U.S. Judge To Review FBI’s Search Warrant For Clinton Emails

U.S. Judge To Review FBI’s Search Warrant For Clinton Emails

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Tuesday directed federal prosecutors to show him the search warrant application used to enable the FBI to access emails related to Hillary Clinton’s private server that were discovered shortly before the Nov. 8 presidential election.

U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel in Manhattan ordered prosecutors by Thursday to turn over the application, which investigators obtained shortly after FBI Director James Comey informed Congress of newly discovered emails on Oct. 28, 11 days before the election won by her Republican opponent Donald Trump.

Castel made the order as he considered whether any portion of the search warrant materials could be made public in response to a lawsuit filed by Randol Schoenberg, a Los Angeles-based lawyer who specializes in cases to recover artwork stolen by the Nazis, seeking to force the release of the documents.

In court papers, Schoenberg said the public had a “strong interest” in the disclosure of the search warrant materials, saying transparency was “crucial” given the potential influence the probe had on the election’s outcome.

The search warrant was obtained after Comey issued a letter to top U.S. lawmakers disclosing that emails potentially related to the Clinton server probe had been discovered in an “unrelated case.” Comey’s Oct. 28 announcement roiled the campaign and drew new attention to a damaging issue for Clinton.

Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, used the server while she was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. Comey in July had recommended to the Justice Department that no criminal charges be brought against Clinton over her handing of classified information in the emails.

Only two days before the election, Comey disclosed that the newly reviewed emails did nothing to change his earlier recommendation after all.

Clinton days after her loss blamed Comey’s letter, so close to the election, as a reason she lost to Trump.

Sources close to the investigation have said the emails were discovered during an unrelated probe into former Democratic U.S. congressman Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin.

In court, Castel said he would not be surprised if prosecutors, in submitting the materials to him, cited the presence of an ongoing probe in a case unrelated to Clinton as a reason to keep the search warrant application confidential.

“It could be potentially terribly unfair to a person who ultimately winds up not being charged,” Castel said, apparently referring to Weiner.

Castel said it was possible information unrelated to the Clinton email probe could be redacted, and noted that in Clinton’s case, Comey later indicated in a subsequent letter that the server probe was closed.

Castel invited prosecutors to propose redactions in case he decides to release the search warrant application.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)

IMAGE: U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is backdropped by a U.S. flag during a campaign rally at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, New Hampshire February 2, 2016. REUTERS/Adrees Latif   

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

How A Stuttering President Confronts A Right-Wing Bully

Donald Trump mocks Joe Biden’s stutter,” the headlines blare, and I am confronted (again) with (more) proof that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee hates people like me.

Keep reading...Show less
Trump at Trump Tower

Former President Donald Trump at Trump Tower in Manhattan

NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - Donald Trump faces a Monday deadline to post a bond to cover a $454 million civil fraud judgment or face the risk of New York state seizing some of his marquee properties.Trump, seeking to regain the presidency this year, must either pay the money out of his own pocket or post a bond while he appeals Justice Arthur Engoron's February 16 judgment against him for manipulating his net worth and his family real estate company's property values to dupe lenders and insurers.

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}