The FBI interviewed Hillary Clinton for the probe into her use of a private email server while she was Secretary of State on Saturday morning, according to a spokesman for Clinton.
Spokesman Nick Merrill said in a statement that the interview about her email arrangements was “voluntary” and adds, “She is pleased to have had the opportunity to assist the Department of Justice in bringing this review to a conclusion.”
He says Clinton will not comment further about the interview “out of respect for the investigative process.”
“Hillary Clinton spoke with investigators for about three-and-a-half hours at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C, according to a campaign aide,” as NPR’s Tamara Keith tells our Newscast unit.
Tamara explains the context:
“While Secretary of State, Clinton exclusively used a private email server for both official business and personal communications. That arrangement is what’s being looked at by investigators.
“A large shadow was cast on the FBI’s investigation when, earlier this week, former President Bill Clinton chatted for about 20 minutes with Attorney General Loretta Lynch on a tarmac in Arizona. She says they didn’t discuss the case and she fully expects to take the recommendations of the FBI and career prosecutors working on the case. A law enforcement source tell NPR’s Carrie Johnson they don’t foresee an indictment.”
And as Carrie reported, Clinton’s “close aides have already sat for FBI interviews.” Carrie adds: “Clinton has said she is ‘100 percent confident’ she has nothing to fear from the criminal probe of the State Department emails.”
This comes just three weeks before the Democratic National Convention, where Clinton is preparing to accept the party’s nomination.