FBI Director James B. Comey wrote in a letter to members of Congress on Friday, October 28, that the agency is taking "investigative steps" to reexamine Hillary Clinton’s private email server after discovering new emails.
In the letter, Comey notes that “due to recent developments,” the case, which he had previously declared closed in July, would have to be revisited.
“In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation,” the letter reads. “I am writing to inform you that the investigative team briefed me on this yesterday, and I agreed that the FBI should take appropriate investigative steps designed to allow investigators to review these emails to determine whether they contain classified information, as well as to assess their importance to our investigation.”
FBI Director Comey, in letter to members of Congress, says FBI is investigating additional emails in Clinton private server case pic.twitter.com/Ue0qlhqT5w— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) October 28, 2016
Comey added that “although the FBI cannot yet assess whether or not this material may be significant,” he believes it is important to delve further into the newly uncovered emails in order to ascertain that no wrongdoing took place.
In July, Comey announced that the FBI would not recommend criminal charges against Clinton, 69, though he did note that the former secretary of state’s handling of sensitive information was “extremely careless.”
Clinton’s adversary, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, was quick to respond to the news, opening a campaign rally in New Hampshire by addressing the investigation.
“Hillary Clinton’s corruption is on a scale we have never seen before,” he told his supporters. “We must not let her take her criminal shame into the Oval Office.”
“This was a grave miscarriage of justice that the American people fully understood,” the 70-year-old real estate mogul continued. “Perhaps finally justice will be done.”
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan reacted similarly to the news via social media, tweeting on Friday: “Yet again, Hilary Clinton has nobody but herself to blame. She was entrusted with some of our nation’s most important secrets, and she betrayed that trust by carelessly mishandling highly classified information.”
Representatives from the Democratic presidential nominee’s camp have yet to issue a public statement in response to the reopened investigation.
A previous version of this story said the FBI was reopening its investigation. The FBI is taking "investigative steps" to review the newly uncovered emails.