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Podesta Says FBI Wanted Clinton to Lose. Hillary's Own Words Tell an Interesting Story

February 22, 2017

Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, said this week that "forces within the FBI" may have fought to defeat her and elect Donald Trump as president.

"There are at least forces within the FBI that wanted her to lose," Podesta said during an interview with John Heilemann. "I'm not sure they were prepared–they really understood the alternative, but they wanted her to lose. I think that's one possibility."

However, Clinton repeatedly expressed confidence in and a lack of concern for the FBI's handling of her case during the campaign. At one point, she praised the agency's professionalism.

After Clinton clinched the Democratic nomination in July, she told ABC's David Muir she could "absolutely" assure the American people that nothing from the FBI investigation would alter the campaign.

Of course, Clinton repeatedly said she never sent nor received classified information on her private email server, and she also said she took the classification process seriously.

Although Clinton partisans initially praised FBI Director James Comey for his decision not to recommend charges against Clinton for mishandling classified material with her private server, they became harshly critical in October, when a last-minute announcement that the probe was being re-opened dominated headlines heading into Election Day.