Subject: RE: 2016 GOP HIT on HRC
From: "Hendricks, Lauren" <[email-masked]>
To: Tony Carrk <[email-masked]>, "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>, "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>, "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>, "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>, "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>, "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>, "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>, "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>
Cc: "Brinster, Jeremy" <[email-masked]>, "Crystal, Andy" <[email-masked]>, "Dillon, Lauren" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 11 May 2016 15:46:15 -0700

Michael C. Short Tweet
5/11/16 6:45 PM
Read Here<https://twitter.com/michaelcshort/status/730529049618059264>
Fox News: Comey rebuffs @HillaryClinton<https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/> claim FBI only conducting 'security inquiry' on emails fxn.ws/1X28l40<https://t.co/fffdxCSSPl>
Comey rebuffs Clinton claim FBI only conducting 'security inquiry' on emails<http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/05/11/comey-rebuffs-clinton-claim-fbi-only-conducting-security-inquiry-on-emails.html>
Published May 11, 2016

Hillary Clinton for months has downplayed the FBI investigation into her private email server and practices as a mere "security inquiry."

But when asked Wednesday by Fox News about Clinton's characterization of the bureau's probe, FBI Director James Comey said he doesn't know what "security inquiry" means -- adding, "We're conducting an investigation. ... That's what we do."

The FBI director reiterated that he's "not familiar with the term security inquiry" when told that is the phrase Clinton has used.

As for the timeline for the investigation, Comey, during a briefing with reporters, said he prefers doing the investigation "well" over promptly and said he's not "tethered" to a schedule.

The briefing comes amid reports that FBI investigators have been meeting with top aides in Clinton's inner circle, including Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills. The interviews have stoked speculation that the investigation may soon be drawing to a close, in the heat of the 2016 political season.

Asked Wednesday if he would make a public report, regardless of whether criminal charges are pursued, Comey said he would not say at this time. But he said there are "no special set of rules for anybody that the FBI investigates."

Clinton and her campaign team repeatedly have described the probe as a security inquiry. Most recently on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday, Clinton used the term when asked how she'd respond to people worried the FBI probe is a "big deal."

"I say what I've said now for many, many months," Clinton said. "It's a security inquiry. I always took classified material seriously. There was never any material marked classified that was sent or received by me, and I look forward to this being wrapped up."

The FBI probe is proceeding as Clinton tries to wrap up the Democratic presidential nomination. Though she leads by hundreds of delegates, she has not yet clinched the nomination and rival Bernie Sanders is vowing to take the fight to the convention - he fueled his own underdog bid with a primary win Tuesday in West Virginia.

There appear to be several moving parts in the FBI investigation.

Former State Department IT staffer Bryan Pagliano, who installed and maintained the server, has been granted immunity by the Department of Justice and is cooperating with the FBI.

In another development, the infamous Romanian hacker known as "Guccifer," who was extradited to the U.S. to face cyber charges, recently told Fox News<http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/05/04/romanian-hacker-guccifer-breached-clinton-server-it-was-easy.html> he easily breached Clinton's personal email server in early 2013.

Fox News could not independently confirm the claims. But an intelligence source told Fox News last month that Guccifer, whose real name is Marcel Lehel Lazar, could help the FBI make the case that Clinton's email server may have been compromised by a third party. Lazar told Fox News that he spoke with the FBI at length<http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/05/07/romanian-hacker-who-claims-breached-clinton-server-says-spoke-with-fbi-at-length.html> on the plane when extradited from Romania to Virginia last month.

Speaking from the Virginia jail where he's being held, Lazar said the conversation was "80 minutes ... recorded," and he took his own notes. A government source confirmed that the hacker had a lot to say on the plane but provided no other details.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch also was asked earlier this week<http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/05/09/ag-lynch-says-cannot-make-prediction-about-timing-clinton-probe.html> about the timeline for the Clinton email probe, but said she could not make any "prediction."

Fox News' Catherine Herridge contributed to this report.

Lauren Hendricks

From: Hendricks, Lauren
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2016 6:44 PM
To: [email-masked]'; [email-masked]'; [email-masked]'; [email-masked]'; [email-masked]'; [email-masked]'; [email-masked]'; [email-masked]'; [email-masked]'
Cc: Brinster, Jeremy; Crystal, Andy; Dillon, Lauren
Subject: 2016 GOP HIT on HRC

Michael C. Short Tweet
5/11/16 6:41 PM
Read Here<https://twitter.com/michaelcshort/status/730528223801561089>
ABC News: FBI Director Questions @HillaryClinton<https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/>'s Description of FBI Email Investigation abcn.ws/1UTUCMu<https://t.co/FFrJLr1kCC>
FBI Director Questions Hillary Clinton's Description of FBI Email Investigation<http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/fbi-director-questions-hillary-clintons-description-fbi-email/story?id=39048269>
*         By JUSTIN FISHEL
*         PIERRE THOMAS
*         MIKE LEVINE
 May 11, 2016, 6:00 PM ET
[PHOTO: FBI Director James Comey speaks on cyber security at Georgetown University on April 26, 2016 in Washington. Comey addressed the sixth annual International Conference on "Cyber Engagement: Discussing Critical Policy Alternatives".]Alex Wong/Getty Images
FBI Director James Comey speaks on cyber security at Georgetown University on April 26, 2016 in Washington. Comey addressed the sixth annual International Conference on "Cyber Engagement: Discussing Critical Policy Alternatives," held by Georgetown University's Master of Science in Foreign Service CyberProject.more +<http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/fbi-director-questions-hillary-clintons-description-fbi-email/story?id=39048269>

Even though Hillary Clinton<http://abcnews.go.com/topics/news/whitehouse/hillary-clinton.htm> has repeatedly described the FBI<http://abcnews.go.com/topics/news/whitehouse/james-b.-comey.htm> probe over her use of a private email server as a "security inquiry," FBI Director James Comey today questioned the use of that phrase.

"I don't know what that means," Comey told reporters today in Washington, D.C. "We're conducting an investigation. That's the bureau's business. That's what we do."

One reporter noted that former Secretary of State Clinton often refers to it as a "security inquiry."

The word "investigation" -- "it's in our name," Comey responded. "And I'm not familiar with the term 'security inquiry.'"

In the past several months, Comey has repeatedly referred to this probe as an "investigation," including in a legal document filed in a freedom of information lawsuit related to her email case, related to Clinton's use of a private email server for official communication during her tenure as secretary of state.

Law enforcement officials confirmed to ABC News last week that the FBI had just finished interviewing a handful of Clinton's closest aides and advisers as part of the investigation and that next it plans to ask Clinton herself for an interview, suggesting the review is nearing or entering its final stages.

Comey said today that he remains close to the investigation, but gave no indication of when it might be complete or what it might find.

"I don't tether to any particular external deadline," Comey said. "Look, I understand the interest in this particular investigation. And so I do feel the pressure to do it well and promptly. As between the two, I will always choose well."

Sources have told ABC News that so far the investigation has found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

Clinton has long maintained that she never mishandled, sent or received any email "marked" classified on her private server. But government reviews of the 55,000 emails she turned over to the State Department determined over a thousand of them contained information that later had to be upgraded to classified and withheld from public view, including 22 emails that had to be deemed "top secret."

Also this week, it was revealed that almost all the email from Secretary Clinton's top IT staffer during her tenure at the State Department appears to be missing. That staffer, Bryan Pagliano, has become a key witness in the FBI investigation and has been granted immunity by the Justice Department in exchange for his cooperation.

Clinton's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Comey's remarks.

Lauren Hendricks