Federal judge orders FBI's controversial final Hillary Clinton email warrant released Tuesday

Even our leaders don&#039;t get do-overs.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

last updated 20 December 2016

On Monday, U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel ordered the FBI's Oct. 30 search warrant in the Hillary Clinton email investigation unsealed and posted to the court's docket by noon on Tuesday, along with supporting documents. Unless the order is blocked by an appellate court, the documents could provide more information into what caused an FBI agent to search the laptop owned by former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) for evidence in the closed Clinton case, an accounting of what the agents discovered, and other clues that might explain why FBI Director James Comey decided to breach Justice Department policy and disregard advice from his higher-ups by publicly announcing the new inquiry on Oct. 28, right before the election.

The unsealing of the FBI documents was requested by E. Randol Schoenberg, a lawyer more famous for recovering works of art stolen by the Nazis. Schoenberg has argued that Comey's actions cost Clinton the election, an argument Clinton herself has made as well. The government had originally disagreed with Schoenberg's request, but essentially dropped its objection if some parts of the document were redacted, Castel said. Clinton herself has taken no position on the unsealing of the documents, and her lawyer, David Kendall, declined to comment on their imminent release.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.