Comey pressed by Republicans on decision not to charge Clinton

By Chris Strohm

Bloomberg

FBI Director James Comey defended his recommendation against pursuing criminal charges for Hillary Clinton over her use of private email while secretary of state, testifying before Congress as he faced an onslaught of criticism from Republicans.

“The appropriate resolution of this case was not to bring a criminal prosecution,” Comey told the House Oversight Committee Thursday at a hastily called hearing in Washington. “I know the Department Justice and I know no reasonable prosecutor would bring this case.”

Comey’s appearance marked the latest turn in a political dispute that continues to cast a pall over Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. While embracing Comey’s criticism of Clinton for her careless handling of sensitive official information, Republicans have moved on many fronts to challenge his July 5 recommendation against seeking charges.

At the start of the hearing, Republican Chairman Jason Chaffetz said he was “mystified and confused by the fact pattern that you laid out and the conclusion that you reached.”

“It seems that there are two standards and there are no consequences for these types of activities in dealing in a careless way,” Chaffetz of Utah said.

Responding to criticism that politics tainted the outcome of the inquiry, Comey said it was conducted by people who didn’t “give a hoot about politics” and performed their work in “an apolitical and professional way.”

Pressed by Chaffetz, Comey said of Clinton, “We have no basis to conclude she lied to the FBI.”

Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the panel’s top Democrat, called the hearing a political gambit and another instance of Republicans using taxpayer funds to revisit an issue that’s already been resolved.

“Amazingly, some Republicans who were praising you just days ago for your independence and integrity and honesty, instantly turned against you,” Cummings said. “In their eyes you had one job and one job only — to prosecute Hillary Clinton.”

Comey, a Republican, announced July 5 that an almost yearlong investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation found that Clinton and her staff at the State Department were “extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.” But he also said that “no reasonable prosecutor” would bring charges in the case, and Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced on Wednesday that no charges will “be brought against any individuals within the scope of the investigation.”

House Speaker Paul Ryan has said Clinton should be denied the national security briefings that presidential nominees normally receive and he hasn’t ruled out seeking a special prosecutor to investigate further.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has demanded public release of the 3 1/2-hour interview that the FBI did with Clinton over the weekend. The Republican National Committee said it has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for several thousand previously undisclosed work-related emails that Comey said the FBI found.

Clinton’s campaign has called the issue settled, with spokesman Brian Fallon saying “this matter is now resolved.” Clinton has previously said she did nothing wrong in using private email but now regrets doing so.

The FBI found that of the more than 30,000 emails turned over by Clinton, some 110 emails spanning 52 chains contained information that was classified at the time it was sent. Of those chains, eight contained information classified at the Top Secret level.

Comey said in announcing his findings that the bureau also discovered “several thousand” work-related emails that weren’t turned over by Clinton’s lawyers. Those messages, discovered by searching through a computer she used as a server and scanning the archives of other U.S. officials, included an additional three containing classified material.

However, investigators didn’t find evidence that Clinton, her aides or her lawyers intentionally violated any laws, which would be a crucial in order to bring a criminal prosecution.

Comey added in his findings that “we did not find direct evidence” that Clinton’s email system was hacked successfully. He said, though, that “we do assess that hostile actors gained access to the private commercial email accounts of people with whom Secretary Clinton was in regular contact from her personal account.”