Comey Admits Wrongdoing in Hillary Investigation: '...Would Have Done Things Differently'
In his new book “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership,” former FBI Director James Comey had a few choice words when it came to President Donald Trump and 2016 presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.
The book documents the disgraced FBI director’s career before, during and after the 2016 presidential campaign, and even goes so far as to suggest his own mishandling of the investigation into Clinton’s email server scandal, according to The Washington Examiner.
Comey admitted that he’d received criticism from even his own family after one particular press conference in 2016 where he recommended no charges against the former Secretary of State.
“I’ve taken some abuse, including from my beloved family, for ‘Seacresting it’ by which they mean imitating the dramatic tease,” wrote Comey, who announced just days before the 2016 presidential election that the FBI had reopened its investigation into Clinton.
The failed presidential nominee has even criticized Comey for this announcement, claiming that swayed the election in Trump’s favor — a moment the former FBI official said was a mistake.
“(I)f I had it to do over again, I would do some things differently,” he added. “I would avoid the ‘Seacresting’ mistake by saying at the beginning of my statement that we weren’t recommending charge.”
There was a stark contrast between what Comey said at the time and what had actually been done in the Clinton investigation.
As reported by The New York Times, Comey’s 304-page memoir confirms that the bureau had begun a “criminal investigation” on Clinton back in 2015, when questions of her mishandling sensitive information were initially raised.
In response to those questions and pieces published by The Times, which stated she was under criminal investigation, Clinton and her campaign railed against the news outlet for running such a report.
“Mrs. Clinton’s campaign, relying on a statement from President Obama’s Justice Department, complained vigorously to The Times, resulting in two corrections to the article,” said The Times on Friday, citing Comey’s book as proof that his word coincided with the articles published in 2015.
Even after the correction, Clinton’s campaign continued their stance by suggesting the story was “erroneous” and that the investigation was a “routine security matter.”
“Though The Times may have thought those clarifications were necessary, their original story was much closer to the mark,” Comey wrote.
“It was true that the transmission to the FBI from the inspector general did not use the word ‘criminal,’ but by the time of the news story, we had a full criminal investigation open, focused on the secretary’s conduct.”
The former FBI Director also stated that his department hadn’t sought to correct the mishap at the time since investigators on the case felt it unnecessary to publicly announce the probe.
Slated to hit the shelves on Tuesday, Comey’s book includes more than just mishaps regarding Clinton and delves into personal contact he’s made with the president himself.
Among a series of wrongs that have been cited, Comey accused Trump of being “untethered to the truth” as well as being more concerned about his political appearance rather than Russian meddling.
He added that Trump’s team, when looking into any meddling, focused on “how to position these findings for maximum political advantage.”
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