The FBI director, James Comey, has come out and said the fresh inquiry into Hillary Clinton’s emails has found nothing to change the bureau’s initial conclusion this summer.

The Clinton campaign said it was “glad” the lingering issue had now been resolved. The dramatic last-minute twist has lifted the cloud over her campaign as Election Day draws near.

In July, the FBI said Clinton had been “extremely careless” to handle classified material on a private email server, while serving as Secretary of State, but found no evidence that a crime was committed.

However, 11 days before the election, Comey had thrown the race into turmoil by announcing he would reopen the investigation into the email scandal.

Nevertheless, Clinton has been leading in the polls between 4 and 5 percent.

“Based on our review, we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July with respect to Secretary Clinton,” Mr. Comey wrote in a letter to the leaders of several congressional committees.

 

Trump’s reaction

Of course Trump cried foul immediately, accusing the FBI of impropriety.

“Right now she’s being protected by a rigged system. It’s a totally rigged system. I’ve been saying it for a long time”.

“Hillary Clinton is guilty, she knows it, the FBI knows it, the people know it and now it’s up to the American people to deliver justice at the ballot box on 8 November”.

There is, however, no Twitter reaction from Trump, as his Twitter rights have been revoked by his own campaign team. This in itself is a telling fact.

Prominent Republican Newt Gingrich also weighed in.

Stabilisation

Because of this latest news, Clinton’s presidential hopes remain firmly in tact. The worst case scenarios that many feared, involving Clinton being investigated even while President, have now subsided.

Mr. Comey’s move is also sure to prompt questions from Democrats. Most important among them: Why did Comey reopen Pandora’s box before agents had even read the emails, especially since it took only days to determine that they were not significant?

However, it is likely that some of the dust kicked up in this dramatic story won’t have settled by election day, but Clinton’s already very strong position is unlikely to be threatened.

The FBI faces a long look in the mirror as if Trump wins, many will personally blame Comey for this result, and if Clinton wins, she will likely bear a long lasting grudge.