Sen. Tim Kaine said he was “not surprised” by the FBI’s recommendation that Hillary Clinton should not face charges for using a homebrew email server during her tenure as secretary of state.
FBI Director James Comey announced Tuesday that the bureau would not recommend that the Department of Justice file charges against the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Kaine, widely rumored to be under consideration to join the ticket as Clinton’s running mate, said he has always taken the former secretary of state at her word that the email scandal would not amount to criminal activity.


“I’m not surprised. I have long believed that this was not going to be anymore than what Secretary Clinton said,” said Kaine (D-Va.), who was at a roundtable discussion on the Zika virus during Comey’s press conference and was told of the Clinton news by a reporter.

“I never believed this was going to be something in the criminal realm or even close to it. So again, I’m going to have to read what was said to comment further,” he continued. “But I have expected to get to this place where this is in the matter of lessons learned and what should future secretaries of state or officials do, but it’s not in the criminal realm.”

Kaine said he did not have any plans to campaign with Clinton in the coming weeks. He did not say whether or not he was currently being vetted as a possible vice presidential candidate, only that “the only role I’m playing is trying to help her win Virginia.”