FBI: Comey Drafted Statement on Clinton Email Investigation Months Before Her Interview
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
Former FBI Director James Comey is in the news again.
On Monday, the FBI confirmed documents reveal Comey already started drafting a statement prior to the agency completing Hillary Clinton’s email investigation.
Clinton was under FBI investigation for her handling of classified information using a private email server while in her role as Secretary of State.
Fox News reports:
The document release was titled “Drafts of Director Comeys July 5, 2016 Statement Regarding Email Server Investigation Part 01 of 01.”
The contents of the email were largely unclear as nearly all of it was redacted. The now-public records show the email titled “Midyear Exam — UNCLASSIFIED” was sent by Comey on May 2, 2016, to Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, general counsel James Baker and chief of staff and senior counselor James Rybicki.
On May 16, the documents showed a response email from Rybicki, saying “Please send me any comments on this statement so we may roll into a master doc for discussion with the Director at a future date. Thanks, Jim.”
Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, reviewed interview transcripts from Comey’s aides purporting the existence of the emails and as a result, notified newly-appointed FBI Director Christopher Wray:
“it appears that in April or early May of 2016, Mr. Comey had already decided he would issue a statement exonerating Secretary Clinton. That was long before FBI agents finished their work,” the letter said. “The outcome of an investigation should not be prejudged while FBI agents are still hard at work trying to gather the facts.”
In July of 2016, Comey said Clinton’s handling of the emails was “extremely careless” but did not recommend criminal charges.
Following the revelation of Comey’s drafted statement, President Trump Tweeted:
“Wow, looks like James Comey exonerated Hillary Clinton long before the investigation was over…and so much more. A rigged system!”