The Note: The Email Election

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October 31, 2016

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The Email Election

FBI Obtains Warrant Needed to Start Reviewing Emails Found on Laptop Used by Clinton Aide

Federal investigators looking into the Hillary Clinton email matter have obtained the warrant needed to start reviewing the emails found on a laptop used by Clinton aide Huma Abedin and her husband, Anthony Weiner, ABC's MIKE LEVINE reports. FBI Director James Comey told Congress Friday that the agency was again reviewing emails related to Clinton's personal server, after it learned of additional information that might be relevant to the case. http://abcn.ws/2ep3BUw

Congressional Leaders Get Briefings on Email Review

Comey has reached out to top Republicans and Democrats in Congress to brief them on the agency's review of newly-discovered emails in connection to the investigation of Hillary Clinton's private email server, congressional sources tell ABC News. Comey spoke over the weekend about with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, a Republican of Virginia, and the panel's ranking Democrat, John Conyers of Michigan. Others leaders in Congress, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and the House Intelligence Committee's top Democrat, Adam Schiff, of California, have requested briefings, according to ABC's BEN SIEGEL. http://abcn.ws/2eo9ktD

Former Attorney General and Other Former DOJ Officials Pen Letter Criticizing Comey

Former federal prosecutors and high-ranking Department of Justice officials, including former Attorney General Eric Holder, penned an open letter criticizing Comey's handling of the latest development in the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server, ABC's PIERRE THOMAS and GENEVA SANDS note. "Many of us have worked with Director Comey; all of us respect him. But his unprecedented decision to publicly comment on evidence in what may be an ongoing inquiry just eleven days before a presidential election leaves us both astonished and perplexed," the letter said. http://abcn.ws/2dTPPg9

Analysis - ABC's Rick Klein

Who thinks the system is "rigged" now? The Clinton campaign responded to the unusual letter from FBI Director James Comey by unloading on the messenger with an argument that carries troubling implications. The Clinton campaign is suggesting that political motivations were behind Comey's move. Clinton Tweeted (in an unsigned message posted from her account) that Comey "bowed to partisan pressure and released a vague and inappropriate letter to Congress." Eric Holder and nearly 100 former Justice Department officials wrote a letter calling Comey out from their perspective. Then there's Harry Reid, unleashing the sort of campaign tactic he brought in 2012 when he said (falsely) on the Senate floor that Mitt Romney didn't pay any taxes. The Senate minority leader wrote a letter to Comey saying he may have violated federal law with a "clear intent to aid one political party over another." Reid also did his best Roger Stone in writing that Comey is withholding "explosive information about close ties and coordination between Donald Trump, his top advisors and the Russian government." The Clinton camp may have had no choice this late than to go to war with Comey. But what shouldn't be lost is this means the campaign of the Democratic nominee for president – the candidate who wasn't complaining about a rigged election – is now asking voters to question whether the director of the FBI is trying to influence the election's outcome.