Charges not recommended against Clinton in email probe

Decision comes amidst criticism of use of private email servers

FBI Director James Comey in a statement released today,  says the agency will not recommend criminal charges in its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state.

Comey made the announcement Tuesday, three days after FBI agents interviewed Clinton in a final step of its investigation.

The Justice Department has been looking into whether anyone mishandled classified information that flowed through Clinton’s email server. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said last week that she would accept the recommendations of Comey and of career prosecutors.

Although Comey’s announcement removes the threat of criminal charges, he still criticized the former secretary of state and says her staff was “they were extremely carelss in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.”

Comey says “no reasonable prosecutor” would bring charges in the case. In part, he says, because there is no precedent for doing so.