President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton wave upon arriving at a campaign event at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, July 5, 2016. Obama is spending the afternoon campaigning for Clinton. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

WASHINGTON - Hillary Clinton probably won't be arrested while running for president — that's the good news she's just received after a year-long investigation by the FBI into her unusual email habits.

The bad news is that the blast radius from the missile she dodged has left far-reaching political damage with polls showing her popularity impaired, her credibility on life support, and her claim to competence undermined.

The FBI announced Tuesday that it won't recommend charges in a 16-minute heart-stopper of a statement from director James Comey whose every word held the potential to reshape the 2016 U.S. election.

It sounded for a moment like he might recommend charges. In similar cases, he said, charges might sometimes be laid. But he said past convictions for mishandling classified information involved various factors — like doing so wilfully, or out of a desire to harm the country.

"We do not see those things here," Comey said.

"Our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case . . . In looking back at our investigations into the mishandling or removal of classified information, we cannot find a case that would support bringing criminal charges on these facts."

This likely concludes her legal saga; the political one is barely underway.

Comey inflicted additional political damage while delivering his statement.

He labelled Clinton reckless with classified information. He said foreign hackers might have her emails. He said they were sloppily safeguarded — even a Gmail account would have had a full-time security staffer, which her homemade server didn't have.

And he smashed the story line Clinton has been offering the public.

He contradicted her on multiple points:

— Clinton said she never sent or received classified messages through personal email. Comey said 110 were classified — with eight of them top secret.

—She said she set up the unusual system for the convenience of receiving all her messages on the same personal device. Comey said she used different devices, and different servers.

—She said she had turned over all her work emails for record-keeping. Comey said investigators were able to find a number she never submitted, though they concluded the omissions were accidental and not a coverup.

This unflattering recitation of the facts cast a shadow over what was to be a sunny day on the Clinton campaign. Hours later, she appeared with Barack Obama at the president's first rally of the 2016 campaign.

At a boisterous rally, Obama recited how he went from being her primary rival to an admiring colleague and friend: "There has never been any man or woman more qualified for this office than Hillary Clinton. Ever. And that's the truth."

The fact that she's now leaning on Obama illustrates the damage done over the past year.

Before the email scandal, Clinton was far more popular than the incumbent. Her favourable rating in early March of last year was high — nine per cent more people viewed her favourably than unfavourably, according to polls compiled by Real Clear Politics.

By the time she announced her presidential bid, a few weeks after the scandal broke, her popularity was in negative territory. A Gallup poll says only 32 per cent of Americans now deem her trustworthy.

Her favourable rating is now minus-16 per cent.

The silver lining for Clinton? Her likely general-election opponent is the most unpopular presidential candidate in the history of modern polling. Donald Trump is 12 percentage points less popular than her — his favourability rating is minus-28 per cent.

She leads the likely Republican nominee in virtually every national poll.

Trump reacted by pivoting to his preferred election message that she's part of a corrupt establishment and, in this season of voter restlessness, he's the establishment-smashing outsider.

"Folks — the system is rigged," Trump said in a statement.

"The final jury will be the American people, and they will issue the verdict on her corruption, incompetence, and bad judgment on Nov. 8th."

The Obama administration announced last week that it would follow the advice of the FBI and justice officials in deciding whether to prosecute her — Comey's announcement Tuesday renders the possibility of that outcome virtually nil.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2016