FBI Director James Comey (AP Photo)

(CNSNews.com) - FBI Director James Comey announced Tuesday that the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server during her tenure at the State Department has found that “it is possible that hostile actors gained access” to her personal email account.



“We assess it is possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clinton’s personal email account,” Comey said.





Comey said while they did not find “direct evidence” that her personal email domain was “hacked successfully,” it’s unlikely they would see direct evidence of it.



“With respect to potential computer intrusion by hostile actors, we did not find direct evidence that Secretary Clinton’s personal email domain in its various configurations since 2009 was hacked successfully, but given the nature of the system and of the actors potentially involved, we assess we will be unlikely to see such direct evidence,” Comey said.



“We do assess that hostile actors gained access to the private commercial email accounts of people with whom Secretary Clinton was in regular contact from her personal account,” said Comey.



“We also assess that Secretary Clinton’s use of a personal email domain was both known by a large number of people and readily apparent,” he added.



“She also used her personal email extensively while outside the United States, including sending and receiving work-related emails in the territory of sophisticated adversaries,” he said.



“Given that combination of factors, we assess it is possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clinton’s personal email account,” Comey concluded.