Spotlight: Fox News walks back report of Clinton indictment, but rumors still circulate

Conservative-leaning Fox News Network has walked back claims that an indictment of U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is likely, but it remains unknown whether that will stop the rumors from circulating.

Fox News put out a report Wednesday claiming an indictment of the Democratic nominee was "likely," after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced it would re-open an investigation into alleged wrongdoing on the part of Clinton.

The news spread like wildfire and was re-printed by a number of highly-respected news publications, including Real Clear Politics - famous for its average of polls - and The Hill, as well as countless conservative websites and blogs.

But later, Fox appeared to walk back the comments, with the host, Bret Baier, saying he had spoken "inartfully." A number of other U.S. media outlets refuted Fox' s claims, with news outlets including NBC News, ABC News and CNN saying that their sources have told them otherwise.

On Thursday evening, Clinton's campaign called on the FBI to release a statement to put an end to what it called baseless news reports by Fox News.

But many search engine searches still show the initial Fox reports at the top of the page of search results, depending on the keywords used.

Moreover, conservative talk radio has latched onto the topic, and it remains unknown whether the rumors will continue to spread.

Such rumors are expected to cause further damage to Clinton campaign so close the the Election Day, as experts said they would dampen the enthusiasm among her supporters.

Clinton has been plagued by several scandals investigated by the FBI, including her use of a private email account instead of a secure government account while she was secretary of state, and the "pay for play" charges against the Clinton Foundation, a charity founded by Hillary Clinton's husband and former President Bill Clinton.

INDICTMENT WOULD BE DEVASTATING, BUT UNLIKELY

U.S. experts said an indictment would be devastating for Clinton- especially if she clinches the White House, but emphasizing that such indictment is unlikely.

"It would be devastating for a sitting president to be indicted. That would be very disruptive to the political system and the ability of that leader to function in the future," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua.

Still, West added that an indictment is unlikely. "However, I don' t think there is much risk of this happening," he said.

Indeed, the ultimate decision maker on an indictment would be the Attorney General, who is appointed by the president.

"It is unlikely that an Attorney General appointed by President Clinton is going to allow an indictment to go forward," West said.

Dan Mahaffee, an analyst with the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, told Xinhua that if Clinton win the Nov. 8 election, any future indictment would create a shadow over her first 100 days and arguably delegitimize her presidency in the eyes of many Republicans.

That would further the partisan deadlock in Washington and exacerbate the negative tenor of politics, Mahaffee said. Endit