MSNBC's Morning Joe panel discussed two major headlines Monday from the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post referring to new developments in the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton's private server.
"I've been hearing some commentators say this is much ado about nothing and that the FBI is just checking the systems out for their own exercise,"Joe Scarborough said. "They're moving now into a phase where they are granting immunity. They are bringing in everyone and are interviewing, including one news report, says the secretary herself. This seems to be expanding beyond a procedural investigation."
National Journal's Ron Fournier said that the FBI investigation into Clinton's use of a private server has always been beyond a procedural investigation. The Washington Post reported that there are 147 agents deployed to work on the investigation into Clinton's private emails.
"The FBI is looking into the possibility that crimes were violated," Fournier said. "Look, what we have here, is baked into the cake here, is that Hillary Clinton has not been honest about this and it's shown in the polls that most Americans think that they can't trust her. We know that she has shown a total disregard for the Freedom of Information Act."
Fournier said that if the stories turn out to be correct then Clinton will be interviewed by the FBI.
Vice News reported that more than 1,000 emails were heavily redacted or withheld. This included 22 emails that were deemed top secret and if released would cause "exceptionally grave damage" to national security.
The Los Angeles Times reported that federal prosecutors have stepped up their investigation and have begun the process of setting up formal interviews with some of Clinton's longtime aides. No dates have been set for the interviews, which would continue to follow Clinton through most, if not all, of the remaining primaries.
According to the Washington Post, Clinton insisted on using a personal BlackBerry for her email communications, even taking the device into an area of the State Department called Mahogany Row. Her aides tried to push a way for Clinton to have her device with her in the secure area. The Diplomatic Security Bureau was concerned that foreign intelligence services could hack her BlackBerry and use it as a listening device.
"The scale of this is so remarkable, I do not know how James Comey doesn't do something definitive," Scarborough said.
Sam Stein of the Huffington Post said that if Clinton was an underling at the State Department, then there would be different standards applied to her.