Wanted a New Chief of Staff Email Probe Leaves Future Role of Huma Abedin in Question

Hillary Clinton aide, long seen as a fixture if the campaign wins, may face different prospects if findings are serious

ENLARGE

Huma Abedin, left, stood near Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton after the final presidential debate at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas on Oct. 19.

Huma Abedin has been by Hillary Clinton’s side for 20 years, since she was a White House intern assigned to the first lady’s office. There has never been much question that if Mrs. Clinton returned to the White House as president, Ms. Abedin would come too.

Now with Ms. Abedin again part of unwelcome attention, even some Democrats are wondering if Mrs. Clinton might be forced to rethink Ms. Abedin’s role if she is elected president, and whether a cloud would linger over her if Ms. Abedin were to take a senior White House job, as has long been expected.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said Friday it had found additional emails potentially related to the probe, completed this summer, of Mrs. Clinton’s private server when she was secretary of state. The new emails come from a laptop that investigators believe was used by Ms. Abedin and her estranged husband, former Rep. Anthony Weiner, and were found during an investigation of Mr. Weiner for allegedly exchanging sexually explicit text messages and photos with a 15-year-old girl.





Ms. Abedin now finds herself as a central character in a late-breaking drama that has added an unpredictable factor into what many people in both parties saw as an election heading toward a Clinton victory.

Some Democrats said Sunday they had no doubt Mrs. Clinton would bring Ms. Abedin with her to the White House. Others said her future may depend on what the renewed investigation finds. It is possible the emails are purely personal, were already turned over to investigators, or are duplicates of messages already examined, meaning the long-term damage to Mrs. Clinton—and Ms. Abedin—may be minimal.

More serious findings could have more significant ramifications. And the process of reading the messages, which may number in the thousands, will take weeks and won’t be completed until well after Election Day.

Democrats point to Mrs. Clinton’s loyalty to her friends and staff, many of whom have been with her for years. Ms. Abedin, who is said to be personally closer to the candidate than any other adviser, is often described as akin to a second daughter.

“She’s played a central and vital role in this campaign,” Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union. “And she continues to do that and continues to do her work running our overall scheduling and advance operation, being a confidante to senior people in the campaign, and traveling with Hillary.”On the campaign, Ms. Abedin has been involved in anything involving Mrs. Clinton personally, including speeches, statements, meetings and debate preparation. She manages the candidate’s large network of contacts and serves as gatekeeper, determining who and what gets through to her.

Ms. Abedin wasn’t on the road this weekend, but is expected to return to Mrs. Clinton’s side in coming days.

At rallies this weekend, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump repeatedly mentioned Ms. Abedin by name. “Is she going to keep Huma?” Mr. Trump asked Saturday in Golden, Colo. “Huma’s been a problem. Do we agree? Huma. Huma’s been a problem. I wonder if Huma’s going to stay there.”

The timing of this disclosure, just days before the election, is particularly uncomfortable for Ms. Abedin. But it isn’t the first time she has been under scrutiny, and it is far from her first public embarrassment.

Because she had a personal email address on the Clinton family server, conservative groups have been able to obtain, through lawsuits, all of Ms. Abedin’s correspondence. They have also gotten many of her emails from her State Department account. Several of them show Clinton Foundation officials asking her for favors.

That has led Mr. Trump to charge that there was a “pay to play” scheme at work, in which supporters of the foundation may have obtained favors from the department. Mrs. Clinton’s campaign has said her decisions as secretary of state were unrelated to requests from the foundation and its supporters.

Ms. Abedin also has been under investigation by Sen. Charles Grassley (R., Iowa) for an arrangement under the Special Government Employee program, which allowed her to simultaneously work for the State Department, Mrs. Clinton personally, the Clinton Foundation and a private consulting firm called Teneo, which was founded in part by a former foundation official.

The program was created to allow agencies to give short-term jobs to individuals from the private sector with a particular expertise, and Mr. Grassley has argued that using it in Ms. Abedin’s case was an abuse.

The State Department has said Ms. Abedin’s work for Teneo was unrelated to her work for the government, and that her outside employment while at State was arranged so the government wouldn’t be paying her for work she did charting Mrs. Clinton’s post-State career.

But the actions of Mr. Weiner, whom Ms. Abedin married in 2010, are the most personal and likely the most painful public controversy she has confronted. In 2011, the New York lawmaker resigned from Congress after admitting he had sent salacious photos and messages over the internet to other women. Ms. Abedin, who was pregnant at the time, opted to stay with him, and was by his side in 2013 when he attempted a political comeback. During his campaign for mayor of New York City, it was disclosed that he had continued exchanging sexually explicit messages with other women after he left Congress—a story chronicled in a documentary that Ms. Abedin participated in, which was released this summer.

The New York Post reported this summer that Mr. Weiner had sent yet another provocative picture, this time sending a photo of himself in his underwear to a woman while their 4-year-old son was lying next to him in bed. After that, Ms. Abedin announced she was leaving him.

In September, the FBI opened its investigation of him after a report that he had exchanged messages with a minor. It was that probe that led to the discovery of the new emails and, ultimately, to Friday’s announcement, a development that is rocking the campaign of the woman to whom Ms. Abedin has devoted her career.

Wanted a New Chief of Staff Email Probe Leaves Future Role of Huma Abedin in Question

Hillary Clinton aide, long seen as a fixture if the campaign wins, may face different prospects if findings are serious

ENLARGE

Huma Abedin, left, stood near Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton after the final presidential debate at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas on Oct. 19.

Huma Abedin has been by Hillary Clinton’s side for 20 years, since she was a White House intern assigned to the first lady’s office. There has never been much question that if Mrs. Clinton returned to the White House as president, Ms. Abedin would come too.

Now with Ms. Abedin again part of unwelcome attention, even some Democrats are wondering if Mrs. Clinton might be forced to rethink Ms. Abedin’s role if she is elected president, and whether a cloud would linger over her if Ms. Abedin were to take a senior White House job, as has long been expected.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said Friday it had found additional emails potentially related to the probe, completed this summer, of Mrs. Clinton’s private server when she was secretary of state. The new emails come from a laptop that investigators believe was used by Ms. Abedin and her estranged husband, former Rep. Anthony Weiner, and were found during an investigation of Mr. Weiner for allegedly exchanging sexually explicit text messages and photos with a 15-year-old girl.





Ms. Abedin now finds herself as a central character in a late-breaking drama that has added an unpredictable factor into what many people in both parties saw as an election heading toward a Clinton victory.

Some Democrats said Sunday they had no doubt Mrs. Clinton would bring Ms. Abedin with her to the White House. Others said her future may depend on what the renewed investigation finds. It is possible the emails are purely personal, were already turned over to investigators, or are duplicates of messages already examined, meaning the long-term damage to Mrs. Clinton—and Ms. Abedin—may be minimal.

More serious findings could have more significant ramifications. And the process of reading the messages, which may number in the thousands, will take weeks and won’t be completed until well after Election Day.

Democrats point to Mrs. Clinton’s loyalty to her friends and staff, many of whom have been with her for years. Ms. Abedin, who is said to be personally closer to the candidate than any other adviser, is often described as akin to a second daughter.

“She’s played a central and vital role in this campaign,” Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union. “And she continues to do that and continues to do her work running our overall scheduling and advance operation, being a confidante to senior people in the campaign, and traveling with Hillary.”On the campaign, Ms. Abedin has been involved in anything involving Mrs. Clinton personally, including speeches, statements, meetings and debate preparation. She manages the candidate’s large network of contacts and serves as gatekeeper, determining who and what gets through to her.

Ms. Abedin wasn’t on the road this weekend, but is expected to return to Mrs. Clinton’s side in coming days.

At rallies this weekend, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump repeatedly mentioned Ms. Abedin by name. “Is she going to keep Huma?” Mr. Trump asked Saturday in Golden, Colo. “Huma’s been a problem. Do we agree? Huma. Huma’s been a problem. I wonder if Huma’s going to stay there.”

The timing of this disclosure, just days before the election, is particularly uncomfortable for Ms. Abedin. But it isn’t the first time she has been under scrutiny, and it is far from her first public embarrassment.

Because she had a personal email address on the Clinton family server, conservative groups have been able to obtain, through lawsuits, all of Ms. Abedin’s correspondence. They have also gotten many of her emails from her State Department account. Several of them show Clinton Foundation officials asking her for favors.

That has led Mr. Trump to charge that there was a “pay to play” scheme at work, in which supporters of the foundation may have obtained favors from the department. Mrs. Clinton’s campaign has said her decisions as secretary of state were unrelated to requests from the foundation and its supporters.

Ms. Abedin also has been under investigation by Sen. Charles Grassley (R., Iowa) for an arrangement under the Special Government Employee program, which allowed her to simultaneously work for the State Department, Mrs. Clinton personally, the Clinton Foundation and a private consulting firm called Teneo, which was founded in part by a former foundation official.

The program was created to allow agencies to give short-term jobs to individuals from the private sector with a particular expertise, and Mr. Grassley has argued that using it in Ms. Abedin’s case was an abuse.

The State Department has said Ms. Abedin’s work for Teneo was unrelated to her work for the government, and that her outside employment while at State was arranged so the government wouldn’t be paying her for work she did charting Mrs. Clinton’s post-State career.

But the actions of Mr. Weiner, whom Ms. Abedin married in 2010, are the most personal and likely the most painful public controversy she has confronted. In 2011, the New York lawmaker resigned from Congress after admitting he had sent salacious photos and messages over the internet to other women. Ms. Abedin, who was pregnant at the time, opted to stay with him, and was by his side in 2013 when he attempted a political comeback. During his campaign for mayor of New York City, it was disclosed that he had continued exchanging sexually explicit messages with other women after he left Congress—a story chronicled in a documentary that Ms. Abedin participated in, which was released this summer.

The New York Post reported this summer that Mr. Weiner had sent yet another provocative picture, this time sending a photo of himself in his underwear to a woman while their 4-year-old son was lying next to him in bed. After that, Ms. Abedin announced she was leaving him.

In September, the FBI opened its investigation of him after a report that he had exchanged messages with a minor. It was that probe that led to the discovery of the new emails and, ultimately, to Friday’s announcement, a development that is rocking the campaign of the woman to whom Ms. Abedin has devoted her career.

When is a bombshell not a bombshell? and the State of the Election and Nation Republished with permission of the Author Neil Munshi and the FT ( Financial Times of London)

When FBI director James Comey sent a letter to congress on Friday, he upended the 2016 race.

Or did he?

The letter initially seemed like it might be the October surprise that delivered the election to Donald Trump by renewing focus on Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server. In the event, it was not quite the smoking gun that Republicans have longed for - but its vagueness allowed for rampant speculation among Republicans, and a series of leaks from the FBI and justice department that, as Jeffrey Toobin writes, allowed "senior government officials" to "apply their own gloss" to the story.

Here is what we know about the case. Among the things the flood of leaks since has revealed: that the justice department told Comey the letter violated protocol meant to avoid influencing elections, the emails may not have been sent or received by Clinton, the FBI may not yet even actually have access to the emails, and that they were discovered on a laptop shared by disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner and his estranged wife, Clinton’s top aide Huma Abedin.

(Re: that flood of leaks. As my colleague Jake Grovum put it on Twitter: "The fact that Clinton email stuff (started w/ concern about handling govt secrets) has turned into the FBI leaking like a sieve is something.")

Here are a couple more leaks, for good measure: today both CNBC and Huffington Post reported that Comey argued privately "that it was too close to Election Day for the US government to name Russia as meddling in the US election and ultimately ensured that the FBI's name was not on the document that the US government put out".

Trump has long praised Vladimir Putin, has business ties to Russia and has refused to condemn or even acknowledge that Moscow has had a hand in hacking American officials. On Monday evening, Slate published an investigation that alleges that the Trump Organization had a special server to communicate with Russia's Alfa Bank, while NBC reported that the FBI was conducting an inquiry into Trump's ex-campaign manager Paul Manafort's foreign business connections.

That left Democrats wondering why Comey, a Republican, felt that 11 days out from the election wasn't too close to it to announce the discovery of emails that may not belong to Clinton and that the FBI has not reviewed.

The bipartisan list condemning Comey's decision is long and growing: former Obama administration attorney-general (and Comey boss) Eric Holder called it a "serious mistake", Republican former attorney-general Alberto Gonzales called it an "error in judgement" while his successor Michael Mukasey called it an "unworthy choice", and Libertarian vice presidential candidate Bill Weld called it "disgraceful". Nearly 100 former prosecutors and DoJ officials signed an open letter criticising Comey.

Mukasey was among those who thought Clinton should have been indicted for her use of the server. He was joined by other surprising critics, including Jim Jordan, the de facto leader of the anti-establishment group in the House - and no Clinton fan - who said it was "not the right thing to do". The Washington Post has a roundup of at least 10 other Republicans who have slammed Comey's move.

Regardless of views on Comey's conduct, the proverbial cat is out of the bag - and the question now is what type of impact it could have on the election.

Based on the (very early) polling the answer seems to be: not much (so far).

The NBC/SurveyMonkey weekly tracking poll released this evening found Clinton with a 47-41 lead over Trump during a survey conducted during the two days after Comey's letter - the same lead she held in data from the five days prior. The Politico/Morning Conult poll conducted entirely after the letter's release gave Clinton a 3-point lead in a 4-way race - the same as its poll conducted before the disclosure. ABC/WaPo and YouGov, similarly, reported little effect. Nate Cohn writes in the New York Times that polls are likely to swing - but the fundamentals of the race probably won't change.

That makes sense. Clinton's email issue has been largely baked in for months: people who think it's a problem don't support her already, and the latest flareup is unlikely to convince anyone who has decided to vote for her to suddenly swing to Trump.

Still, it's clear the race has been tightening recently, as Republicans who abandoned Trump in the wake of the release of the tape in which he brags about sexually assaulting women come back home. And the renewed focus on Clinton's emails could depress Democratic turnout, hurting both Clinton and down-ballot Democrats.

That may be why the Clinton campaign is renewing focus on what she says is the danger Trump poses - including with an ad that references the iconic 1964 "Daisy" commercial in order to question his ability to handle nuclear weapons. They are also sending top-tier surrogates like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, the Obamas and running mate Tim Kaine out to energise the base in the final week.

Kaine will hold a rally in Arizona entirely in Spanish as the campaign makes a push to flip reliably red Arizona on the strength of the state's growing Latino population, which overwhelmingly supports Clinton. With black voter turnout down from 2012, Clinton will need Hispanics to turn out in droves. So far, they seem to be outperforming last cycle's numbers - but it remains to be seen whether those numbers will hold.

When is a bombshell not a bombshell? and the State of the Election and Nation Republished with permission of the Author Neil Munshi and the FT ( Financial Times of London)

When FBI director James Comey sent a letter to congress on Friday, he upended the 2016 race.

Or did he?

The letter initially seemed like it might be the October surprise that delivered the election to Donald Trump by renewing focus on Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server. In the event, it was not quite the smoking gun that Republicans have longed for - but its vagueness allowed for rampant speculation among Republicans, and a series of leaks from the FBI and justice department that, as Jeffrey Toobin writes, allowed "senior government officials" to "apply their own gloss" to the story.

Here is what we know about the case. Among the things the flood of leaks since has revealed: that the justice department told Comey the letter violated protocol meant to avoid influencing elections, the emails may not have been sent or received by Clinton, the FBI may not yet even actually have access to the emails, and that they were discovered on a laptop shared by disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner and his estranged wife, Clinton’s top aide Huma Abedin.

(Re: that flood of leaks. As my colleague Jake Grovum put it on Twitter: "The fact that Clinton email stuff (started w/ concern about handling govt secrets) has turned into the FBI leaking like a sieve is something.")

Here are a couple more leaks, for good measure: today both CNBC and Huffington Post reported that Comey argued privately "that it was too close to Election Day for the US government to name Russia as meddling in the US election and ultimately ensured that the FBI's name was not on the document that the US government put out".

Trump has long praised Vladimir Putin, has business ties to Russia and has refused to condemn or even acknowledge that Moscow has had a hand in hacking American officials. On Monday evening, Slate published an investigation that alleges that the Trump Organization had a special server to communicate with Russia's Alfa Bank, while NBC reported that the FBI was conducting an inquiry into Trump's ex-campaign manager Paul Manafort's foreign business connections.

That left Democrats wondering why Comey, a Republican, felt that 11 days out from the election wasn't too close to it to announce the discovery of emails that may not belong to Clinton and that the FBI has not reviewed.

The bipartisan list condemning Comey's decision is long and growing: former Obama administration attorney-general (and Comey boss) Eric Holder called it a "serious mistake", Republican former attorney-general Alberto Gonzales called it an "error in judgement" while his successor Michael Mukasey called it an "unworthy choice", and Libertarian vice presidential candidate Bill Weld called it "disgraceful". Nearly 100 former prosecutors and DoJ officials signed an open letter criticising Comey.

Mukasey was among those who thought Clinton should have been indicted for her use of the server. He was joined by other surprising critics, including Jim Jordan, the de facto leader of the anti-establishment group in the House - and no Clinton fan - who said it was "not the right thing to do". The Washington Post has a roundup of at least 10 other Republicans who have slammed Comey's move.

Regardless of views on Comey's conduct, the proverbial cat is out of the bag - and the question now is what type of impact it could have on the election.

Based on the (very early) polling the answer seems to be: not much (so far).

The NBC/SurveyMonkey weekly tracking poll released this evening found Clinton with a 47-41 lead over Trump during a survey conducted during the two days after Comey's letter - the same lead she held in data from the five days prior. The Politico/Morning Conult poll conducted entirely after the letter's release gave Clinton a 3-point lead in a 4-way race - the same as its poll conducted before the disclosure. ABC/WaPo and YouGov, similarly, reported little effect. Nate Cohn writes in the New York Times that polls are likely to swing - but the fundamentals of the race probably won't change.

That makes sense. Clinton's email issue has been largely baked in for months: people who think it's a problem don't support her already, and the latest flareup is unlikely to convince anyone who has decided to vote for her to suddenly swing to Trump.

Still, it's clear the race has been tightening recently, as Republicans who abandoned Trump in the wake of the release of the tape in which he brags about sexually assaulting women come back home. And the renewed focus on Clinton's emails could depress Democratic turnout, hurting both Clinton and down-ballot Democrats.

That may be why the Clinton campaign is renewing focus on what she says is the danger Trump poses - including with an ad that references the iconic 1964 "Daisy" commercial in order to question his ability to handle nuclear weapons. They are also sending top-tier surrogates like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, the Obamas and running mate Tim Kaine out to energise the base in the final week.

Kaine will hold a rally in Arizona entirely in Spanish as the campaign makes a push to flip reliably red Arizona on the strength of the state's growing Latino population, which overwhelmingly supports Clinton. With black voter turnout down from 2012, Clinton will need Hispanics to turn out in droves. So far, they seem to be outperforming last cycle's numbers - but it remains to be seen whether those numbers will hold.