Huma Abedin has suddenly become the most important person involved in the 2016 presidential election.
Her attorney, Karen Dunn, made the following statement Monday evening about the FBI’s decision to reopen its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state. That decision was based on the discovery of 650,000 emails found on a laptop computer in the possession of Abedin’s estranged husband, former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.).
“From the beginning, Ms. Abedin has complied fully and voluntarily with State Department and law enforcement requests, including sitting for hours-long interviews and providing her work-related and potentially work-related documents,” Dunn said, saying her client first learned of the emails on the laptop after FBI Director James Comey sent his letter to Congress informing them that new evidence had emerged from a separate investigation.
“She only learned for the first time on Friday, from press reports, of the possibility that a laptop belonging to Mr. Weiner could contain emails of hers,” Dunn said. “While the FBI has not contacted us about this, Ms. Abedin will continue to be, as she always has been, forthcoming and cooperative.”
As has been previously reported, Abedin has made false statements—and whether those false statements were made knowingly or not is now the key issue—that could impact her limited immunity agreement with the Department of Justice. That, in turn, could have an impact on others in the case, including her boss, the Democratic presidential nominee.
Here are some of the other latest headlines in this developing story:
FBI Accelerating the Investigation
With the most important presidential election in modern history—or possibly ever—just six days away, the clock is definitely ticking on the FBI to reach a conclusion, one way or another, about the new emails. According to The Los Angeles Times, the pace at which the bureau is investigating has been accelerated.
As The Times reports:
Investigators had planned to conduct the review over several weeks but, after a torrent of criticism over the weekend, began scrambling to examine the trove of emails, according to law enforcement officials. The FBI hoped to complete a preliminary assessment in the coming days, but agency officials have not decided how, or whether, they will disclose the results of it publicly, and officials also could not say whether the entire review would be completed by Election Day.
Thrown Under the Bus?
Hillary Clinton has been notorious for throwing aides under the bus whenever she feels it necessary to get out of trouble. She found out what it was like Monday when White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said President Obama supported Comey’s decision to alert Congress about reopening the investigation.
“Director Comey is a man integrity,” he said. “He is a man of principle. He’s a man who is well regarded by senior officials in both parties. He is somebody who served in a senior position in the Bush Administration. And he’s somebody who got strong bipartisan support when his nomination to be director of the FBI was considered by the United States Senate.
“So, all of those things are true. They speak to his good character. And the president’s assessment of his integrity and his character has not changed. For example, the president doesn’t believe Director Comey is intentionally trying to influence the outcome of an election. The president doesn’t believe he’s secretly strategizing to benefit one candidate or one political party.”
Ouch.
More Evidence of Classified Exchanges
Judicial Watch released 323 pages of new Department of State documents Monday, including previously unreleased email exchanges in which Clinton and top aide Huma Abedin sent classified information over Clinton’s clintonemail.com unsecure email system. According to Freedom of Information Act exemptions cited in the documents obtained by Judicial Watch, three of the Clinton-Abedin email exchanges contained material “classified to protect national security.”
“We’ve once again uncovered classified information in Hillary Clinton’s and Huma Abedin’s emails,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said. “It is frankly remarkable that the FBI and Justice Department are only now investigating Abedin’s connection to Clinton’s mishandling of classified information.”
