On Friday evening, Clinton held a news conference in which she addressed the investigation and fielded questions from reporters. She said she is confident any new discoveries will not alter the conclusion the FBI reached in July, when director James Comey called her handling of classified information "extremely careless" but recommended no criminal charges.
Addressing her October surprise on day one was wise, but Clinton's first response (or nonresponse) only reinforced the perception that she has what David Axelrod calls “an unhealthy penchant for privacy.” And her initial avoidance of the media recalled the long period in the campaign when Clinton refused to hold news conferences and seldom took questions from her traveling press corps.
Donald Trump has consistently overshadowed Clinton's negative headlines lately, pulling the spotlight off rising Affordable Care Act premiums and WikiLeaks revelations with conspiratorial warnings about election-rigging and groping allegations made against him. But there is almost nothing Trump could do to distract from a story as significant as the FBI's investigation of a major-party nominee this close to Election Day.
That means Clinton's opponent won't bail her out of this one. The media is going to have many, many questions — beyond the handful Clinton answered on Friday evening.