FBI: Hillary Clinton should not be charged over her private email server

HILLARY Clinton will not be indicted over her use of a private email server after the FBI found while she was “extremely careless” there was no “intentional misconduct”.

HILLARY Clinton will not be indicted over her use of a private email server after the FBI found while she was “extremely careless” there was no “intentional misconduct”.

FBI Director James Comey’s decision almost certainly brings the legal part of the issue to a close and removes the threat of criminal charges.

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said last week that she would accept the recommendations of the FBI director and of career prosecutors. “No charges are appropriate in this case,” Mr Comey said in making his announcement.

But Mr Comey made that statement after he delivered a blistering review of Ms Clinton’s actions, saying the FBI found that 110 emails were sent or received on Ms Clinton’s server containing classified information.

FBI Director James Comey says Hillary Clinton does not have a case to answer regarding her private email server. Picture: AP

He said Ms Clinton and her aides were “extremely careless and added that it was possible that people hostile to the US had gained access to her personal email account.

Yet he added that after looking at similar circumstances, the agency believed that “no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case.”

While I respect the professionals at the FBI, this announcement defies explanation. No one should be above the law. pic.twitter.com/OqctxglquI

— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) July 5, 2016

Ms Clinton’s presidential campaign said it was “pleased” over the FBI’s decision not to recommend criminal charges over her handling of emails .

“We are pleased that the career officials handling this case have determined that no further action by the (Justice) Department is appropriate,” her campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said in a statement. “As the secretary has long said, it was a mistake to use her personal email and she would not do it again. We are glad that this matter is now resolved.”

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama wave as they come off Air Force One upon their arrival at Charlotte, North Carolina. Picture: AP

It came as US President Barack Obama, who put out a new video throwing his full support behind Ms Clinton, spent his first day campaigning with her in North Carolina.

Democrats hope Mr Obama’s presence on the campaign trail can alleviate voters’ questions about Clinton’s honesty and trustworthiness, some of which stem from the email investigation.

The president is expected to outline his own evolution from a Clinton skeptic to one of her biggest boosters.

President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton arrive at a campaign event at the Charlotte Convention Centre in Charlotte, North Carolina. Picture: AP

“I think that he can be very helpful, particularly with Democratic voters and some independent voters who have doubts,” said David Axelrod, the chief architect of Mr Obama’s 2008 race for the Democratic nomination against Ms Clinton. “He can do that by sharing his own experience. They were rivals, they had their differences; that gives him some additional standing.”

In a new interview, @POTUS talks about why Hillary has everything it takes to be president.https://t.co/MRwg5h0LMq

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) July 5, 2016

The announcement came three days after the FBI interviewed Ms Clinton for hours in a final step of its year-long investigation into the possible mishandling of classified information.

Though his recommendation apparently ends the legal threat, it’s unlikely to wipe away many voters’ concerns about Ms Clinton’s trustworthiness. And it certainly didn’t stop Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has called for criminal charges, from trying to gain mileage from the scandal.

FBI director said Crooked Hillary compromised our national security. No charges. Wow! #RiggedSystem

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 5, 2016

Ms Clinton’s personal email server, which she relied on exclusively for government and personal business, has dogged her campaign since The Associated Press revealed its existence in March 2015.

She has repeatedly said that no email she sent or received was marked classified, but the Justice Department began investigating last summer following a referral from the inspectors general for the State Department and the intelligence community.

Donald Trump says Hillary Clinton should still face charges. Picture: Supplied

Hillary Clinton will be hoping she can put her email problems behind her. Picture: AFP

The scrutiny was compounded by a critical audit in May from the State Department’s inspector general, the agency’s internal watchdog, which said that Ms Clinton and her team ignored clear warnings from department officials that her email setup violated federal standards and could leave sensitive material vulnerable to hackers. Ms Clinton declined to talk to the inspector general, but the audit said that she had feared “the personal being accessible” if she used a government email account.

The Clinton campaign said agents interviewed her this past Saturday for three-and-a-half hours at FBI headquarters.

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch recused herself from making any call on Hillary Clinton. Picture: AP

Agents had earlier interviewed top Clinton aides including her former State Department chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, and Huma Abedin, a longtime aide who now is the vice chairwoman of Clinton’s campaign.

Ms Lynch on Friday said that she would accept whatever findings and recommendations were presented to her. Though she said she had already settled on that process, her statement came days after an impromptu meeting with Bill Clinton on her airplane in Phoenix that she acknowledged had led to questions about the neutrality of the investigation.