FBI reopens investigation into Clinton's private email server

FBI Director James Comey.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The FBI is reopening the investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server that she used while serving as secretary of state, NBC News has learned. FBI Director James Comey wrote in a letter to Congress that "in connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation … 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."

Analysts at NBC pointed out that there would have to be "pretty dramatic information in these emails to change the previous conclusion."

"Could be a big deal. Or nothing," Mother Jones' Washington bureau chief David Corn observed.

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In July, the FBI recommended no criminal charges for Clinton, but Comey did call her handling of classified information in emails "extremely careless" during his congressional testimony.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.