign 11 days out just seemed to break with precedent and be inappropriate at this stage."

Both campaigns want the FBI to release what it knows, but since it's an ongoing investigation, that's probably not likely.

According to multiple reports, many agents in the FBI were unhappy with Comey's original handling of the Clinton email investigation and his decision not to recommend charges against her.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called it the biggest scandal since Watergate: "We never thought we were going to say 'thank you' to Anthony Weiner," he said.

The reopened FBI investigation is sure to impact a race that has already tightened, with the latest polls showing Trump has made it a virtual dead heat.

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About The Author

Dale
Hurd

Since joining CBN News, Dale has reported extensively from Western Europe, as well as China, Russia, and Central and South America. Dale also covered China's opening to capitalism in the early 1990s, as well as the Yugoslav Civil War. CBN News awarded him its Command Performance Award for his reporting from Moscow and Sarajevo. Since 9/11, Dale has reported extensively on various aspects of the global war on terror in the United States and Europe. Follow Dale on Twitter @dalehurd and "like" him at Facebook.com/DaleHurdNews.