Clinton's aides said to be on list for FBI's inquiry

In email investigation, agents hope for server-setup details

WASHINGTON -- FBI agents are planning to seek interviews with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's aides in coming weeks as an investigation into her use of private email for official business enters a new phase, according to two people familiar with the inquiry.

Investigators also would like to interview the Democratic presidential candidate herself as part of the inquiry, the people said. The FBI is striving to complete its investigation by May or June and pass its findings along to prosecutors for potential action, the people said.

The interviews of aides who served Clinton while she was at the State Department would examine how the server was set up and used, and what precautions -- if any -- were taken to protect sensitive data, according to the people, who described the matter on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing.

Investigators are almost finished examining computers and other physical evidence as part of the inquiry, which is focused on whether Clinton's use of private email while serving as the nation's top diplomat led to the improper handling of classified information, according to the people.

Brian Fallon, a Clinton campaign spokesman, didn't immediately respond to calls and messages seeking comment. Earlier, he told CNN that the former secretary of state "has been cooperating with the Justice Department's security inquiry, including offering in August to meet with them to assist their efforts if needed."

Separately, on Wednesday, The Washington Post reported that the Justice Department had granted immunity to the former State Department staff member who worked on Clinton's email server.

A senior law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the FBI had secured the cooperation of Bryan Pagliano, who worked on Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign before setting up the server in her New York home in 2009.

Spokesmen at the FBI and Justice Department would not discuss the investigation. Pagliano's lawyer, Mark MacDougall, also declined to comment.

Clinton's bid for the Democratic presidential nomination has been buffeted by questions prompted by last year's revelation of the private email system. Republican contenders have pounded on her for months over the matter, arguing that the handling of official communications on a nongovernment system by her and her aides broke the law and put national security at risk.

During her tenure at the State Department, Clinton used her private email address to send personal and work correspondence. She said she took such a step as a matter of convenience and between 2009 and 2013 exchanged more than 60,000 such messages, about half of which she said were of a personal nature.

Clinton has expressed regret over using the private server and the way the issue has played out over the past year.

The issue of Clinton's use of a private email server was referred to the FBI in July after the Inspector General for the Intelligence Community officials determined that some of the emails that traversed Clinton's server contained classified material.

Emails that contain material now deemed classified were written by Clinton but also by many of her top aides, including Jacob Sullivan, who was her director of policy planning and her deputy chief of staff. He is now advising Clinton's campaign on foreign policy and is thought to be a likely candidate for national security adviser if she is elected president.

Under federal disclosure laws, the State Department has released more than 52,000 pages of emails from her tenure as secretary.

The agency said in January that it was withholding from release 22 emails that included "top secret" information. "Top secret" is the highest level of classification, reserved for material whose release could cause "exceptionally grave damage to the national security."

Clinton's campaign said the withheld emails represent "over-classification run amok."

Charles McCullough, the inspector general of the intelligence community, has indicated that some of the material intelligence officials have reviewed contained information that was classified at the time it was sent; the State Department has indicated it has not analyzed whether the material should have been marked classified when it was sent, only whether it requires classification before being released now.

FBI Director James Comey told lawmakers this week that he's following the investigation closely, though he declined to estimate how long it will take or when it might conclude.

"I am very close personally to that investigation to ensure that we have the resources we need, including people and technology, and that it's done the way the FBI tries to do all of its work: independently, competently and promptly. That's our goal," Comey told the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. "I'm confident it's being done that way."

Information for this article was contributed by Del Quentin Wilber, Jennifer Epstein, Andrew Harris and Ben Brody of Bloomberg News and by Adam Goldman, Rosalind S. Helderman, Julie Tate and Matt Zapotosky of The Washington Post.

A Section on 03/04/2016

Upcoming Events