FBI director insists Clinton did not break the law over e-mail server
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FBI Director James Comey was grilled by Republican lawmakers yesterday over his decision not to charge Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton with crimes for her handling of classified e-mails, as a top Republican demanded she be denied access to sensitive information.
Under persistent questioning at a hearing of the House of Representatives Oversight Committee, Comey insisted that “in my judgment” Clinton did not break the law while secretary of state and defended his decision not to recommend charges against her.
House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said in a letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper that denying Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, classified briefings during her run for the presidency would be an appropriate sanction for her improper handling of classified e-mails while secretary of state.
Presidential candidates normally get access to classified information once they are formally nominated and a Clinton spokesman said Republicans’ efforts to deny her the briefings was “another blatantly political stunt” by Republicans.
The issue of Clinton’s use of private e-mail servers during her tenure as President Barack Obama’s first secretary of state has cast a cloud over her presidential campaign for the November 8 election, raised questions among voters about her trustworthiness and given her Republican presidential rival, Donald Trump, an avenue of attack.
Comey had rebuked her on Tuesday for “extremely careless” handling of classified information while using private e-mail servers for business.
“I think there is a legitimate concern that there is a double standard, if your name isn’t Clinton or you are not part of the powerful elite that Lady Justice will act differently,” Representative Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said to Comey.
A Democratic member of the committee, Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland, defended Comey’s actions by saying: “I firmly believe your decision was based on conviction, not convenience.”
Comey said his FBI team had conducted its investigation “in an apolitical and professional way.”
The hearing took place as Trump made the rounds on Capitol Hill trying to rally more Republican lawmakers behind his campaign.
Comey’s testimony to the House Oversight Committee marked the first time he has taken questions publicly since his announcement that the FBI was not recommending charges against Clinton. US Attorney General Loretta Lynch has accepted the FBI recommendation and was to appear at another hearing next Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Comey said 110 classified e-mails passed through Clinton’s servers, which were not kept on a secure government server.
He rebuked her for “extremely careless” handling of classified information but said no reasonable prosecutor would charge her or her staff criminally.
The Clinton campaign said that it was pleased by the FBI’s announcement and said that the Republican-led call for Comey’s hearing was a “taxpayer-funded sham of an inquiry” intended to hurt Clinton politically.
Comey, a Republican who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama and who also served in the administration of former Republican President George W. Bush, has built a reputation as a straight shooter and someone who does not bend to pressure from either party.
He has differed sharply with the Obama administration, most recently on gun control and whether high-profile police brutality cases had inhibited law enforcement from stopping crime.
Questions about the propriety of Clinton’s use of unauthorized e-mail servers in her Chappaqua, New York, home have raised questions about her judgment from across the political spectrum.
Despite clinching the Democratic presidential nomination, Clinton can expect a further onslaught of attacks from Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, who has accused her of playing by a different set of rules from the American public.
“Hillary Clinton can’t keep her e-mails safe, and you know what, folks, she sure as hell can’t keep our country safe,” Trump told a recent rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, charging that the investigation was “rigged” in Clinton’s favor.
Comey left the door open for other actions in the case, including downgrading security clearances for anyone who mishandles classified information as Clinton and her staff did.
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