FBI Chief Comey Defends Actions In Clinton Email Probe
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WASHINGTON (AP) - FBI Director James Comey is strongly defending his decision to alert Congress that agents were revisiting the Hillary Clinton email investigation less than two weeks before the November election.
Comey tells the Senate Judiciary Committee that he concluded it would have been "catastrophic" to have concealed that development from Congress.
What led the FBI to revisit the investigation was the discovery of thousands of emails on a laptop belonging to the former congressman who was married to a top Clinton aide.
Comey says it made him -- in his words -- "mildly nauseous" to think he might've had an influence on the 2016 election, as many Democrats believe. But he says politics can't influence the FBI's decision-making.
When discussing the Clinton investigation in comparison with President Trump's, Comey says both cases were treated consistently. He says he only told lawmakers about the reopening of the Clinton email investigation because he had testified before Congress that the probe had been closed. Comey says that other than revealing the Trump investigation exists, no other information would be discussed until it is closed.
Comey's comments Wednesday are his most extensive about his actions from October in the email case.
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