Jim Cole/AP Photo
On the 28th of October, 11 days before the election, FBI Director Comey wrote a letter to Congress saying that they had found new emails that could potentially have a connection to the previous investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email during her time as Secretary of State. Now only nine days later he wrote a second letter, which said that the FBI had found nothing new in the latest emails and that they stood by the decision that they made in July that Clinton’s actions weren’t criminal.
“Based on our review, we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July.” – FBI Director Comey
In July, the FBI concluded that Hillary had been careless, but not criminal, in her handling of her email and that they were going to close down their investigation into her. However, anyone who has been paying attention to this election cycle knows this was not the end of the controversy surrounding the emails. They have been a constant fixture of Trump’s speeches, and when Comey wrote the letter nine days ago, he made the email controversy the center of the political debate once again. Comey has, since then, faced a lot of criticism from Republicans, Democrats, DOJ, and FBI officials over his decision to write the first letter because of the political impact that it had. It is also against protocol to comment on ongoing investigations, especially this close to an election.
Many Clinton supporters, although relieved that the whole probe is over, are worried that the damage is already done. A Democrat close to the Clinton campaign told CNN that “it’s impossible to fully undo the damage of the last nine days”. Because even though the FBI worked around the clock and searched through the emails incredibly quickly, it still reminded people about the whole email affair, which is one of Clinton’s biggest weaknesses. So although Democrats are happy that it was resolved so rapidly, they are still mad that Comey, with his vague letter, opened up the debate again.
The reason that the FBI could come to this conclusion so quickly is that the recent emails were old, duplicates, and mostly just personal communication from Huma Abedin.
However, it isn’t only Democrats who have found themselves with conflicting feelings when it comes to Comey’s actions. Trump, who previously applauded Comey for his letter nine days ago and even said that the system “might not be as rigged as I thought”, has now changed his mind and said, “Well, you have to understand it’s a rigged system and she’s protected”. Democratic Senator Harry Reid accused Comey of using his public office to impact the election with his first letter, and now Republican Newt Gingrich is saying that Comey caved under political pressure when he wrote his second letter.
Director Comey seems to receive criticism no matter what he does, but before you feel sorry for him, know that he put himself in this mess. His press conference in June and the letter to Congress were both quite vague and had, intentionally or not, put him in the political spotlight. He has gone against DOJ recommendations and protocol several times during this whole affair so he could have avoided this if he just had been clearer and followed procedure.
In conclusion, no one really likes Director Comey right now and the recent emails that were discovered by the FBI “show no criminal wrongdoing” on the part of Hillary Clinton.
