White House calls FBI probe into Clinton's classified emails a 'criminal investigation' – to glee of Republicans – on the same day Obama endorses her

• Within an hour of Barack Obama's endorsement of Hillary Clinton, his spokesman acknowledged that she faces a 'criminal investigation'
• The misstep sent Republicans cackling to reporters
• Clinton faces the possibility of prosecution for housing classified documents on a private email server
• She used the homebrew setup for all her emails – including sensitive government matters – when she was secretary of state
• White House press secretary Josh Earnest insisted that the endorsement wouldn't be interpreted inside the FBI as a signal to let her off the hook  

By DAVID MARTOSKO, US POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Barack Obama's spokesman described the FBI's probe into Hillary Clinton's classified email scandal as a 'criminal investigation' on Thursday, less than an hour after the president endorsed his embattled former secretary of state to succeed him.

Josh Earnest told reporters during a White House press briefing that Obama was committed to keeping his hands off the investigation, trusting career investigators and prosecutors to follow evidence wherever it leads.

'That's what their responsibility is,' Earnest said. 'And that's why the president, when discussing this issue in each stage, has reiterated his commitment to this principle that any criminal investigation should be conducted independent of any sort of political interference.'

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OOPS: White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Thursday that President Obama won't interfere with 'any criminal investigation' like the one Hillary Clinton faces over classified documents in her private emails

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HE SAID WHAT? Clinton has referred to the FBI probe as a routine 'security inquiry,' resisting the idea that she could face criminal charges as she makes her run for the White House 

A search Thursday through White House briefing transcripts for similar acknowledgements turned up none.

Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Short crowed to reporters that 'the White House’s admission that the FBI is investigating Hillary Clinton’s email server as a "criminal" matter shreds her dishonest claim that it is a routine "security inquiry".'

'This is another reminder of her reckless conduct as Obama’s secretary of state, where her attempt to skirt government transparency laws exposed highly classified information and put our national security at risk.'

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The reporter asked Earnest whether or not Obama had ever discussed the FBI investigation with Clinton, who is now the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee. 

'He has not,' the president's spokesman answered. 

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