Colorado Congressman Questions FBI Director Over Clinton Emails
WASHINGTON, DC (CBS) - The State Department has re-launched its review of how then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent and received emails during her time as a Cabinet member. It comes after the FBI said it would not ask for criminal charges and the Justice Department said it would not file them.
Two days after that announcement, the Republican-leaning House Oversight Committee called FBI Director called James Comey to a hearing to explain the investigation.
Colorado Congressman Rep. Ken Buck is one of the members of that committee. The Republican represents the 4th District and once served as the District Attorney for Weld County.
He wanted to know how the FBI applied the law. Relying on his background as a prosecutor, he focused on the letter of the law, questioning Comey's statement that Clinton did not knowingly and willingly compromise confidential information.
"Congress specifically omitted the term willingly from the statue," Buck asked, "and yet, you are implying the word willfully is in the statue? Is that fair?"
Comey replied, "That's fair."
Buck also asked if information was compromised. "Did hostile nations obtain classified information from Secretary Clinton's servers?"
Comey's reply: "I don't know. It's possible but we don't have direct evidence of that. We couldn't find direct evidence."
Comey again told the representatives, that in his opinion, there was not evidence beyond a reasonable doubt Clinton knew she was receiving classified information and intended to retain it on the private server.
Raetta Holdman is a veteran newscast producer. She's been with CBS4 for more than 25 years, coordinating events -- large and small -- from the control room. Contact her by clicking here.