Clinton Aide Cheryl Mills Got Partial Immunity in Email Investigation

Sept. 23, 2016, 1:28 PM EDT / Updated Sept. 23, 2016, 1:28 PM EDT

By Halimah Abdullah and Associated Press

The Justice Department has granted Cheryl Mills, a former chief of staff for Hillary Clinton, a limited immunity deal in the FBI's investigation into the use of the former secretary of state's private email server, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee said on Friday.

Chafffetz told the Associated Press that Mills allowed the FBI to access her laptop in the agency's now-closed investigation into Clinton's use of the private email server on the condition that findings couldn't be used against her. Two other staffers, John Bentel, then-director of the State Department's Office of Information Resources Management, and Clinton aide Heather Samuelson were also offered limited immunity deals.

The FBI previously granted immunity to Bryan Pagliano, a tech expert who set up Clinton's email server, and Paul Combetta, a computer specialist.

"This is beyond explanation. The FBI was handing out immunity agreements like candy. I've lost confidence in this investigation and I question the genuine effort in which it was carried out. Immunity deals should not be a requirement for cooperating with the FBI," House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said in a statement on Friday.

For roughly a year, the FBI examined whether Clinton sent or received classified information using the private server, which was not authorized for such messages. FBI Director James Comey said in July that his agents hadn't found evidence to support any criminal charge or direct evidence that Clinton's private server had been hacked.

Still, the political fallout has been ongoing.

Earlier this month, notes released by the FBI from their interview with Clinton about the matter revealed, among other things, that she at times didn't understand standards that government officials, especially those with top security clearances, must adhere to.

Re. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the House Oversight Committee's ranking Democrat, said "Republicans are trying to make political hay out of this." He stressed that Mills cooperated with the Justice Department.

Halimah Abdullah

Halimah Abdullah is a digital editor and writer for NBC News and is responsible for reporting, writing, editing and web producing federal policy news for NBCNews.com. Prior to joining the site in April 2015, Abdullah worked at CNN.com, where she reported, edited and web produced stories on federal politics and policy. In that role, Abdullah was responsible for helping cover Congress, the White House, federal agencies, and national political races.

A veteran politics and policy reporter and editor, Abdullah has worked for Bloomberg Government, McClatchy Newspapers' Washington Bureau, the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Newsday, and the Dallas Morning News. Her work has also appeared in the New York Times and TODAY.com, among other publications. Her journalism and creative writing have won awards, been published in several anthologies, and earned her invitations to attend several writing colonies. Abdullah is also a writing professor who has taught at the University of Maryland and the University of the District of Columbia and John Jay College and Brooklyn College in New York.

Abdullah lives in the Washington D.C. metro area.

Associated Press

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