US Attorney General will not file charges against Clinton

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch confirmed on Wednesday that the Department of Justice will not file charges against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in the case concerning her e-mails.

In a statement, Lynch said that - after meeting on Wednesday with FBI Director James Comey and other agents involved in the investigation - "I received and accepted their unanimous recommendation that the thorough, year-long investigation be closed and that no charges be brought against any individuals within the scope of the investigation."

Thus, Lynch brought to an end the judicial aspect of the controversy surrounding Clinton's use of a private e-mail server to handle national security matters during her 2009-2013 tenure as secretary of state, EFE news reported.

Lynch's announcement was expected, since she had earlier said that she would accept the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) recommendation in the matter.

The Attorney General wound up in the eye of the hurricane last week after she held a controversial meeting with former President Bill Clinton during the investigation's final phase.

She said that their conversation at the Phoenix airport focused on the Clintons' grandchildren and that at no time did the e-mail issue arise.

She said that she decided to explain her role in the case and emphasised that she would only review the final report without using her authority to shelve the investigation or influence whether or not to bring charges against the former secretary of state.

Lynch said that she made that decision months ago to eliminate any doubts about a possible conflict of interest, as it was then-President Clinton who appointed her as a US attorney in the 1990s.

Comey on Tuesday announced that the FBI recommended that no charges be filed against Clinton after reviewing 30,000 e-mails she sent and received on official State Department business via "several (private) servers" installed on several mobile devices that she used both within and outside the US.

--IANS

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