Abedin Not Sure How Emails Got on Her Husband's Laptop

Also: FBI chief Comey is formally accused of overstepping his authority
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 30, 2016 3:39 PM CDT
Abedin Not Sure How Emails Got on Her Husband's Laptop
In this Oct. 28 photo, Hillary Clinton speaks with senior aide Huma Abedin aboard her campaign plane.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

The issue of newly discovered emails related to Hillary Clinton's use of a private server dominated headlines Sunday, though it remains unclear whether the emails themselves contain anything new or damaging because the FBI has yet to begin searching them. (They were found on the computer of Anthony Weiner, husband of Clinton aide Huma Abedin, during a separate investigation of him.) Some of the latest developments:

  • The Justice Department and the FBI is seeking a warrant to conduct a full search of the Abedin emails, but the issue is tricky because the computer belongs to Weiner, not Abedin, explains CNN. The subpoena under which it was seized relates only to the allegations that he was sexting with an underage girl.
  • When the search begins, it will take weeks because the laptop has a total of about 650,000 emails. It's not clear how many of those were sent to or from Clinton's private server, but that figure is probably in the "thousands," reports the Wall Street Journal. Some may be duplicates that already have been seen by the FBI.
  • Meanwhile, talks also are under way with Abedin's lawyers to gain access to the emails, reports USA Today.

  • Abedin has told people she has no idea how her emails ended up on her husband's computer, reports the Washington Post. Her lawyers didn't search it when they were turning over her emails to the State Department, because she was reportedly unaware they were on it.
  • A separate Post story says FBI agents had known for weeks about the emails on Weiner's computer but delayed telling FBI chief James Comey for reasons that are unclear.
  • The chief White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration thinks the FBI's Comey has run afoul of the Hatch Act, which bars the use of an official position to sway an election. Richard Painter filed a formal complaint with the Office of Special Counsel, and he explains his case in the New York Times.
  • If Clinton wins the election, she'll be grateful to Comey for this move, argues Ryan Lizza in the New Yorker.
  • Need to catch up? The Times has a Q&A here.
(More Hillary Clinton 2016 stories.)

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