The scathing audit of Hillary Clinton’s use of a basement email server while secretary of state gives cover to the FBI chief as he weighs whether to push for an indictment against the Democratic presidential front-runner.

The 82-page report leaked yesterday — which found Clinton’s hard drive at her New York home broke federal standards and left sensitive material vulnerable to hackers — makes FBI Director James Comey’s recommendation to Attorney ?General Loretta Lynch that much easier, said GOP consultant Brad Marston.

“It gives Comey additional cover,” Marston said, “and makes it easier for the FBI to recommend to the Justice ?Department to pursue an ?indictment.”

Republican strategist Ford O’Connell said the report helps the FBI’s decision by establishing whether Clinton’s server was attacked by hackers and whether the former secretary of state did keep all her emails on the server.

“If you’re a neutral arbiter like James Comey, you have to say, ‘Hats off. There’s actual proof,’ ” O’Connell said. “It gives him cover if he wants to pursue charges through the Department of Justice.”

The audit by the inspector general of the State Department said the private server was hacked in January 2011 and had to be shut off.

The next day, Clinton’s top aide, Huma Abedin, warned other staffers not to email Clinton “anything sensitive,” adding she would have to “explain more in person,” according to the report.

Clinton, who admitted the private email setup was a mistake, has maintained that the server was never breached. Clinton and her staff declined to be interviewed for the audit.

Earlier in 2010, Abedin urged Clinton to use a department email for sending her email to staff members, and Clinton responded: “Let’s get a separate address or device but I don’t want any risk of the personal being accessible,” the report said.

The audit confirmed the former secretary’s use of a private email server was never approved by officials and never checked that it met cybersecurity standards. It reported that former Secretary of State Colin Powell also used a private ?email system.

The inspector general’s audit found no evidence of a legal review or approval.

Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said the audit confirmed “just how consistent her email practices were with those of other secretaries and senior officials.”