Presidential Campaign News

Republicans to query firms that ran Clinton’s private server

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans stepped up their attacks on Monday on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server and pointed to newly released messages to allege that foreign donors to the Democratic presidential nominee’s family charity got preferential treatment from her department.

Congressional Republicans issued subpoenas to three technology companies that either made or serviced the server located in the basement of Clinton’s New York home. The subpoenas were issued Monday by House Science, Space and Technology Chairman Lamar Smith of Texas with the support of Senate Homeland Security Chairman Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.

In a joint statement, Smith and Johnson said the move was necessary after the three companies — Platte River Networks, Datto Inc. and SECNAP Network Security Corp. — declined to voluntarily answer questions to determine whether Clinton’s private server met government standards for record-keeping and security.

The subpoenas were among several developments Monday that showed a new GOP emphasis on Clinton’s emails after the FBI recently closed its yearlong probe into whether she and her aides mishandled sensitive government information that flowed through her server, without recommending criminal charges.

The State Department is now reviewing nearly 15,000 previously undisclosed emails recovered as part of the FBI investigation. Lawyers for the department told U.S. District Court Judge James E. Boasberg on Monday that they anticipate processing and releasing the first batch of these new emails in mid-October, raising the prospect that new messages sent or received by Clinton could become public just before November’s election.

Trump vows ‘fair, but firm’ approach to

illegal immigration

NEW YORK (AP) — Republican Donald Trump promised on Monday to be “fair, but firm” toward the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the United States illegally, a shift in tone that raised questions on whether he’s backtracking from previous pledges to push for mass deportations.

The billionaire businessman, whose hard-line approach to immigration and fierce rhetoric propelled him to the GOP presidential nomination, insisted that he’s not “flip-flopping” on the divisive issue as he works to broaden his support two and half months to the general election. Polls show him trailing Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in both national polls and battleground states.

But in a meeting with Hispanic activists on Saturday, Trump indicated that he was open to considering allowing those who have not committed crimes, beyond their immigration offenses, to obtain some form of legal status.

“The impression I got was that the campaign is working on substantive policy to help the undocumented that are here, including some type of status so they would not be deported,” said Pastor Mario Bramnick, president of the Hispanic Israel Leadership Coalition, who was in attendance.

Bramnick said he’d left the meeting “very encouraged” and “hopeful in anticipating the policy and language” Trump’s campaign is expected to release in the coming weeks.

Boasberg is overseeing production of the emails as part of a federal public-records lawsuit filed by the conservative legal advocacy group Judicial Watch.

Representing the State Department, Justice Department lawyer Lisa Olson told the judge that officials do not yet know what portion of the emails is work-related, rather than personal.