FBI Steps Up Inquiries in Clinton Email Probe
Tuesday, 10 Nov 2015 09:05 AM
As Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton tries to put questions about her private email server to rest, Politico reports that the FBI has stepped up inquiries into the security of the former Secretary of State's server as well as the communication between aides.
"This sounds to me like it's more than a preliminary inquiry; it sounds like a full-blown investigation," said Tom Fuentes, former assistant director of the FBI. "When you have this amount of resources going into it …. I think it's at the investigative level."
Though the FBI has declined to comment on their examination, Politico reports that the agency has interviewed insignificant individuals who corresponded with Clinton in an attempt to determine the security of the sever.
According to former FBI and Justice officials, the agency is tasked with trying to prove two things: "whether the use of an outside email system posed any risks to national security secrets and if so, if anyone was responsible for exposing classified information."
Politico notes that it is unclear who the FBI is talking to at the staff level, however, Clinton's campaign and lawyers are cooperating.
Not only are they turning over Clinton's server and a thumb drive backup of her messages to the FBI, but they are also encouraging anyone who has been affiliated with the server issue to do the same.
While the FBI continues to step up their inquiries, the agency is not obligated to announce if they take the preliminary inquiry into a full-fledged investigation. And, currently, the secrecy surrounding the FBI's investigation makes it impossible to know where the FBI stands on the issue.
Ron Hosko, former assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigation Division, told Politico that Justice is likely worried about issuing formal legal notices "because they know it will get out, and then you're talking about a grand jury investigation."
However, Hosko added that in such investigations it is "not uncommon" for companies to require subpoenas, court orders or other legal notices to cooperate to save their corporate reputation, Politico reports.
Hosko added, "I am sure there is hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth across the street at the Hoover Building because you're going to have people saying ‘I don't want to produce X documents. Give me a piece of paper that covers me.' And that's where push is going to come to shove."
"This sounds to me like it's more than a preliminary inquiry; it sounds like a full-blown investigation," said Tom Fuentes, former assistant director of the FBI. "When you have this amount of resources going into it …. I think it's at the investigative level."
According to former FBI and Justice officials, the agency is tasked with trying to prove two things: "whether the use of an outside email system posed any risks to national security secrets and if so, if anyone was responsible for exposing classified information."
Politico notes that it is unclear who the FBI is talking to at the staff level, however, Clinton's campaign and lawyers are cooperating.
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While the FBI continues to step up their inquiries, the agency is not obligated to announce if they take the preliminary inquiry into a full-fledged investigation. And, currently, the secrecy surrounding the FBI's investigation makes it impossible to know where the FBI stands on the issue.
Ron Hosko, former assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigation Division, told Politico that Justice is likely worried about issuing formal legal notices "because they know it will get out, and then you're talking about a grand jury investigation."
However, Hosko added that in such investigations it is "not uncommon" for companies to require subpoenas, court orders or other legal notices to cooperate to save their corporate reputation, Politico reports.
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