WASHINGTON – FBI Director James Comey, under intense grilling by Republican lawmakers Thursday, stood by his bureau’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email use, aggressively defending his recommendation that the former secretary of state should not be prosecuted.
Appearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on short notice, Comey said that the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee didn’t receive special treatment in the FBI’s yearlong investigation. He reiterated his assertion that Clinton acted carelessly in her handling of state department emails, but said there was no evidence of intentional wrongdoing.
“Before you lock somebody up, you prove they knew they were doing something wrong,” Comey said, adding. “I know the Department of Justice. I know no reasonable prosecutor would bring this case.”
Republicans, a majority in Congress, hammered Comey on the FBI investigation. Several lawmakers said they were mystified by the FBI’s process in handling the probe, and asserted that Comey’s decision against recommending prosecution set a bad precedent for government officials that have access to classified information.
“We believe that you have set a precedent, and it’s a dangerous one,” said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, the chairman of the committee. “The precedent is that if you sloppily deal with classified information, if you’re cavalier about it…there’s going to be no consequences.”
In a heated back-and-forth with Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., Comey said that Clinton didn’t lie to the FBI during its investigation, but acknowledged that she used her private email to send and receive three documents marked as classified – marked with a “c.” That contradicted previous public statements by Clinton, who has said she never sent classified information using her private server.
In light of that, Chaffetz said the FBI would get a referral from Congress asking the agency to investigate statements Clinton made under oath before the House Select Committee on Benghazi in October. That committee was chaired by Gowdy.
The hearing came less than 48 hours after Comey announced the findings of the investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server during her four-year tenure as secretary of state under President Barack Obama. Those emails, Comey said, contained 110 classified messages across dozens of chains.
The decision not to recommend prosecution was unanimous on the FBI team, he said. State Department policy recommends against using private email accounts for official business.
On Wednesday, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the Department of Justice wouldn’t pursue charges against Clinton or her aides, and would close its investigation into the former secretary of state’s email use.
Thursday’s hearing marked another attempt by Republicans to draw attention to an investigation that has plagued Clinton’s presidential bid for over a year. House Democrats took aim at Republicans for calling on Comey to testify just two days after the FBI director announced his findings.
“I think we all know we wouldn’t be having this hearing, especially on an emergency basis, if she weren’t running for president,” said Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn.
Members of Congress are also given access to classified documents, Cooper said, pointing out that many of them use personal email accounts to conduct official business.
“The grossest double standard here today is the fact that all members of this committee, every member of Congress, is not subject to the same law that Secretary Clinton is subject to,” he said.