FBI director James Comey defended his decision to announce a fresh investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email controversy in the closing weeks of last year’s US presidential campaign, telling a Senate committee on Wednesday that classified Clinton emails had been forwarded to former congressman Anthony Weiner.
In a hearing at the Senate judiciary committee that was dominated by questions on the FBI’s involvement in the campaign, Mr Comey said classified emails had been forwarded by Mrs Clinton while she was secretary of state to Mr Weiner, the husband of Clinton’s senior aide Huma Abedin.
“Somehow, her emails were being forwarded to Anthony Weiner, including classified information,” Mr Comey said under questioning. Mr Weiner, who is now estranged from Ms Abedin, is currently under investigation for possible inappropriate communications involving a minor, following revelations last year that he sent messages of a sexual nature from his phone while his son was sleeping beside him.
The FBI director said it made him “mildly nauseous” to think the FBI may have had some impact on the election, but that he was forced to choose between saying something or concealing information. “Even in hindsight I would make the same decision,” he said.
Blame
His comments came a day after the former secretary of state blamed the FBI intervention for her election loss. Mr Comey’s announcement of a fresh investigation on October 28th and the WikiLeaks controversy “raised doubts in minds of people who were inclined to vote for me but got scared off,” Mrs Clinton said in an interview in New York on Tuesday. “If the election had been on October 27, I would be your president.”
US president Donald Trump took to Twitter to criticise his former rival in a series of late-night posts on Tuesday. Comey “was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds,” he said. He added in a second tweet: “The phony Trump/Russia story was an excuse used by the Democrats as justification for losing the election.”
Meanwhile, at a historic first meeting between the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, and the US president at the White House, Mr Trump said his administration would “get it done” regarding a peace process with Israel.
While warning that “no agreement can be imposed by the US or any other nation,” he said he would “love to be a mediator arbitrator, or facilitator for the peace process”.
“I’ve always heard that perhaps the toughest deal to make is the deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians,” Mr Trump said. “Let’s see if we can prove them wrong.”
Mr Abbas’s visit to the White House came 2½ months after Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu became one of the first foreign leaders to meet Mr Trump following his inauguration.
Mr Trump has previously signalled his intention to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, an inflammatory move for Palestinians, and in February appeared to question the US’s commitment to a two-state solution.
Mr Trump’s son-in-law and political adviser Jared Kushner has been taking the lead on White House efforts on reviving the Middle East process, with Washington pushing for more involvement from other countries in the region.
As Mr Trump hosted the Palestinian leader in the White House, negotiations were continuing on Capitol Hill in a bid to secure agreement on the Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare. Amid signs that key Republicans were concerned about coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, the Republican leadership was considering last-minute amendments to the Bill to establish if a vote could be held in the coming days.
