Greg Toppo

USATODAY

The U.S. State Department is reopening an internal investigation of possible mishandling of classified information by Hillary Clinton and top aides.

“Given the Department of Justice has now made its announcement, the State Department intends to conduct its internal review," department spokesman John Kirby told USA TODAY.

Kirby said he couldn't provide specific information about the Department’s review, "including what information we are evaluating. We will aim to be as expeditious as possible, but we will not put artificial deadlines on the process," he said. "Our goal will be to be as transparent as possible about our results, while complying with our various legal obligations."

The probe, begun in January, was suspended in April so as not to interfere with the FBI's inquiry.

Comey faces grilling by House panel over Clinton emails

Kirby told the Associated Press that former officials can still face “administrative sanctions.” The most serious is loss of security clearances, which could complicate Clinton’s naming of a national security team if she becomes president.

Beyond Clinton, the probe is most likely examining confidants Cheryl Mills, Jake Sullivan and Huma Abedin, AP reported. Abedin wrote many of the emails that the various investigations have focused on, AP noted. Mills, Clinton's chief of staff at the State Department, has been viewed as a possibility for the same job in the White House. There is speculation that Sullivan, Clinton's former policy chief, could be national security adviser.

Clinton was secretary of State until early 2013. Most of her top advisers left shortly thereafter.

FBI Director James Comey on Thursday, appearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, defended his decision not to recommend criminal charges against Clinton for her use of private email servers while secretary of State.

During more than four hours of questioning, Comey said the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee did not lie to FBI agents and did not break the law — and that the decision not to proceed with criminal charges was the unanimous assessment of a group of investigators and analysts whom the director described as an “all-star team’’ assembled by the Justice Department.

“There is no way anybody would bring a case against John Doe or Hillary Clinton for the second time in 100 years based on those facts,’’ Comey told lawmakers, referring to a review of past prosecutions.

Comey's appearance before the committee came two days after he announced his recommendation regarding Clinton and her aides, while also saying there was evidence there were "extremely careless" in their handling of classified information. Attorney General Loretta Lynch formally closed the inquiry Wednesday.

Contributing: Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY