FBI Director James Comey In The Hot Seat As Republicans And Democrats Demand More Information


FBI Director James Comey is under fire from both Republicans and Democrats after sending a vague three-paragraph letter to Congress on Friday. Comey wrote that new emails related to the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server have emerged, prompting further investigation. Top Democrats and Republicans have since pounced on the FBI director demanding more information.

The newest emails were found during a separate investigation into Anthony Weiner’s latest sexting scandal. The estranged husband of Huma Abedin, a top Clinton aide, is being investigated for allegedly sending lewd texts to a 15-year-old girl. A laptop used by both Weiner and Abedin contained emails pertinent to the investigation in which Comey cleared Clinton of any criminal wrongdoing in July.

Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio said on CNBC that Americans need more than three paragraphs of information this close to election day.

“Something must be there or they wouldn’t make this announcement this close to the election,” he said. “As much as the American people can know, they should know.”

[Image by Alex Wong/Getty Images]

Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa quickly issued a statement also demanding more information and a briefing from the FBI director.

“The letter from Director Comey was unsolicited and, quite honestly, surprising. But it’s left a lot more questions than answers for both the FBI and Secretary Clinton. Congress and the public deserve more context to properly assess what evidence the FBI has discovered and what it plans to do with it. I’ve asked for a briefing from the FBI.”

Bloomberg reports that top Congressional Democrats are furious at Comey. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is among them, and she thinks the FBI director made a huge mistake by attracting attention back to Clinton’s emails this close to election day.

“The public interest would be served by the FBI providing the facts, rather than allowing Republicans to stoke innuendo and falsehoods 11 days away from a presidential election,” she said.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, and Democratic Rep. John Conyers sent a letter to the FBI director and Attorney General Loretta Lynch demanding an explanation as to why a letter with so little information was issued less than two weeks before a presidential election.

“In fairness to everyone involved, we are writing to request that the FBI and Department of Justice issue a more complete accounting of the details behind this letter, based on information from your career investigators and prosecutors, in order to debunk these conspiracy theories and correct the public record.”

The White House and the Clinton campaign learned about the FBI’s discovery through media reports.

In a brief press conference, Clinton said she thinks this revelation will not change any minds before voters head to the polls. She’s confident that the newly discovered emails turned over to the FBI will not reverse Comey’s decision to not press criminal charges.

[Image by Alex Wong/Getty Images]

“Voting is already underway, so the American people deserve to get the full facts immediately,” she said.

Vice President Joe Biden was in St. Louis campaigning for Clinton when CNN reached out for a comment. Biden encouraged the FBI director to release the emails.

“Release the emails for the whole world to see,” Biden said. “They’ll continue their investigation and it won’t prejudice the investigation.”

Numerous conflicting reports have been published about the contents of the new emails that prompted the FBI to take another look.

The L.A. Times reports the new emails were neither to nor from Clinton herself and have already been previously investigated. The Washington Post reports the emails exchanged were between Abedin and Clinton. The FBI has remained silent since the FBI director’s letter was sent to Congress, and the longer this plays out, the longer the list of public officials will become demanding more information before the election.

[Featured Image by Alex Wong/Getty Images]

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