Email servers 101: Why the FBI can quickly check if they have already seen these emails

[NoGoodNamesLeft]

There are two types of incoming mail servers...POP and IMAP. POP mail, by default, only goes to the first device that logs in to that account and does not go to all devices. If you delete an email from one device that is on a POP account it will only be deleted from that account. You can configure a POP mail account to keep a copy on the server but most people don't use POP mail anymore.

IMAP mail is the most common used type of incoming mail server. When you sign in to an IMAP account for the first time on a new device it will pull ALL of your old mail from the server to your device. If you delete an email on one device it will delete that email from the server AND all devices.

All the FBI investigators need to do is check to see if that email account is set up as IMAP and IF it is and they have already seen Huma's devices with that account then ALL of these emails are ones they have already seen.

So, regarding content...there is most likely nothing new. If they didn't find anything regarding Huma on other devices then there is almost certainly nothing on this one either.

[unblock]

1. comey has no interest in answering that question in the next 10 days.

[DURHAM D]

2. I think the NY FBI office already knows they are duplicates.

They have already done what you suggest.

Comey has an agenda.

[semby2]

3. Check

You've given a technical answer but not a legal one. They have to follow due diligence and actually check the emails. They can't just check some software setting.

Having said that, text searches can be done quickly nowadays.

But they have NO incentive to do this quickly. Why the fuck would they? Comey wants this hanging over the election, and if possible, over Clinton's inauguration.

[exboyfil]

6. Matching is the first step

Then just have a bunch of FBI agents compare the matched emails. Exclude as many as possible as duplicates irrespective of content. The content question has already been answered.

If I was the Clinton campaign I would question Comey's competence on getting this done. Also Lynch should ask why it isn't done. Efficiency of the FBI should be one of her responsibilities as AG.

The incentive will be to politicize it so long as the Clinton camp is sure that these are all duplicates.

[exboyfil]

4. You are the 2nd IT savvy person

to post these details. I think Lynch should call Comey and ask him why he isn't doing this? Also, if the Clinton campaign is sure that all the emails have already been released, they should do a full court press explaining how this should be done and asking why Comey is dragging his feet? Imply that it is politically motivated.

If Comey's refuses the suggestion from Lynch, then she should go public with that refusal.

[Princess Turandot]

8. I believe that they (in DC) need to separately subpoena the records for their investigation...

the subpoena for the Weiner case in NY only applies to that specific case.

[NoGoodNamesLeft]

15. The investigators should already know if these are relevant or not IF they know anything about IT

And frankly, if they don't know this information they have NO business investigating the issue in the first place.

Huma reported all those email addresses she used.


Apparently this is over the email address [e-mail]

Guess what...it's a goddamned IMAP email account. Check it yourself by entering the email addy in that search field.



https://www.apple.com/support/mail-settings-lookup/


The investigators HAD to know this is nothing. It may be Comey or it may be a Trump mule and informer on the investigation team.

[itsrobert]

5. I'm under the impression that Huma forwarded the emails to another personal account

to retrieve them on the shared laptop so she could print them from there. Apparently Hillary likes to read paper copies.

[Imperialism Inc.]

14. That's the most likely situation here.

That is the situation that fits all the previously known information the best.

[NoGoodNamesLeft]

16. If it's true that this is all over Huma's Yahoo.com account then I question the abilities of the FBI

Because yahoo.com mail is IMAP. If they've seen these emails on one device then these are identical copies because IMAP emails are stored on the server and when you log in on ANY device all of those same exact emails are pushed to that device. It works like iCloud contacts on an iPhone. If you delete or add a contact on your iPhone it will sync to your iPad, iPod, Mac and iCloud.com.

Are these FBI investigators complete idiots that they don't know this? Hire me for Christ Sakes. I'll have it sorted out and a summary written up in under an hour.

[citood]

7. It doesn't matter if they're duplicates

Up till now, it was 'no harm, no foul'....it was just government employees messaging each other in an unconventional way.

But those very same messages could be a problem if somebody outside of government (Anthony Weiner) had access to them.

Think of it as speeding...but nobody gets hurt...you get a ticket. That very same act could result in a much stiffer penalty if you run a gasoline truck off the road (Weiner access).

[NoGoodNamesLeft]

12. Many government agencies have shared computers

That is why people have their own logins. Huma had already informed the FBI that she sent emails needing to be printed to those accounts, including the one associated with her husband and that they were not classified or confidential emails. This issue is almost certainly a case of duplicate emails that they think they need to weed through and it's downright embarrassing and pathetic that they don't have the technical knowledge of how email servers work. I am a 50 year old grandmother and know this stuff.

[kstewart33]

9. Absolutely they can.

You bet. And geez Louise, there is software that can do this.

It is not rocket science.

[Mr. Ected]

10. This is not about Comey at this juncture

This is about the media. This is about the shirking of their responsibility to vet out news items, not simply report what has been told to them.

Comey knew that this would seize the news and handicap the Clinton campaign. At this time, that's all that matters.

Comey will get his come-uppance in the weeks and months to come. But he also triggered a cause and effect with the media that needs to be dealt with immediately. Clinton took a strong stance yesterday, which was terrific.

I hope a counterpunch is imminent.

[LisaL]

11. He doesn't even have the emails yet.

[NoGoodNamesLeft]

13. I would love to see the names of the people who advised him that these needs to be looked at

I'd bet money on there being a Trumpkin mole in there somewhere. Maybe a Russian spy in the FBI.