In a fresh blow to Hillary Clinton, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released redacted notes on its probe of her haphazard use of a private email server as US secretary of state giving new ammunition to rival Donald Trump, who accused her of jeopardising national security.
According to the 58 page document, as many as 39 times Clinton told the FBI that she did not “recall” or remember key elements of the training or classified information process. She also seemed repeatedly unable to recall information about her use of the private server.
“Clinton said she received no instructions or direction regarding the preservation or production of records from State during the transition out of her role as secretary of state in 2013,” read the FBI’s notes from its July interview with her.
The FBI also said Ms Clinton, 68, may have used 13 total mobile devices associated with her two known phone numbers that were potentially used to send emails.
Mr Trump, who is trailing Ms Clinton, immediately latched on to the notes to accuse her of compromising America’s national security. His campaign alleged that the Democratic nominee showed bad judgement. “Hillary Clinton’s answers to the FBI about her private email server defy belief,” Mr Trump said in a statement. Meanwhile, it has been revealed that the Clinton Found-ation on multiple occasions during Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state asked senior US government officials to vet her husband’s contacts with potentially controversial international figures, including Syrian President Bashar al Assad, Russian government officials and business leaders, and Gulnara Karimova, the socialite daughter of Uzbekistan’s late President, according to emails released by the state department.
The emails, reviewed by Reuters, were part of a batch of nearly 400 messages recently released by the state department after requests from the conservative group Citizens United, which has long been critical of the Clintons. In one instance, the emails show Amitabh Desai, a foreign policy adviser to the Foundation and to Bill Clinton, raised the possibility in 2009 of a meeting between the former President and Assad. At the time, Assad wanted better ties with the West.
“Would this be concerning for State ” Desai asked in an email alerting Clinton’s aide Jake Sullivan to the possible meeting. “The Syrians expressed a keen interest in facilitating this,” Desai said in an email a few days later. The Syria visit was proposed to be tracked onto a forum Bill Clinton was invited to attend in Israel in November 2009, according to the emails. The meeting never happened, according to Martin Indyk, a former US ambassador to Israel who helped to organise the trip.
