The FBI has interviewed several of Hillary Clinton’s closest aides as part of an investigation into her use of a private e-mail server while she was Secretary of State. CNN reported that “aides”, plural, were interviewed, including Abedin and Bryan Pagliano, who spoke with investigators earlier this year.
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The FBI and Justice Department have been investigating the potential mishandling of sensitive information that passed through the email server Clinton used as secretary of state.
More than 2,000 emails sent and received by Clinton while working as the top United States diplomat between 2009 and 2013 include classified information, which the government bans from being handled outside secure, government-controlled channels. Spokesmen for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Justice Department declined to comment. Abedin has cooperated with the probe, the officials said.
As the Democratic convention draws nearer, the FBI is working to wrap up its investigation into the likely Democratic nominee’s email server. According to an Associated Press source, the agency has already spoken with top Clinton aide Huma Abedin.
“One official said prosecutors are wrestling with the question of whether Clinton meant to violate the rules, and so far, the evidence seemed to indicate she did not”.
In an interview with NPR last week, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said, “our goal is to be thorough because we want to make sure that in fact we have looked at everything we need to look at before we come to any final conclusions, whichever way”. Lawyers for Abedin declined to comment. The FBI officials assured that interviews of Clinton and her staff are a routine part of an investigation like this.
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A review of Clinton’s emails has found classified information in some of the messages, though her campaign has argued that those determinations are the result of interagency disputes about what information is properly classified. The agency’s focus, he said, was on conducting the investigation “well and promptly”.
