Exchanges That Explain FBI Director’s Decision On The Clinton Case

FBI Director James Comey was on Capitol Hill this week testifying on his decision to not recommend a prosecution of Hillary Clinton in regards to her management of emails during her tenure as Secretary of State.

“You’ve set a precedent and it’s a unsafe precedent… that there’s going to be no consequences”, said Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz, who leads the House of Representatives’ government oversight panel.

She strongly disputed the assertion by FBI Director James Comey that she and her aides were “extremely careless” with classified materials, and instead appeared to be putting the responsibility to her State Department staff.

Director Comey went on to say that he thought that the hearing was good for transparency and democracy, but throughout his testimony, Comey has largely backed up what Hillary Clinton has been saying about her use of private email. In a different year, with a Republican nominee other than Donald Trump, it seems plausible that this would derail Clinton’s candidacy, forcing the Democrats to scramble to find a replacement.

“Despite the partisan motivations of this hearing, we are glad it took place and that Director Comey had the opportunity to expand upon his remarks from earlier this week”, Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said.

That isn’t stopping GOP leadership – who want Clinton’s interview with the Federal Bureau of Investigation made public to show the many inconsistences in her statements. Though the law makes it a felony to mishandle documents “intentionally or in a grossly negligent way”, he said prosecutors often avoid charging someone based exclusively on gross negligence and look for “intent” instead.

The FBI investigation began last July after the Intelligence Community Inspector General issued a referral indicating that Clinton’s use of a private email service could have involved mishandling of classified information.

In his initial announcement, Comey said, “Agencies have concluded that three of those were classified at the time they were sent or received”.

REP. TREY GOWDY: Secretary Clinton said all work-related e-mails were returned to the State Department.

Mr Comey gave a scathing assessment of Mrs Clinton’s email practices on Tuesday, followed by his conclusion that “no reasonable prosecutor” would charge her with a crime. “We found work-related e-mails, thousands that were not returned”, he said in response to another question. “I’m aware of that being said though”.

“Amazingly, some Republicans who were praising you just days ago… instantly turned against you”, Representative Cummings said at one point.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch formally closed the case Wednesday.

She also sidestepped a question about whether she will cooperate with the State Department’s reopening of its investigation, which was paused during the FBI probe.