WASHINGTON ― FBI Director James Comey defended his decision to forgo a criminal case against Hillary Clinton, telling an angry congressional committee Thursday that the former secretary of state’s handling of her email system simply doesn’t merit prosecution.
When Comey cleared Clinton Tuesday, he declared that her actions were “extremely careless,” but that no “reasonable” prosecutor would pursue the case. His most damning finding was that Clinton had more than 100 classified messages on her home-brew system, including eight marked “top secret.”
“We’re here because we’re mystified and confused by the fact pattern you laid out,” said Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), adding that based on Comey’s facts, if an “average joe” had done what Clinton did, “they’d be in handcuffs.”
The top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.) said Comey had a thankless task that was bound to bring criticism, from all sides, even that he went too far in his criticism of Clinton.
Cummings accused the GOP of mounting yet another politically motivated attack, only because Comey didn’t produce the result they wanted.
“Amazingly, some Republicans who were praising you just days ago ... instantly turned against you,” Cummings said.
“In their eyes, you had one job and one job only, to prosecute Hillary Clinton,” Cummings said, before asking Comey to “fill the gap” that Chaffetz pointed to, and explain the FBI’s reasoning and process.
“Even if it takes till hell freezes over, I beg you to fill the gap,” Cummings said.
Comey stood by his statement that the FBI’s investigation was wholly unpolitical and based entirely on the facts, but said that he understood why people might question the decision.
He said it boiled down to two things: what Clinton knew about what she was doing and what she intended. He noted that while someone could be prosecuted under espionage law for “gross negligence” in handling classified material, it had only happened once in 100 years.
And in this case, he repeated, it did not rise to a prosecutable level.
“My conclusion was and remains that no reasonable prosecutor would bring this case,” Comey said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
FBI's Comey Defends Decision Not To Charge Hillary Clinton
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