The October surprise Donald Trump needed to dramatically change the course of the presidential election has arrived. On Friday, the FBI informed Congress it is investigating whether there is classified information in new emails that have emerged in its probe of Hillary Clinton’s private server.
It was last July 7th that FBI Director James Comey stunned the nation when he chose not to recommend an indictment of criminal nature to the Department of Justice, Attorney General Loretta Lynch. Both had been selected for their respective posts by President Barack Obama.
Comey Saving Face?
How does this come about with 11 days to the election? There are many who would say it is Director Comey’s way of saving face for an FBI that has damaged its reputation for ignoring Hillary’s illegal acts and perjury before Congress, to name a few.
It now raises the possibility of the FBI reopening the criminal investigation involving the Democratic presidential nominee at the most critical time of both campaigns for president. Clinton’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
In Comey’s letter to congressional leaders, he said that “New emails have come to light recently that have prompted investigators to take another look at the sensitive government information that flowed through the private email sever Clinton used while serving as secretary of state.”
What is the “sensitive information?”
It was not clear from Comey’s letter where the new emails came from or who sent or received them. WikiLeaks has published tens of thousands of confidential emails from Clinton campaign insiders that U.S. intelligence officials have said were hacked in a series of cyberattacks they blamed on the Russian government.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner claims the department learned about the FBI letter from news reports. It is hard to imagine with the behind-the-scenes maneuvering Loretta Lynch has had with the Clintons that they were unaware this was coming.
It is now damage control time for the Clinton campaign led by its manager John Podesta who himself is a large part of the emails WikiLeaks has made public. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) was quick to react to the news saying, Clinton has “nobody but herself to blame.”
Hillary Clinton Betrayed The Nation’s Trust
Ryan went on to say in a written statement, “She was entrusted with some of our nation’s most important secrets, and she betrayed that trust by carelessly mishandling highly classified information. This decision, long overdue, is the result of her reckless use of a private email server, and her refusal to be forthcoming with federal investigators. I renew my call for the Director of National Intelligence to suspend all classified briefings for Secretary Clinton until this matter is fully resolved.”
The shocking news to the Clinton campaign is reminiscent of the 1980 election between former California Governor Ronald Reagan and incumbent President Jimmy Carter. Days before the election, the Iranians shut down negotiations for the hostages being held in Iran. Reagan was trailing by up to six points prior to the news and went on to win the presidency in a landslide.
Clinton Implicated In Coverup
Back in July, Comey said his agents didn’t find evidence to support any criminal charges or direct evidence that Clinton’s private server was hacked. He suggested that hackers working for a foreign government may have been so sophisticated they wouldn’t have left behind any evidence of a break-in.
Apparently the reopening of the investigation directly implicates Hillary in the cover-up and the 30,000 emails that were destroyed and bleached for good measure.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was quick to react on the campaign trail. “Perhaps finally justice will be done,” accusing Clinton of orchestrating a “criminal scheme.”
