White House: Obama won't discuss e-mails while campaigning for Clinton

WASHINGTON — President Obama will campaign enthusiastically for former secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a campaign rally Tuesday — but isn't expected to address the just-completed FBI investigation into her e-mails, the White House said.

"I think you will find him making a very forceful case about why she should succeed him in the Oval Office," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One, which was carrying Obama and his chosen heir apparent to their first joint campaign rally in Charlotte Tuesday.

It's the first time the two former rivals have traveled together since their joint trip to Myanmar, when Clinton was secretary of State. And it comes just hours after FBI Director James Comey announced he would not recommend seeking criminal charges against Clinton for mishandling e-mails, despite evidence that she and other top State Department officials were "extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information."

Earnest said the White House wasn't even aware in advance that Comey would make an announcement about the case. "That's certainly consistent with the efforts we have made to protect the integrity of the investigation," he said.

But he would not comment further on the new revelations from the investigation, which found the scope of classified information potentially exposed was far larger than originally thought. "While the FBI has completed their investigation, the career prosecutors at the DOJ still have to make their determination about how or whether to proceed," he said.

Obama and Clinton chose to fly together in order to give them the opportunity to spend time together before the event. Earnest said. He said they would not discuss the FBI investigation while aboard Air Force One. "The president believes deeply in the principle of keeping independent the Department of Justice investigation apart from politics. That's a principle that the president believes is not just worth upholding, but worth fighting for," Earnest said.

Under Federal Election Commission rules, the Democratic National Committee reimburses taxpayers for the cost of political trips aboard Air Force One.