Pakistan may also feature in FBI probe

Clinton’s emails

WASHINGTON: As a part of its explosive probe into hundreds of thousands of official emails linked to US Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) may also create a software to search the terms like “Pakistan” to ascertain whether any classified information was shared through those emails.

Although Mrs Clinton still has slight edge over Donald Trump in early-voter turnout in several vital swing states, experts here believe the email scandal could potentially become a decisive factor in US election due on November 8.

Republican Candidate Donald Trump has declared the email scandal bigger than the “Watergate Scandal” which had forced the former US President Richard Nixon to resign. 

According to law enforcement officials with technical expertise, FBI can easily devise a software to analyze such emails searching for terms like “secret” or “top-secret” or any mention of places with classified operations, such as Pakistan.

Top US daily the Washington Post quoted officials and experts on how huge bulk of emails found on a computer of a disgraced former congressman could be sorted out for relevance.

Just when almost all major polls were predicting a victory of Mrs Clinton, FB disclosure that it is probing fresh emails linked to Democratic candidate has left the US election race wide open again. 

A fresh Washington Post-ABC News tracking poll has confirmed that the race is tightening with only two percentage point difference between the two candidates. In presidential debates, Trump had constantly accused Mrs Clinton of deleting thousands of her emails as Secretary of State after using personal email for official communication.

A previous FBI inquiry into the issue had cleared Mrs Clinton in July. That investigation centered on whether Mrs Clinton or her aides had mishandled classified information. However this Friday FBI said it has discovered fresh emails linked with the former secretary of state during a probe against ex-congressman who is former husband of a Clinton’s aide. 

Timing of FBI announcement has left Clinton campaign nervous and angry as it could seriously damage the chances of her victory. A past poll by the same organization found 62 percent the public overall disapproving of Clinton’s handling of questions about email.

Clinton had demanded FBI to immediately explain what it know on the issue and FBI chief James B Comey is facing immense criticism from Democratic supporters for the timing of disclosure about probe.

According to former FBI officials, the probe could drag on after the election. Experts believe even the software would not help in acceleration of the process of drawing conclusion about whether any of emails include classified information.

Clinton’s supporters are concerned that such lengthy process could cause major political damage to Democratic nominee. However, in rare good news for Clinton after a tough week, it appeared on Monday that she has maintained a little edge over her rival in early voter’s turnout in swing states. Over 21 million people have already voted so far across the United States.

In key battle states like Florida, Colorado and Nevada one fourth of voters has already cast ballots.  According to the New York Times, turnout tallies and interviews with dozens of early voters suggest that Democrats are still leading in polls. 

The early votes will not be counted until Election Day but registered Democrats are outperforming Republicans in these areas there and in North Carolina.  A key question is to what extent the email issue could upend an election that is already over for millions of voters.

While the early-voting numbers appear strong for Mrs Clinton, there were signs of weakness over the weekend, especially among African-Americans in North Carolina, where the turnout as of Saturday night showed that they had not voted at their 2012 levels so far. Among both supporters and critics of Mrs Clinton, early returns suggest the latest uproar has changed few minds, despite seeming to break through the campaign din.