Hillary Clinton’s FBI interview may show that email investigation is nearing end

Hillary Clinton’s interview with the FBI may signal that the Justice Department is nearing the end of its yearlong probe of her use of a private email server while secretary of state, a controversy that has hung over her White House bid.

“I’ve been eager to do it, and I was pleased to have the opportunity to assist the department in bringing its review to a conclusion,” Clinton said in describing the FBI session to NBC’s Meet the Press for an interview that aired Sunday. She agreed that the tone of meeting with investigators had been civil and business-like.

Clinton said she had no knowledge of any timeline for the review and would not comment on whether she was given an indication that charges would not be filed.

The presumptive presidential nominee for the Democratic Party gave a voluntary interview for three and a half hours Saturday at FBI headquarters in Washington, her campaign announced. Spokespeople for the FBI and the Justice Department declined to comment.

The interview, which had been expected to take place before the Democratic National Convention on July 25, did not suggest that Clinton or anyone else is likely to face prosecution. If the former senator and secretary of state and her aides are exonerated, it might help brush aside a major distraction that has made many voters question her trustworthiness.

Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee, has repeatedly said the email issue undermines Clinton’s fitness for office and suggested she will receive leniency from a Democratic administration. Following reports of Clinton’s FBI interview, Trump tweeted: “It is impossible for the FBI not to recommend criminal charges against Hillary Clinton. What she did was wrong!”