The FBI is referring a probe into Hillary Clinton's use of her private email to prosecutors - but is not recommending charges.
The decision not to recommend criminal charges relating to use of her private email lifts a major legal threat to her presidential campaign.
FBI director James Comey said the investigation had found "extremely careless" behaviour by Mrs Clinton and her staff.
It is even possible that hostile forces may have gained access to Mrs Clinton's personal email account, the FBI director said.
But, outlining the agency's findings, Mr Comey concluded that "no charges are appropriate".
The announcement came three days after the FBI interviewed Mrs Clinton about the possible mishandling of classified information.
Attorney General Loretta Lynch said last week that she would accept the recommendations of the FBI director and of career prosecutors.
This means that Mr Comey's decision almost certainly brings the legal part of the issue to a close and removes the threat of criminal charges.
However, it's unlikely to wipe away many voters' concerns about Mrs Clinton's trustworthiness.
And it probably will not stop Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from continuing to make the private email server a campaign issue.
Mr Trump has called for criminal charges to be brought.
Mrs Clnton's personal email server, which she relied on exclusively for government and personal business, has dogged her campaign.
She has repeatedly said that no email she sent or received was marked classified.
But the Justice Department began investigating last summer following a referral from the the intelligence community.
The scrutiny was compounded by a blistering audit in May from the State Department's internal watchdog.
It said that Mrs Clinton and her team ignored clear warnings from department officials that her email setup violated federal standards.
It said the email set-up could leave sensitive material vulnerable to hackers.
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