Hillary Clinton’s Private Email Server Investigation Reopened By US State Department

The U.S. State Department announced Thursday that it will restart its investigation into presumptive Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server when she was secretary of state.

Clinton had come under fire when it was revealed that she used a personal email server kept in her Chappaqua, New York, home while she was the secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. A key portion of the investigation is to look into whether Clinton and her aides mishandled classified information on the server.

“Given the Department of Justice has now made its announcement, the State Department intends to conduct its internal review,” State Department spokesman John Kirby reportedly said. “I cannot provide specific information about the Department's review, including what information we are evaluating. We will aim to be as expeditious as possible, but we will not put artificial deadlines on the process.”

The announcement follows the statement from U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch Wednesday saying she would accept the Tuesday recommendations of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) not to bring criminal charges against Clinton.

“Although we did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of the classified information, there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information,” FBI Director James Comey said.

The State Department had reportedly suspended its investigation while waiting for the Justice Department to complete its criminal probe. The investigation will focus on whether current employees involved in handling Clinton's emails should face disciplinary action. The employees could face a reprimand or even lose their security clearance. Former employees who may have mishandled classified information could be flagged, which would have consequences if they seek future employment with the government and need security clearance.