In an interview with Fox News Sunday, President Obama waded into a controversial issue: the FBI investigation into Hilary Clinton’s use of a personal email server while serving as secretary of State. Obama has made statements on the her email practices before, but he came out forcefully Sunday by saying Clinton would “never intentionally put America in any kind of jeopardy.”

The president’s rhetoric has been tempered since last fall, when he said that Clinton’s use of an unsecured personal email server didn’t represent a threat to national security. Now, the implication in Obama’s choice of words (“never intentionally”) is clear. But the questions that the FBI needs to answer don’t involve Clinton’s intentions. They concern whether the material she stored on the server, which was vulnerable to attack, could be considered “secret” at the time. 

The president also “guaranteed” that there was “no political influence in any investigation conducted by the Justice Department or the FBI,” showing his awareness of what some cynics think of the investigation into the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination.

With the sheer number of emails that investigators must read, it’s understandable that making a decision on whether Clinton is responsible for any criminal wrongdoing could take awhile. Still, as the nomination race drags on, the notion that Clinton could be indicted hangs over many voters’ minds, especially given the secrecy that shrouds the investigation itself.

Last month, the Washington Post reported that as many as 147 FBI agents were investigating Clinton’s use of a private email server. However, the FBI subsequently claimed fewer than 50 agents were involved. And until February of this year, the agency didn’t even confirm that it was investigating Clinton. 

However, according to the Post, the FBI is attempting to finish its investigation quickly, lest it must take action one way or another close to the election. Clinton may brush off questions about her emails in debates and interviews, but for many Americans, the issue is no laughing matter. A March 2015 Rasmussen Reports poll found that 49 percent of Americans believed “Clinton’s use of a private, non-government email provider for issues at the highest levels of the U.S. government raises serious national-security concerns.” 

Concrete news on the FBI’s investigation has come rarely, and so it’s understandable that the issue hasn’t played a big role in the Democratic Nomination process as of yet. But Clinton’s opponent for the nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders, has recently doubled down on his criticism of Clinton’s “judgment” (or lack thereof). Will Sanders change his tune of being “sick and tired of hearing about [Clinton’s] damn emails” if the FBI announces the results of its investigation? 

Regardless whether one believes Clinton did any criminal wrongdoing or was negligent in her use of a private email server for classified material, it’s hard to deny that the issue matters in the context of sophisticated cyber attacks and foreign governments that all but sanction hacks into American servers. And when even Obama said Clinton was “careless” in managing her emails, more Americans may come to question the presidential hopeful’s judgment as the investigation unfolds in the months to come.