The FBI director commented on his agency’s investigation of Clinton before the election, but now he won’t do so about Trump.
WASHINGTON ― FBI Director James Comey refused to tell senators on Tuesday whether his agency is looking into reported contact between Donald Trump’s campaign and the Russian government, saying he could not comment on such an inquiry.
“I would never comment on investigations, whether we have one or not, in an open forum like this,” Comey told Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.
The problem for Comey, however, is that he has commented on open investigations. He did so just days before the 2016 election, when he told Congress that the FBI was looking into emails found on a computer belonging to former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) that might or might not be pertinent to the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server and handling of classified information while she ran the State Department.
The announcement caused a firestorm and cast an ethical cloud over Clinton that never fully evaporated, even when the FBI cleared her ― again ― a few days later. It was an unprecedented step into the political process by the FBI that generated intense criticism from both sides.
And Comey’s decisions before the election have now put him in a bind as he tries to avoid commenting on other political cases.
“Jim Comey’s answer to Senator Wyden on Tuesday was actually the right answer,” former Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said. “That answer has been given countless times over the years by scores of federal law enforcement officials sitting in the same witness chair as Comey. The problem is, Comey has no credibility to fall back on protocol anymore because he so egregiously deviated from it in his handling of Hillary Clinton’s email investigation.”
That point wasn’t lost on senators Tuesday.
More: Comey Just Exposed His Own Hypocrisy On Clinton’s Emails
Republican Comey is a proven hypocrite and political hack. He should be prosecuted for his malfeasance in office against Hillary Clinton.
WASHINGTON ― FBI Director James Comey refused to tell senators on Tuesday whether his agency is looking into reported contact between Donald Trump’s campaign and the Russian government, saying he could not comment on such an inquiry.
“I would never comment on investigations, whether we have one or not, in an open forum like this,” Comey told Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.
The problem for Comey, however, is that he has commented on open investigations. He did so just days before the 2016 election, when he told Congress that the FBI was looking into emails found on a computer belonging to former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) that might or might not be pertinent to the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server and handling of classified information while she ran the State Department.
The announcement caused a firestorm and cast an ethical cloud over Clinton that never fully evaporated, even when the FBI cleared her ― again ― a few days later. It was an unprecedented step into the political process by the FBI that generated intense criticism from both sides.
And Comey’s decisions before the election have now put him in a bind as he tries to avoid commenting on other political cases.
“Jim Comey’s answer to Senator Wyden on Tuesday was actually the right answer,” former Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said. “That answer has been given countless times over the years by scores of federal law enforcement officials sitting in the same witness chair as Comey. The problem is, Comey has no credibility to fall back on protocol anymore because he so egregiously deviated from it in his handling of Hillary Clinton’s email investigation.”
That point wasn’t lost on senators Tuesday.
More: Comey Just Exposed His Own Hypocrisy On Clinton’s Emails
Republican Comey is a proven hypocrite and political hack. He should be prosecuted for his malfeasance in office against Hillary Clinton.
'Comey!'
