Rep. Devin Nunes asked James Comey “how many incidents” the FBI discovered where Hillary Clinton “mishandled hard copy classified documents while overseas.” | AP Photo Nunes accuses Clinton of leaving classified info in a China hotel, but offers no proof

In another new twist to Hillary Clinton’s email controversy, a top House committee says it has reason to believe the former secretary of state left classified documents in a hotel room in China, according to a Monday letter.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, in the letter sent to FBI Director James Comey, asked several questions about the previously unreported incident, raising questions about whether the Democratic nominee had a habit of leaving behind sensitive material on her foreign travel.


“I ... understand that former Secretary Clinton left classified documents in her hotel room in China and that U.S. Marine Corps security officials filed a report related to the possible compromise of the documents,” Nunes writes.

Nunes asked Comey “how many incidents” the FBI had discovered in which Clinton “mishandled hard copy classified documents while overseas.” He also inquired about the classification level of each incident.

A committee spokesperson would not elaborate on where those allegations stem from nor offer proof of the issues raised.

Clinton’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment. The State Department countered, however, that the document was not left in Clinton's hotel room, but in one of her staffers' during a May 2010 official trip.

"Upon Secretary Clinton’s departure, a routine security sweep by Diplomatic Security agents identified classified documents in a staff member’s suite. To be clear – this was not Secretary Clinton’s hotel room and no citation whatsoever was given to Secretary Clinton, nor were any reports written about Secretary Clinton’s conduct," said State Department spokesperson John Kirby in a statement for this story.

Kirby also said that, at the time of the security sweep, "The suite was still inside of a Diplomatic Security-controlled area, and under the direct control of a Diplomatic Security agent posted outside the room."

"The documents were immediately secured and a security violation investigation was initiated by Diplomatic Security," he continued.

While Diplomatic Security concluded that classified information had been improperly secured, "the evidence did not support assigning culpability to any individual," Kirby said. They investgiation also found that "the likelihood that the information was compromised was remote."

The publicly released FBI file on its investigation into Clinton’s private email server also depicted a similar incident happening in Russia. According to the documents, the Democratic nominee and her top aides allegedly left a classified briefing book in a hotel room in Russia.

While Comey has said Clinton and her staff were “extremely careless” with classified materials, the FBI did not recommend prosecution against anyone when it wrapped up its investigation this past summer.

The Nunes letter also followed Comey’s recent announcement that the FBI is reviewing newly discovered evidence in the probe into Clinton's private email arrangement. Comey said the agency appears to have come across relevant emails on a laptop used by ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), who is under investigation for allegedly sending sexually explict messages with an underage girl. Weiner’s estranged wife, Huma Abedin, is one of Clinton’s closest staffers.

Nunes’ letter asks how many emails the FBI discovered on Weiner’s devices; the exact date they learned about the messages; and whether FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe recused himself from the email investigation. (McCabe recused himself from an FBI investigation involving Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a longtime Clinton ally, because McAuliffe donated to his wife’s campaign for state Senate. It is unclear whether McCabe did the same on other Clinton-related probes.)