At the time Comey wrote the letter, \u201che had no idea what was in the content of the emails,\u201d one of the officials said, referring to recently discovered emails that were found on the laptop of disgraced ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner<\/a>, the estranged husband<\/a> of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin. Weiner is under investigation for allegedly sending illicit text messages to a 15-year-old girl.<\/p>\n As of Saturday night, the FBI had still not gotten approval from the Justice Department for a warrant that would allow agency officials to read any of the newly discovered Abedin emails, and therefore are still in the dark about whether they include any classified material that the bureau has not already seen.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do not have a warrant,\u201d a senior law enforcement official said. \u201cDiscussions are under way [between the FBI and the Justice Department] as to the best way to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n That Comey and other senior FBI officials were not aware of what was in the emails \u2014 and whether they contained any material the FBI had not already obtained \u2014 is important because Donald Trump\u2019s campaign and Republicans in Congress have suggested<\/a>\u00a0that the FBI director would not have written his letter unless he had been made aware of significant new emails that might justify reopening the investigation into the Clinton server.<\/p>\n But a message that Comey wrote to all FBI agents Friday seeking to explain his decision to write the controversial letter strongly hinted that investigators did not not yet have legal authority establishing \u201cprobable cause\u201d to review the content of Abedin\u2019s emails on Weiner\u2019s electronic devices.<\/p>\n In that message, Comey told agents that he had only been briefed on Thursday about the matter and that the \u201crecommendation\u201d of investigators was \u201cwith respect to seeking access to emails that have recently been found in an unrelated case.\u201d<\/p>\n Comey approved the recommendation to seek judicial access to the material that day, he wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause those emails appear to be pertinent to our investigation, I agreed that we should take appropriate steps to obtain and review them,\u201d he told agents.<\/p>\n <\/i><\/div>\n<\/div><\/p>\n