FBI interviews Hillary Clinton over emails
Sunday, July 3, 2016
Yesterday, Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was interviewed at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. during a process which took over three and a half hours.
The interview was part of the ongoing probe by the FBI into Hillary Clinton's private email server, created and hosted at her home in Chappaqua, New York, which she reportedly used while she was Secretary of State. The FBI is investigating emails sent on this server, particularly any classified emails regarding the 2012 Benghazi attack that occurred on September 11, 2012 — eleven years after 9/11 — and left four US citizens dead.
The interview comes at a problematic time for Clinton as she is the favorite for Democratic Party nomination for US President at the 2016 Democratic National Convention which is set to take place at the end of July. Any indictment could alter the result of the Democratic National Convention's decision on a nominee, paving the way for other politicians such as Bernie Sanders to receive the nomination.
Both Clinton and the FBI have declined comment on the interview, but her spokesman Nick Merrill said Clinton is "pleased to have had the opportunity to assist the Department of Justice in bringing this review to a conclusion." The Justice Department reportedly hopes to conclude the investigation before the Democratic Convention at the end of July.
GOP lawmakers are suggesting a conflict of interest after United States Attorney General Loretta Lynch reportedly met with Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, on Lynch's plane at a Phoenix airport on Monday. This prompted Lynch to state on Friday she would accept the investigation's findings. Clinton and Lynch described it as a "short chance meeting" and "exchange of pleasantries". Lynch expressed her regret for the meeting, stating she "certainly wouldn't do it again". GOP lawmakers said the emails should be investigated by a third party, as they questioned the Department's impartiality.
The FBI is expected to conclude their investigation sometime before the convention on July 25.
Sources
- Dan Berman, Evan Perez, Pamela Brown. "Clinton questioned by FBI as part of email probe" — CNN, July 3, 2016
- Kelly O'Donnell, Kristen Welker, Elizabeth Chuck. "Hillary Clinton Interviewed by FBI About Private Emails While Secretary of State" — NBC News, July 3, 2016
- "Hillary Clinton questioned by FBI on emails" — BBC, July 2, 2016
- Jeff Stein. "The FBI just interviewed Hillary Clinton about her private email server" — Vox (website), July 2, 2016