When FBI Director James Comey told Congress that the FBI intends to review newly discovered emails in the investigation of Hillary Clinton, some observers speculated that the evidence could lead to federal charges against Clinton. According to former prosecutors and legal experts across the political spectrum, however, that is unlikely.
While experts caution that it is hard to weigh the impact of largely unknown evidence, they say both the history of the FBI inquiry and the nature of the new emails make it unlikely that federal authorities would reverse course to charge Clinton.

Old Email, New Email

"Given the fact that they reviewed 30,000 emails, most of which were from Hillary Clinton, it's hard to imagine there could be new emails that are from Hillary Clinton that could result in the prosecution of her," said Paul Butler, a former Justice Department attorney who has prosecuted politicians and federal officials for corruption.