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FBI Completes Review of Newly Revealed Hillary Clinton Emails, Finds No Evidence of Criminality

'Based on our review, we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July with respect to Secretary Clinton,' FBI Director Comey wrote.
Image: U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Clinton reacts before boarding her campaign plane at Miami international airport in Miami
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton reacts before boarding her campaign plane at Miami international airport in Miami, Florida, U.S., October 26, 2016.Carlos Barria / Reuters

FBI Director James Comey said Sunday that the bureau won't change the conclusion it made in July after it examined newly revealed emails related to the Hillary Clinton probe.

"Based on our review, we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July with respect to Secretary Clinton," Comey wrote in a letter to 16 members of Congress.

The investigative team had "been working around the clock to process and review" emails found on former New York congressman Anthony Weiner's laptop — using a program that targeted only the emails to and from Clinton's closest aide, Huma Abedin, within the time when Clinton was secretary of state.

Image:
Part of a Nov. 6, 2016, letter from FBI director James Comey to Congress is photographed in Washington, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2016.Jon Elswick / AP

In a statement, a Justice Department spokesman said, "The Department of Justice and the FBI dedicated all necessary resources to conduct this review expeditiously."

The news comes after the FBI announced it would review a new batch of emails that appeared to be "pertinent" to the investigation that was suspended in July, which had looked into Clinton's use of a private server.

Multiple federal sources told NBC News that the emails were found as a part of an ongoing probe into Weiner's alleged illicit communication with an underage girl.

On the Clinton campaign's plane, spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri said she was "glad to see" that Comey had affirmed the conclusion reached in July and that the "matter is resolved."

The Trump campaign didn't immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment.

On Twitter, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Trump surrogate, started the campaign's pivot back to the "rigged system" claims they shared earlier in the election season.

Related: Fact Checking Everything Trump and Clinton Said About the FBI's Email Review

A senior law enforcement official confirmed to NBC News that nearly all of the thousands of newly examined emails on Weiner's laptop were duplicates of emails already seen by the team investigating Clinton's server. Although some emails did forward documents previously identified as containing classified information, the review didn't change the total number of classified documents investigators found on the server.

Image: U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Clinton reacts before boarding her campaign plane at Miami international airport in Miami
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton reacts before boarding her campaign plane at Miami international airport in Miami, Florida, U.S., October 26, 2016.Carlos Barria / Reuters

There were unseen emails, the official said, but they were unrelated to government business.

The new letter indicates that the FBI's review is completed. Neither Comey nor the FBI are expected to release any other statements.

Democrats and Republicans had starkly different reactions, although both sides indicated that, beyond Clinton's vindication, the FBI still had much to resolve.

"In the days that come, we will have many questions about the FBI's handling of this investigation," said John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. "In the meantime, however, I welcome this news confirming again that no charges are warranted in this matter."

Republicans quickly countered.

"Secretary Clinton's use of a private email server — including to transmit classified information — was extremely careless and a dereliction of duty," said Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. "There are also several open questions about the FBI's examination of these facts."