Hillary Clinton Says New FBI Email Review Was a ‘Surprise’ — and Just ‘Noise and Distraction’
Hillary Clinton says she’s determined not to be distracted in her final week of campaigning by the “noise” of the latest development in her email controversy.
The Democratic nominee was asked this week about her gut reaction to first word of FBI director James Comey’s Friday letter to Congress announcing the discovery of new emails to be reviewed as part of the probe of the private email server she used as secretary of state.
“Of course I was surprised,” Clinton tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue.
Federal agents obtained a warrant over the weekend to begin reviewing the reported 650,000 emails that were discovered on a laptop belonging to disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner and used by his wife, Clinton’s top aide Huma Abedin. The emails are being searched in conjunction with the closed investigation into Clinton’s use of a private server during her time as secretary of state under President Obama.
Clinton, 69, told supporters at a Monday rally that she feels confident the FBI will reach the “same conclusion” as they did in their initial investigation: “There is no case here.”
“I think the American people made up their minds about my emails a long time ago,” she tells PEOPLE. “There have been a lot of ups and downs in this campaign, and through it all, I’ve always been focused on one thing: the American people.”
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Clinton was still leading in new polls conducted after Friday’s reveal — fueling her stance on the email’s continued relevance. CNN’s Poll of Polls, which averages results for the five most recent national polls, found Clinton leading Trump 47 percent to his 42 percent.
“Your lives, your families, the problems that keep you up at night,” she says. “That’s what we’re focused on in these final days, because that’s what this election is really about. It’s not about the noise and distractions. It’s about what kind of country we want for our kids, and what kind of president can get us there.”
