Comey's Cryptic Letter On Hillary's Emails Is Totally Inappropriate
I guess we had to figure that there would be one more incredible twist left in this year’s crazy presidential campaign and today we got it. FBI Director James Comey sent a letter to the chairmen of certain Congressional committees stating that he was re-opening the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails. The letter states, “In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation. I am writing to inform you that the investigative team briefed me on this yesterday, and I agreed that the FBI should take appropriate investigative steps designed to allow investigators to review these emails to determine whether they contain classified information, as well as to assess their importance to our investigation. Although the FBI cannot yet assess whether this material may be significant, and I cannot predict how long it will take us to complete this additional work, I believe it is important to update your Committees about our efforts in light of my previous testimony.”
I understand that Comey feels he is in an impossible position at this point. If he says nothing and these new emails turn out to be incriminating, then the Republicans will be all over him for not announcing the probe before the election. On the other hand, releasing a cryptic comment like this without any details and with no timetable for resolution will make Democrats ballistic and accuse of him trying to sway the election, especially if nothing comes from this new investigation.
But, unless the FBI has some pretty clear-cut proof that they can share with the public, then he really should not be saying a thing. The FBI cleared Hillary and ended their investigation this summer. It is perfectly within their right to re-open this investigation. But to make it public without providing any kind of substance to their rationale for doing so is totally inappropriate, especially when they admit they are unsure of whether the new emails are material and when their investigation might end. All this does is provide fodder for the Trump campaign while at the same time giving the Clinton camp absolutely nothing to refute or rebut in any way.
This is not the first time that Comey has made inappropriate remarks as head of the FBI. Back in July, he had a press conference where he commented on the ongoing e-mail investigation. As Matthew Miller, a former Department of Justice spokesperson, pointed out at the time, those comments clearly violated Department of Justice rules on commenting on ongoing investigations. Miller also notes on his twitter feed today that the FBI is refusing to disclose if it is even investigating the reported Russian hacking of Democratic officials, so why is it commenting on its investigation of Hillary’s emails.
The lack of political sensitivity to this kind of cryptic disclosure is shocking and certainly makes you question Comey’s motivations.
He is not in an impossible position. In view of the fact that he doesn't know yet whether the emails are relevant or significant, he is speaking prematurely: he should properly wait until he knows that in fact they are relevant and significant. Or that they aren't.And they aren't: they have nothing whatsoever to do with Clinton or her email server — we know that much immediately; there are no emails to or from Clinton. The emails in question are part of a separate investigation into Anthony Weiner's “sexting” of an underage female. And it is being reported that Comey was ordered by his boss, the AG, not to violate longstanding protocols, but he refused to obey. The legitimate job of the FBI is investigation — period. Then the results of the investigation are turned over to the DOJ to determine whether there are crimes revealed.Comey is wholly out of line — for the second time — and his resignation should be demanded, but only after sufficient public explanation of the rules he violated.
Comey did not reopen the investigation (which in a sense are never actually closed). Rather, he made mention of it in the context of a separate, unrelated investigation, insinuating that the two are actually related.
I do not disagree with anything in both your comments. My wording was incorrect but based on what was being reported at the time. Without question, he should never be commenting on an ongoing investigation and should not have notified Congress of anything until he was absolutely sure there actually was new information. And considering he was told by higher-ups in the DOJ that he would be violating policy with his letter but then still went ahead, he probably does need to resign.I appreciate your comments and hope you will stop by my blog in the future.