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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Clinton aides rip ‘double standard’ as Justice Department vows quick action

Hillary Clinton speaks at a campaign rally Monday at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. “There is no case here,” Clinton said of the latest FBI email probe. (John Minchillo / Associated Press)
By Chris Strohm and Margaret Talev Tribune News Service

WASHINGTON – Hillary Clinton’s campaign accused FBI Director James Comey of applying a double standard by disclosing a renewed inquiry into her emails, an hour after the Justice Department offered a bare-bones promise to lawmakers that it would act “expeditiously” to settle the matter.

Clinton campaign officials seized on a CNBC report, citing an unnamed former FBI official, that Comey balked at joining with U.S. intelligence agencies Oct. 7 when they blamed Russia for hacking the email systems of U.S. political figures and organizations – including the Democratic National Committee and Clinton’s campaign chairman – because it was too close to Election Day.

Democrats have excoriated the FBI chief for telling Congress about a new, vaguely defined probe of emails related to Clinton less than two weeks before the end of the U.S. presidential campaign.

“It’s impossible to view this as anything less than a blatant double standard,” Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said Monday on a conference call with reporters.

The revelation Friday by Comey that the agency was investigating emails found on a computer belonging to Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of close Clinton aide Huma Abedin, jolted the presidential race between Clinton and Republican Donald Trump as millions of Americans are casting early ballots and the two candidates are entering the final week of their campaigns.

In addition to complaints from Clinton allies that Comey was influencing the election, he has come under fire from some Republicans as well as Democrats for providing few details about what his agents are investigating and whether it may change the outcome of the FBI’s earlier investigation of Clinton’s emails while she was secretary of state.

“While I disagree with those who suggest you should have kept the FBI’s discovery secret until after the election, I agree that your disclosure did not go far enough,” Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican who is chairman of the Judiciary Committee, wrote in a letter Monday to Comey. “Without additional context, your disclosure is not fair to Congress, the American people, or Secretary Clinton.”

As the din of complaints from Congress grew louder on Monday, the Justice Department sent a three-paragraph letter to lawmakers telling them it will move quickly on the new probe and it was working with the FBI.

“We assure you that the Department will continue to work closely with the FBI and together, dedicate all necessary resources and take appropriate steps as expeditiously as possible,” according to the letter from Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik. “We hope this information is helpful.”

The White House stepped in to give a modest defense of Comey. Press secretary Josh Earnest said Monday that he will “neither defend nor criticize” Comey’s decision to disclose the review of newly discovered emails, but he said there’s no reason to believe Comey is “secretly strategizing to benefit one candidate or one political party. He’s in a tough spot.”

The FBI is now using a computer program to winnow the number of Abedin emails that may be pertinent to the Clinton investigation and determine whether they are duplicates of what investigators have already seen, according to a person familiar with the matter. That process could conclude this week, the person said.

It’s not yet possible to assess whether a complete review can be finished before Election Day on Nov. 8, the person said.

Kicking off the final week of the presidential race with a rally at Kent State University, Clinton acknowledged that voters may be asking what “this new email story is about,” or “why in the world the FBI would decide to jump into an election with no evidence of wrongdoing with just days to go.”

“That’s a good question,” she added with a chuckle, before saying investigators “by all means” should examine thousands of emails found on the laptop computer.

“I am sure they will reach the same conclusion they did when they looked at my emails for the last year: There is no case here,” Clinton said of the latest FBI probe.