WASHINGTON // Hillary Clinton has blamed FBI director James Comey for her loss in the US presidential race, claiming that re-opening the investigation into her email use broke the momentum towards victory.
Mrs Clinton told fundraisers and donors on Saturday that Mr Comey’s two letters to congress on the investigation had tilted crucial states towards Republican Donald Trump.
“There are lots of reasons why an election like this is not successful,” Democrat Mrs Clinton told her national finance committee.
“But our analysis is that Jim Comey’s letter raising doubts that were groundless [and] baseless – and proven to be – stopped our momentum.”
On October 28 – less than two weeks before election day – Mr Comey told congress the FBI was looking once more into Mrs Clinton’s controversial email practices as secretary of state after more messages were uncovered.
His second letter, on November 6, two days before the election, stated that the FBI’s review of the new emails had uncovered no wrongdoing, and that the bureau had not changed its July recommendation not to charge Mrs Clinton.
While the first letter reopened wounds and reminded voters of the controversy, the second letter, according to Mrs Clinton, had the perverse effect of energising rival Mr Trump’s base.
The letters came as Mrs Clinton was building momentum following strong performances at all three presidential debates, and after the release of a damaging recording of Mr Trump boasting about groping women.
“After the third debate we felt so good about where we were,” Mrs Clinton said. The campaign analysis “showed that we were up in all but two of the battleground states, where we were tied or one point behind. In Arizona we were even. We felt real wind at our back”.
But she said the FBI’s last-minute role was too much to “overcome”..
In July, Mr Comey said that the FBI would not recommend criminal charges against Mrs Clinton for handling classified documents and sensitive information on a private email account.
Mr Comey, however, criticised the practice as “extremely careless”.
The FBI chief was criticised for effectively reopening the Clinton investigation so close to the November 8 vote, without knowing whether the new emails were relevant.
* Agence France-Presse
'Morbius'
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Rating: 2/5
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
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'Outclassed in Kuwait'
Taleb Alrefai,
HBKU Press
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
In The Heights
Directed by: Jon M. Chu
Stars: Anthony Ramos, Lin-Manual Miranda
Rating: ****
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Duterte Harry: Fire and Fury in the Philippines
Jonathan Miller, Scribe Publications
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
