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Hillary Clinton has avoided prosecution for her use of a private email server while at the State Department. But the FBI investigation into the server and Mrs. Clinton鈥檚 handling of classified information may still leave a permanent mark on her public reputation.聽

That鈥檚 because FBI evidence disproves some of the key statements Clinton has made in her own defense. Most important, the agency found that 110 of Clinton鈥檚 emails were marked as 鈥渃lassified鈥� when they were sent or received. Clinton has long said that she never knowingly handled secrets on her private system.

FBI Director James Comey said Tuesday that his agency would not recommend criminal charges against the former secretary of State. In part, that鈥檚 because they did not find 鈥渨illful mishandling鈥� of large amounts of classified material. However, he spent much of the rest of his surprise morning news conference describing the Clinton team鈥檚 鈥渆xtremely careless鈥� attitude towards email security.

The bottom line: Once again, a Clinton is enmeshed in a situation where the phrase 鈥渢hey should have known better鈥� seems an appropriate description. The email controversy will now join a list of incidents that stretches from Whitewater to Travelgate to Monica Lewinsky, Paula Jones, and big bucks Wall Street speeches.

鈥淔BI director took Clinton to woodshed in extraordinary way: Imagine tension of first Oval Office meeting if she were elected,鈥� AP investigative team editor Ted Bridis in response to Director Comey鈥檚 appearance.聽

Comey did say there was no clear evidence that Clinton or her aides intended to violate the law with the private server set-up. Nor was there evidence that she willfully blocked or hampered the FBI鈥檚 probe into the matter, the FBI director said.

But Comey鈥檚 description of the practical implications of the private system was scathing. He said that any 鈥渞easonable person鈥� should have known 鈥渢hat an unclassified system was no place鈥� for the sort of communications in which Clinton engaged.

Yet Clinton used multiple private servers, and multiple email devices during her time as secretary of State. Clinton herself long said that a desire to only carry one device was a motivation for establishing her own server.

Security for the system was far from ironclad. While the FBI found no hard evidence that hackers or foreign intelligence agencies penetrated Clinton鈥檚 server or servers, they concluded that the email addresses of some of the people Clinton exchanged messages with had been compromised. Clinton also used her private servers while overseas 鈥� including trips to nations that are sophisticated adversaries.

鈥淕iven that combination of factors, we assess it is possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clinton鈥檚 personal email account,鈥� said Comey.

If the FBI had recommended Clinton鈥檚 indictment, the political uproar would have been immediate and intense. That may have played into the agency鈥檚 decisionmaking process.

While Clinton鈥檚 conduct may have raised questions, most legal precedents involved cases with an aggravating factor, such as lying to agents or releasing vast quantities of classified material. Absent that, a successful prosecution for mishandling classified information might be difficult to pull off. And in Clinton鈥檚 case, the FBI and Justice Department would have to be sure their case was overwhelming.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 indict a POTUS candidate unless you are 150 percent sure you can win. Period.鈥� RealClearPolitics senior elections analyst Sean Trende in response to the decision.

Still, many Republicans are angry the FBI didn鈥檛 recommend further legal pursuit of Clinton. They note that Comey said Clinton might well be sanctioned or otherwise punished for the use of the server if she were a mid-level bureaucrat instead of a presidential hopeful.聽

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think she was disloyal to the United States. I just think she was more loyal to herself 鈥� and she got away with it,鈥� Jonah Goldberg of the right-leaning National Review.

But the email controversy could still weigh Clinton down. While Democrats may portray the FBI鈥檚 decision as exoneration, the GOP can use many of the details unearthed by the investigation as ammunition for further anti-Clinton attacks. The legal system is just one court in which the former secretary of State could have been judged on the matter. The courts of politics and history have yet to render their verdicts.