In a highly unusual and detailed statement, FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday harshly criticized former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her “extremely careless” handling of classified information on her personal email server, but said the bureau’s intensive investigation had concluded that “no reasonable prosecutor” would bring criminal charges in the case. Although Comey said the Justice Department would make the final decision on whether to charge the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee with violating federal laws, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said last week that she would accept the FBI’s recommendations. In his lengthy statement Comey noted that although the FBI usually does not comment public?ly on the results of its investigations, “I think the American people deserve those details in a case of intense public interest.” After detailing the bureau’s work to discover and review nearly 40,000 government-related emails, Comey said: “Although we did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information, there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.” Of the 30,000 emails reviewed, 110 emails were found to contain classified information when sent, included eight email chains with “top secret” information. During a briefing on Tuesday, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said he was not aware of the Justice Department’s investigation revealing any risk to DOD networks as a result of the private server use.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.