Judge orders warrant used in Clinton email probe to be made public

The search warrant used by the FBI to gain access to emails on Anthony Weiner’s laptop that were thought to be pertinent to the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private server will be made public on Tuesday, unless a higher court steps in.

A federal judge on Monday ordered that the warrant and related documents be made public with redactions.

The documents will show how the FBI made its case  to search the emails for information related to the Clinton probe and could provide clues about how likely investigators believed that the documents would contain evidence of criminal action by Clinton.

{mosads}Federal prosecutors had originally opposed making the documents public, but consented to unsealing the pages with redactions in a sealed filing last week.

The names of the FBI agents who worked on the case will be kept private, as will the names of other implicated individuals — likely Weiner and his estranged spouse, Huma Abedin, who’s a close Clinton confidante.

E. Randal Schoenberg, a California lawyer who primarily specializes in the legal recovery of stolen artwork, filed suit to force the unsealing of the files. 

In July, FBI Director James Comey announced that the bureau had completed its investigation into Clinton’s server and would not be recommending charges for her handling of classified material.

But days before the Nov. 8 elections, Comey informed Congress that investigators had discovered  emails believed to be “pertinent” to the Clinton investigation in the course of a separate probe into Weiner.

The former New York congressman was under investigation for allegedly sending sexually explicit messages to a minor.

The announcement roiled the final days of the election.

Comey’s statement to lawmakers was made reportedly before investigators had obtained the warrant to go through the emails for information in the Clinton probe — sparking claims that he had broken long-standing bureau policy of not interfering in political elections.

A subsequent missive from Comey to Congress stating that a search of the emails did not change the bureau’s original finding — that Clinton had been “careless” but not criminal with classified material — did little to quell the political maelstrom.

The Clinton campaign has attributed her surprise loss in part to Comey’s eleventh-hour disclosure.