Well this is certainly an interesting development. Suffice to say, something just doesn’t sit right when it comes to Hillary Clinton’s consequence-free application of an unsecure email server — hence the GOP’s recent decision to dig deeper into why no charges were issued. It’s simply a question of putting together the pieces. And another clue may have just been revealed.

According to a report in The Hill, last year then-FBI Director James Comey, who claimed that charges against Clinton were unnecessary, initially felt otherwise. New evidence shows that in early May 2016, Comey drafted a memo in which he stated, “There is evidence to support a conclusion that Secretary Clinton, and others, used the email server in a manner that was grossly negligent with respect to the handling of classified information.”

Contrast this with what Comey ultimately declared two months later: “Although we did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of the classified information, there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.”

As The Hill explains, “The change [to extremely careless] is significant, since federal law states that gross negligence in handling the nation’s intelligence can be punished criminally with prison time or fines.” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) responded, “Apparently … Comey and other FBI officials believed the facts fit that gross negligence standard until later edits were made.”

According to The Hill, “The documents turned over to Congress do not indicate who recommended the key wording changes. … Memos show that at least three top FBI officials were involved in helping Comey fashion and edit the statement, including Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, General Counsel James Baker and chief of staff Jim Rybicki.”

The name McCabe should raise red flags. As we recently reported, McCabe was assistant FBI director under Obama. His wife, who last year ran for the state senate in Virginia, received a massive $675,000 campaign contribution from Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe — former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and prolific fundraiser for the Clintons. Both McCabe and McAuliffe are being investigated for the suspicious transaction. Moreover, according to Judicial Watch, “We uncovered Justice Department records showing that McCabe did not recuse himself from the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s unsecure, non-government email server until Tuesday, November 1, 2016, just one week prior to the presidential election!” Coincidence?

McCabe’s name coming up again could all be happenstance, but someone clearly edited Comey’s initial words and cleared Hillary’s name. Is McCabe that person? Heck, it could have been Comey himself who changed the term. Either way, it really probably goes even further up the chain. We’ve stated before that Comey was following Barack Obama’s cue in exonerating Clinton. But it was no doubt accomplished with the help of Comey’s close colleagues in addition to growing pressure. Don’t forget that Attorney General Loretta Lynch was also implicated when she met with Bill Clinton on a tarmac. Bottom line: Whatever concerns Comey had were tempered his superiors.

Finally, The Hill notes, “While Comey told Congress last year that he would never have prosecuted Clinton without proof she intended to violate a law, the editing of his statement suggests there might have been dissent within the FBI about that decision.” There certainly was not much dissent among underlings at the FBI and DOJ, where agents were highly frustrated over the outcome of the investigation. But there was always dissent in the Democrat Party leadership. What the new memos offer is more proof that it wasn’t just Clinton who was grossly negligent. As even Comey initially implied, she should be in jail. But someone higher up ensured that wouldn’t happen.