Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence on Sunday commended Hillary Clinton and her campaign for calling on the FBI to release all of the information regarding its decision to review new emails “pertinent” to the investigation of the Democratic presidential nominee’s email server.
{mosads}”I’m very glad to hear Hillary Clinton calling for putting all of this out on the table. Why doesn’t she ask her senior aide to release all these emails?” the Indiana governor asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
FBI Director James Comey announced in July he would not recommend criminal charges over Clinton’s use of a private email server while serving as secretary of State. On Friday, he sent a letter to Congress saying the bureau discovered emails “pertinent” to the investigation and would be reviewing them.
The new emails were reportedly discovered during a separate investigation into former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) over an alleged online relationship with a 15-year-old girl. Weiner is the estranged husband of longtime Clinton aide Huma Abedin.
Pence said he believes Clinton was traveling with Abedin when the story broke.
“I mean, why didn’t she just turn to Huma and say, ‘Put these emails out’? Why wouldn’t she make those emails available to members of Congress?” he asked during the NBC interview.
Pence also called for the Democratic nominee to release the 33,000 emails “she did not turn over to the FBI and to the Congress initially.”
“I think the American people have a right to know,” Pence said.
“But the decision by the FBI here I think is encouraging to millions of Americans.”
The Indiana governor on Sunday declined to speculate about why Comey did not bring charges against Clinton in July, noting he has a “great deal of respect” for the FBI director.
“I’ve always found him to be a straight shooter, but that was just troubling to come out and conclude what would have been a violation of law for any other American,” Pence said, “and to say that she was simply extremely careless I think was troubling.”