'Well I don't know what all the 'fuss' is about, I mean, Come On already, has everyone lost their sense of Humor!? 'Hatch Act' ?? What the Heck is That all about? Look, this 'new' Clinton e-mail stuff is as big a 'surprise' to Me, or at least it was a few Weeks ago when I 'discovered' it, as it is to the American public. Oh sure, while it May be True that I consciously Sat on it until Now just a few days before the Presidential election, it is Also perhaps, probably, 'true' t...hat I cleverly released it just in the nick of time in order to cover my weasly butt. And Now, lo and behold, I discover that I may have inadvertently perhaps, broken some sort of silly law that Really shouldn't apply to Me the Czar of all law enforcement. Geez! Gimmie a Break already! Do you Really 'think' for even one second that I, may or may not have some sort of nefarious 'political' motive for such a backhanded, and now it seems a bit illegal, stunt such as This?? Hey, just so you 'know', I 'actually' have absolutely No, as in None, political leanings or aspirations as such. I'm just a politically ambivalent sort of guy. You see, I'm neither Republican, which of Course I Have been up to recently my Whole life, nor one of those stupid Democrats like that Clinton person. So, really, I couldn't care less Who is elected, and, who like Clinton, isn't gonna be. I'm just covering my butt so's I don't get second guessed later on. Ya gotta be a pretty 'smart' guy to hold onto This job! Yeah, I Know, there's probably nothing to these mundane, steaming stack of 'possibly' incriminating emails that Clinton should be sweating over, I mean, probably 'nothing' there, no 'news', move along folks, nothing to see folks, maybe. Orrrr...Is there? Oh just kidding chuckle, chuckle. Just forget I said that. Crazy Me! Ooooo...I think I'm gonna be in such deep poop over this silly insignificant, minute, lack of integrity on my part. Of course it pales considerably in comparison to 'you know who's' email indiscretions. But hey, it's not for Me to do, or Say something that may or may not influence the results of a Presidential election. I'm sure that Americans will see through the 'fluff', and vote for the right man, er, candidate, that is. Now everyone run right out and Vote, just pay No attention to Anything I may have inadvertently done, or said, or meant, that might influence Anyones thought process about who might be the best President, and especially that silly 'Hatch Act' thingie that's causing such a distraction.' ;);)
Comey notified Congress of email probe despite DOJ concerns
FBI reviewing new Clinton emails 03:04
Story highlights
- Clinton said it was "imperative that the bureau explain this issue in question ... without any delay"
- Comey said the FBI "cannot yet assess whether or not this material may be significant"
(CNN)Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates disagreed with FBI Director James Comey's decision to notify Congress about his bureau's review of emails potentially related to Hillary Clinton's personal server, law enforcement officials familiar with the discussion said.
There was no direct confrontation between Lynch or Yates and Comey. Instead, the disagreements were conveyed to Comey by Justice Department staff, who advised the FBI chief his letter would be against department policy to not comment on investigations close to an election, the officials said.
They added it was contrary to department policies and procedures, one law enforcement source said.
Comey decided to disregard their concerns and sent the letter Friday anyway, shaking the presidential race 11 days before the election and nearly four months after the FBI chief said he wouldn't recommend criminal charges over the Democratic nominee's use of the server.
The officials acknowledged there was little Lynch and Yates could do given the fallout over Lynch's controversial meeting over the summer with former President Bill Clinton.
Lynch and Yates objected after Comey gave advance notice to top officials at the Justice Department before sending the letter to lawmakers, law enforcement officials briefed on the matter said. Justice officials didn't sign off on Comey's decision and he didn't seek their approval, one official said.
Instead, he made an independent decision to go against longstanding Justice Department and FBI practice to not comment publicly about politically sensitive investigations within 60 days of an election, the official said.
Comey later explained his decision to provide Congress with the information in a letter to FBI employees.
"We don't ordinarily tell Congress about ongoing investigations, but here I feel an obligation to do so given that I testified repeatedly in recent months that our investigation was completed," Comey said. "I also think it would be misleading to the American people were we not to supplement the record."
Clinton's campaign and allies quickly decried the decision's timing, and the candidate herself on Friday forcefully called on the FBI to release the "full and complete facts" about its review.
"Voting is underway, so the American people deserve to get the full and complete facts immediately," Clinton said at a brief news conference in Des Moines, Iowa, adding it was "imperative that the bureau explain this issue in question, whatever it is, without any delay."
Clinton said she was "confident whatever (the emails) are will not change the conclusion reached in July," when Comey said he wouldn't recommend criminal charges in the matter.
Republican nominee Donald Trump, who has spent the past several weeks on defense, seized on the issue.
"Hillary Clinton's corruption is on a scale we've never seen before," Trump said at a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire. "We must not let her take her criminal scheme into the Oval Office."
He later responded to Clinton's statement, saying she "tried to politicize the investigation by attacking and falsely accusing the FBI director of only sending the letter to Republicans."
In a letter to eight congressional committee chairmen Friday, Comey said investigators are examining newly discovered emails that "appear to be pertinent" to the email probe.
"In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear pertinent to the investigation," Comey wrote the chairmen. "I am writing to inform you that the investigative team briefed me on this yesterday, and I agreed that the FBI should take appropriate investigative steps designed to allow investigators to review these emails to determine whether they contain classified information, as well as to assess their importance to our investigation."
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