Hillary Clinton was interviewed by authorities Saturday about the ongoing investigation into her email server, her campaign said.
“Secretary Clinton gave a voluntary interview this morning about her email arrangements while she was Secretary,” Clinton campaign spokesman Nick Merrill said in a statement.
{mosads}“She is pleased to have had the opportunity to assist the Department of Justice in bringing this review to a conclusion. Out of respect for the investigative process, she will not comment further on her interview.”
A campaign aide said the meeting took place at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., and lasted about three and a half hours.
The interview comes after Attorney General Loretta Lynch met privately with Clinton’s husband, former president Bill Clinton, for 30 minutes earlier this week aboard Lynch’s private plane. Critics pounced on that meeting, but Lynch insisted it was brief and focused on personal topics.
Nonetheless, she announced Friday that she would rely on the recommendations of FBI investigators and career prosecutors in determining whether to press charges over the private server.
Hillary Clinton’s widely expected interview does not signal whether or not the Justice Department will press charges. Many legal experts believe criminal charges against her are unlikely because of the high bar necessary to prove that the former secretary of State’s setup was designed to intentionally thwart federal security laws.
Multiple current and former aides to the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee have also reportedly been interviewed in recent months.
Bryan Pagliano, the IT official believed to have set up and maintained Clinton’s server in her New York home, has been granted limited immunity deals in exchange for his assistance in the investigation.
The Justice Department is hoping to complete the investigation and decide whether to press charges against Clinton before the Democratic and Republican national conventions later this month, according to ABC News.
— Updated at 1:27 p.m.